How to lubricate plastic sail track without going aloft

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Andrew G

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I have in-boom furling which means that the 6 mm bolt rope on my main's luff (and foot) slides up a plastic extrusion at the back of the mast. The luff is 13 m and I'd rather not go up the mast (but can if I have to).
I'm trying to reduce friction hoisting and lowering the main (its a real pain). I propose to use a spray pack of silicone to spray in the extrusion - if it works I'll repeat it as required.

My question is - any suggestions as to how I might be able to turn the spray pack off/on as I pull it to the top and/or lower it down so I don't make a total mess and/or run out too soon (I'm not fussed about having to buy more than 1 can)?

(I reckon I can afix the can to a slide in the extrusion and use a short tube to direct the squirt and that I can pull the whole assemble up with the topping lift/halyard - but how to control the squirt?).

Thanks, Andrew
 
Why not spray the luff of the sail rather than the track?

Is silicone the best choice or would a ptfe spray be better?
 
You want to use something that drys, rather than that stays wet/greasy. It will just attract more dirt if it stays wet.

The best thing is to first use dish washing soap on the track (which will not attract dirt).

There are two usual what's to do this. The easy way is to get a 1' piece of bolt rope, put a grommet on the top and bottom, hook halyard to top, down haul to bottom, put liquid soap on the bolt rope, Haul up and down, clean and re soap and haul up and down, repeat until it comes down clean. You know what the better way is . . . Go up the mast and do it by hand with a sponge.

Then when it is dry and clean, it is probably not necessary but you can spray it with a drying lubricant . . . Again either by hand or by saturating the bolt rope.
 
I too have in-boom reefing with an articulated luff track within which an enclosed luff line runs. It indeed has high friction and a bit of a pain to raise. I add a silicone liquid to the luff, it does help but one does have to rather put up with the disadvantage of this configuration - the advantages of the system far outweigh the negative points, in my opinion.

I have my main halyard back to the cockpit and use a headsail winch for the top half. When I was researching the principle I did get to hear of someone with a larger rig that gave up with in-boom because of this problem. Above a certain luff length an electric winch to raise sail begins to look attractive.
 
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Last time I was on my boat I found both my sail slides and spinnaker pole was sticking so I sprayed the slides with PTFE lub working the sail and pole slides up and down. The PTFE was spread up the inside of the tracks and now both the sail and the spinnaker pole go up and down very easy.

I also use it on all my tools to stop the tool rusting up. Better than WD40 IMHO

I used a local product called wynflon.
 
Please don't use something sticky like lanolin ,it will pick up dirt and rub into the fabric.
Best use something like Harken McLube,a dry lubricant which won't stain or build up on the track in any thickness.
To apply to tracks ,a couple small sliders that fits your track .a soft fabric rag wrapped around it sewn to secure, soaked with Mc Lube it and pulled up and down works .Ask your sailmaker to make you one up .
Cindy
 
MoodySabre said:
I'd get a quote for having eyes put in the sail and converting it to sail slides. My son has an Achilles 24 that has round-boom reefing with slides.
Click to expand...
"round-boom reefing" cannot be compared to in-boom reefing, they are totally different - I have had both and would never again have the former. Slides would disturb the rolling of in-boom, in fact, on my Profurl system there would be no space for them.
 
I've found one of the most effective things is cheap aerosol furniture polish.
We have one of hose little flag things that racing boats leave in the forestay luff groove.
We wrap a soft rag around its bolt rope and douse it in polish and work it up and down the luff groove.
It removes all the grime, bird poo etc and leaves a wax coating.
For an interim dose, just squirt a good load into the bottom of the luff groove before hoisting.

Posh hull polish with PTFE might be better still, but 69p for an aerosol in Tesco does the job.
 
wilkinsonsails said:
Please don't use something sticky like lanolin ,it will pick up dirt and rub into the fabric.
Best use something like Harken McLube,a dry lubricant which won't stain or build up on the track in any thickness.
To apply to tracks ,a couple small sliders that fits your track .a soft fabric rag wrapped around it sewn to secure, soaked with Mc Lube it and pulled up and down works .Ask your sailmaker to make you one up .
Cindy
Click to expand...
+1 for McLube, expensive but really good stuff...
 
I like the idea of hoisting a "brush" up the track (with a downhaul fitted!). I am considering a caravan annexe track brush for the usual aluminium mast track (round section). Of course, a rope would be cheaper, but I wonder whether anyone has found a particular type better than others? I was thinking that a hairy finish might be more effective as a brush to scrub back to the metal before applying lube or polish.

Rob.
 
MoodySabre said:
Yes - sorry missed that. I hate round-boom too!
Click to expand...
On my round boom reefing system I actually did what you proposed - replaced a bolt-rope luff with eyes and sliders. It cured a major problem trying to reef singlehanded. Leaving the helm and going forward the head would fall off the wind and the sail would be pressed hard against the luff-groove creating enough friction to prevent lowering and impossible to turn the through-mast reefing handle.

I would much prefer hard sail raising than lowering. :)
 
Thanks folks. If I summarise your suggestions correctly:
I had planned to spray the sail bolt rope with Silicone but will now use McLube Sailkote instead.
I can't see how to get a caravan annexe track brush/tube brush/bottle brush of the right size without importing one (or paying medical equipment prices) - 6.5mm ID track so I guess 7mm dia brush. So I'll use short lengths of 1/4" line, sown to an up/down haul to progressively apply water/detergent/water and, when dry, McLube. I might run a microfibre cloth arround a bolt rope up there too.

I'm still open to suggestions as to how I might contrive to spray McLube up the track in a controlled fashion as I suspect it drys pretty quickly.
I also need to re-check all blocks and re-lubricate the central bearing about which the boom rotates.

Thanks again, Andrew

(to anyone questioning in-boom furling - it really is magic, particularly the ability to furl easily and to wherever you wish and to be able to change that easily. On the wind you can sail by the jib and raise/lower the main by just freeing it off. Unlike in-mast furling if anything should go wrong you can always drop the main conventionally.)
 
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