Mainsail slide lubrication.

[graham]

Not sure if its getting harder to haul the main up or I am getting weaker.

Seems to need more use of the winch to haul up the main . Slides were new at the start of this year.

Can anyone recommend something.

 

[johnalison]

I now use Sailkote for such purposes, though it is hard to cover the whole track. This year someone did it for me during another job and it did make quite a difference. It is also important to make sure that the cars are in good condition. When I replaced my main they reused the old ones but had to replace a number of missing ball bearings and refurbish them.

 

[emmalina]

I spray everything with silicone when its getting tough !

 

[philwebb]

+1 for silicone spray. It does make raising sails easier.

 

[jwilson]

+1 McLube Sailkote

 

[franksingleton]

Not sure if its getting harder to haul the main up or I am getting weaker.

Seems to need more use of the winch to haul up the main . Slides were new at the start of this year.

Can anyone recommend something.

The main on our HR34, has Frederiksen cars. Although this increases the weight, it does make hoisting easy. (Actually, Frederiksen is not now in business and I forget the name of the current supplier). We used a silicon spray here and would probably do so without the cars. We use the spray on the Genoa track.

 

[Sandy]

Silicone spray is used here.

 

[Martin_J]

The sheave at the top could have seized, maybe due to the central hole elongating and now preventing it turning.

Try putting a spare rope through a spare pulley/block and hoisting that pulley to the top with the original halyard....

Then use this spare/temporary rope through the now external pulley, as a halyard for the main.

If the main is now easy to hoist then you've found your answer (albeit not as easy to replace the sheave as putting PTFE spray on the slides).

 

[rogerthebodger]

Spray the sail track with a PTFE spray.

There are not many suppliers of PTFE spray just Google PTFE spray

The trick is to aim the spray into the track

I use a product called Wynflon for all that needs lubrication

Wynflon | Wynn's South Africa

Don't know if this is available in the UK

 

[Mudisox]

I had a felt rectangle that I saturated with silicone lube, and secured it between two sail lugs which I hoisted to the top of the mast in the track, and back down with the halyard end. Worked a treat.

 

[bob the ancient mariner]

That is a brilliant idea,I use Mclube regularly and it works,I will try the above to lubricate the whole mast track. thanks for the tip

 

[Daydream believer]

I had a felt rectangle that I saturated with silicone lube, and secured it between two sail lugs which I hoisted to the top of the mast in the track, and back down with the halyard end. Worked a treat.

I agree that this is the way to go. Just spraying silicone onto plastic sliders does not last long. I am sure that I have seen a prorietary product advertised that fits into the luff groove & cleans the groove in the mast. As the OP has new sliders, the problem is probably the groove itself or the pulley at the top.
The only issue is that the sail has to be removed from the track & if it is a big sail it can mean a 2 handed job.

 

[johnalison]

That is a brilliant idea,I use Mclube regularly and it works,I will try the above to lubricate the whole mast track. thanks for the tip

I don't know what they put into McLube Sailkote but it works better and lasts much longer than PTFE sprays or gel that I have used in the past, which makes it worth the considerable extra price.

 

[VicS]

Spray the sail track with a PTFE spray.

There are not many suppliers of PTFE spray just Google PTFE spray

The trick is to aim the spray into the track

I use a product called Wynflon for all that needs lubrication

Wynflon | Wynn's South Africa

Don't know if this is available in the UK

In the UK Screwfix and Toolstation sell silicone and ptfe dry lubricant sprays including the WD40 silicone and ptfe sprays.

Sailkote apparently contains Dupont's Krytox which itself contains ptfe

 

[Martin_J]

Ahhhhh.. I should have read the original post fully.

You say that you had new sail slides this year. Are you 100% sure they are a perfect match for the luff groove?

Some don't realise that brands like Selden make a number of different (but very, very similar looking) slides which vary depending on both luff groove width as well as section..

Details in their Sailmakers guide below, including a section on how to tell which mast section you have (if yours is a Selden spar) and how they need to be loosely coupled to the sail.

https://support.seldenmast.com/files/595-542-E.pdf

 

[graham]

Thanks for all the replies.Im sure the slides are correct as they slid up and down fine through the summer.

I bought this from Screwfix £4.75 seems to have done the trick. Also sprayed the companionway sliding hatch rails and it has made a big difference.

 

[thinwater]

In additional to all of the good advice above ...

Clean the track/groove. Wasps build nests. Atmospheric dirt accumulates. There are many tricks, mostly involving using a section of luff tape or a length of rope that is soaked in cleaner and hauled up and down the mast. I keep such a tool on the boat (mine was made from an old bolt rope type sail and two gromets) and run it up and down (main halyard on the top, tail on the bottom) several times each year, first with cleaner, and then with Sailkote. If you cannot access the mast gate, there are tricks for inserting a rag.

 

[B27]

Car wax polish with ptfe seems to work very well.
The main slides aren't a problem, but the bolt rope foot plus stackpack was quite stiff to adjust the outhaul. A bit of wax rubbed into the fabric made a difference.

 

[Daydream believer]

Car wax polish with ptfe seems to work very well.
The main slides aren't a problem, but the bolt rope foot plus stackpack was quite stiff to adjust the outhaul. A bit of wax rubbed into the fabric made a difference.

Not a great fan of wax (as in candle) as it picked up dirt

 

[yoda]

Fit a Tidesmarine track. Brilliant, simple and makes hoisting and lowering as easy as it can be.