Fitting Lewmar T-section Genoa track

[Tradewinds]

On my newly refurbished deck I'm replacing the battered old Lewmar 32mm T-section track with new.

The new track was supposed to be identical but, hey-ho, 33 years on there's been subtle changes.

As you can see from the photo, the back face of the original section is flat making it easy to get a watertight seal on the 8mm machine screws which will bolt it down.

The new section has a concave back which makes it much harder (I think) to ensure a decent leak-free seal especially with the alternating stop holes (10mm). As I see it, any compression to the sealant will just push it further along the track to some extent leaving a poor seal. My preferred sealant is a non-setting Arbomast BR rather than something like Sikaflex - maybe Arbomast BR is the wrong sealant in this instance.

I think the hollow back is there to assist bending to a shallow curve - which is what I require.

Has anybody fitted this track with the concave back (leak-free!) and can give me a pointer as to the best method/sealant to use?

Ta.

 

[Poignard]

I always assumed that the concavity was so that the track could be mounted on the toe-rail capping (as it is on my boat). I guess you've checked that a flat-bottomed version of your track isn't available.

How about using butyl tape? I haven't used it but it seems to get good reports.

 

[saxonpirate]

Yes I have fitted this track. The Arbomast BR will be ok. Clean the area where the track's going with a little acetone and allow to flash off. Run a bead of sealant down each edge of the track and make a dam with some on the concave ends. Countersink the holes in the deck a little and run a bead in the countersink. Finish by wiping a smear of sealant around the underside of the c/sunk machine screw heads, nip up the screws a couple of times evenly, clean up exuded excess sealant and the jobs a gooden....

 

[Tradewinds]

Yes I have fitted this track. The Arbomast BR will be ok. Clean the area where the track's going with a little acetone and allow to flash off. Run a bead of sealant down each edge of the track and make a dam with some on the concave ends. Countersink the holes in the deck a little and run a bead in the countersink. Finish by wiping a smear of sealant around the underside of the c/sunk machine screw heads, nip up the screws a couple of times evenly, clean up exuded excess sealant and the jobs a gooden....

Thanks for that - very helpful.

The reason I'm asking the question is that the track has a section about 2 ft long on the starboard side where I won't be able to readily check for leaks once the interior goes back in place - so the job has to be 100%.

 

[saxonpirate]

That's the way I've always done it 'Tradewinds'... If the sealant is applied evenly on good clean surfaces and the machine screws bore their way through the sealant in your countersunk holes you shouldn't have any problems. One thing to note though, as you are using Arbomast BR which isn't an adhesive, if its at all possible... after the track has actually been under load, just nip up your fastenings one more time. Not saying its absolutely necessary (and may be difficult with furniture etc in the way) its just something I do on my own boats...