Peter Gelinas wrote: > Jim, > > since you are the 'thrifty' kind, perhaps there is another option to > consider. The Tide marine tracks are made of UHMW-PE which seems to > mean ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. > > So the track is made of a slick 'plastic' material, and the slides of > (I believe) polished metal. I suggest it should work the other way > around, UHMW-PE slides in a metal track. > > You have a metal track in your mast. Your problem is that the slides > of your mainsail won't move easily enough in your track. > > Since UHMW-PE is readily available, it might be worthwhile attempting > to replace your present slides with slides made of UHMW-PE. Any shop > working with 'plastic' would be able to make them for you at a > fraction of the price of the Tide system. > > Batten slides have a long mating surface in the tracks. I believe this > keeps the slide from 'kinking' ie: keeps it's surface parallel to the > track, and it distributes the load over a larger surface. > > I would make the slides so they had twice the mating surface they do > now, for the reason stated above. > > I would run a cleaning rag with 'Varsol' or other paint thinner up and > down in your track. You could do that by unhooking the top two slides > from your sail. Attach a cord to the top one as a 'downhaul', attach > your halyard to the bottom one for the 'uphaul'. The rag will stay > wedged between the two. > > Do that a couple of dozen times, change the rag often, also use a rag > with water and detergent, a couple of hours of easy work and your > present track should be completely clean. > > If the cloth comes back with holes or abrasion, then the track has > been damaged and Eric's sandpaper (emery cloth) operation goes into > effect. > > Most sprays (oil, silicon etc) will ultimately dry out and collect > dirt, that's why Tide recommends clear water. HOWEVER there is a > product called Sailkote which is used by really knowledgeable > competitive sailors and seems to be recommended by Harken. > > I have never used Sailkote because my sail comes down easily if I > 'wiggle' the boat back and forth into the wind (and remember to > tighten the topping lift sufficiently) (smile) > > Peter Hi, Peter,
Excellent suggestions. However, I'm impatient to get out and do some sailing. I'm not getting any younger. I've had this sail down for over a year now and have yet to be able to get anyone to help me put it up. I'm not looking for free help, I've attempted to hire it done but have been frustrated. If I do what you are suggesting and it still isn't satisfactory, I'm probably out another 6 months. I sort of want to do this right the first time. One of my problems is that I'm about 5 hours from the boat and can't get any attention from afar. Guess I'll just have to move on board. I have a local sailmaker that will put the cars on and after that happens, I'll put the sail on the boat and travel until I find someone that can help. I've motored more than I've sailed in the past, so that's not a problem. We are going to do some cruising! :-) Thanks, Jim. _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
