Mast Rack Extension

[Stemar]

Mast Track Extension

my Snapdragon 24's mast has a track for the main that widens out to accept the gooseneck track and, incidentally to allow the slides out. With the new main, I need to lower the gooseneck, which means there's a big gap between the R clip that holds the sliders in the track and the gooseneck track, meaning the sail takes up more room than necessary when furled and also means it doesn't reef as neatly as I'd like.

I have a cunning plan to make a track extension that will allow the sail to slide much further down. It would be a piece of wood, routed to make the bottom of the track and some ally strip to make the sides. The wood would be treated with a patio furniture oil that I use with success on my handrails, but once installed, would be pretty much inaccessible.

Obviously, it'll need to be matched carefully to the existing track entry and I'll have to have a way of getting the slides out of the bottom, but can anyone see any major problems?

I have some spare oak floorboard of suitable thickness. Any reason not to use it? Otherwise, I have some "mahogany" (not sure what it really is, but dark red), but this would need more work to get a piece of the right size.

Thanks in advance.

 

[William_H]

I can appreciate the problem. It may be that the track in the mast has been bent to open up the track. It may be possible to bend it back again especially if you applyu a bit of heat to the ali. I think you can get chalks that change colour with heat to help you know when it is hot enough. If the ali has been cut away then I would be thinking about riveting ali strip to the sides to make the track sides aligned again. Another alternative would be to cut the slugs off and go bolt rope into mast. Certainly makes reefing easier and sail sits close to the boom but then you might need a different shaped sail cover. (I have always preferred bolt rope into mast no slugs).
However for all that your plan seems OK if it all aligns well. Good luck and keep your head down with that lower boom. olewill

 

[SteveTibbetts]

I have similar problem on my snappie and I'm still on the lookout for a cheap short length of caravan awning track to play with. I think it would only need shaping at the ends and riveting to the mast.

 

[Fantasie 19]

It's a common problem on a lot of boats.... mast tracks that were originally designed for bolt ropes don't handle sail slides easily... I have the same problem so I'm keen to see your solution....

 

[Stemar]

It's designed that way. The sail track comes down to around 18" from the bottom of the mast then opens up to around 1 1/2" wide to take a track that the gooseneck fits on. There's a 10" gap between where the track widens to the gooseneck track, so Plan A is to make a filler that long, shaped to match the widening of the sail track, with the bottom inch or so open to allow the slides out when necessary.

With the new sail I'm hoping the boom will still be higher at the brain removing end that with the saggy old main.