There's stuff like 'Dry Slide' that , unlike grease, won't
attract dirt.

How exactly do you apply the paraffin wax?

Scotty


"Rich Hampel" wrote in message
...
Next time use simple paraffin wax from a candle .... just
rub it on
track and slide.
Unlike teflons with 'goo' carriers that eventually
accumlate dirt, the
simple parffin will work without any dirt sticking to it.
:-)

In article ,
Roger Long
wrote:

I found a cheap, simple, (two of my favorite words) way
to lube my
mast track today. It was one of those details that got
lost in the
launching rush and Skip pointed out how sticky my sail
was going up
and down. Oh yes, I think I forgot to mention that I
took Skip and
Lydia sailing while they were in Maine. One regular
contributor to
this group, at least, can testify that my boat isn’t
imaginary. He
actually didn’t comment on how sticky my sail was but
politely
suggested how much smoother it would come down with the
application of
some Teflon grease.

Anyway, I took one of those Scotch Brite pads that doesn
’t have a
sponge on it and cut it in half. I then put in a row of
stitching such
that, when the edges were splayed out, it formed a "T"
shape to fit
the track. Close to the stitching, I punched a piece of
marline
through and tied it into a loop. I did the same on the
other end but
left the marline untied.

Why Scotch Brite? Because it was there and, when all you
have is a
hammer, everything looks like a nail. Actually, it has a
very open
weave that holds a lot of grease.

I greased it up well, working the grease into the weave
and then
inserted it into the mast track with the loop at the
top. The halyard
shackle went into the loop. I had previously tied the
free end of the
halyard into the shackle because I wanted to be damn
sure I got the
halyard back down, whatever might jam.

Next, I put a spare sail slide into the track and tied
it closely to
the Scotch Brite. A previous attempt showed this
necessary to keep it
from popping out. A final blob of grease in the track
ahead of the pad
and I then hoisted it carefully up the mast and pulled
it back down.

Judging by how much easier it was to put the sail slides
back in the
track, it’s going to be a huge improvement.