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.

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.

Initial application is by rubbing in as much as you can do, then simply
'whittling' a slug sized shape out of the paraffin and putting it
between the first two slugs (usually on the headboard). When raising
and lowering the sail the 'wax' slug continually applies wax.

For a track that doenst use slugs but just a boltrop, simply rub on the
boltrope every now and then.

Get out the way when the sail drops as there will be very little
friction.
What happens with a well lubed track is that tension applied by the
halyard, cunningham or sliging gooseneck wont be 'altered' by track
friction ... and the middle of the sail will be easier to 'shape' via
control tension. If the track remains dirty/sticky, the friction
consumes a portion of the tension .... and the sail remains full or
draft aft in the middle of the panels. If the slugs or boltrope is
free to adjust, then the sail setting/shaping will be better.

In article , Scotty
wrote:

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.

I ran a slab of candlewax up the anodized mast yesterday. The
outside air was 100F
and in the Sun, the wax melted immediatedly in the slide.

But I have yet to test the results. The plastic slugs were catching,
no doubt - so that when approaching the dock on Saturday,
the main sail was very slow coming down - not the way it's done in
Bristol, certainly.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 15:59:20 GMT, Rich Hampel
wrote:

Initial application is by rubbing in as much as you can do, then simply
'whittling' a slug sized shape out of the paraffin and putting it
between the first two slugs (usually on the headboard). When raising
and lowering the sail the 'wax' slug continually applies wax.

For a track that doenst use slugs but just a boltrop, simply rub on the
boltrope every now and then.

Get out the way when the sail drops as there will be very little
friction.
What happens with a well lubed track is that tension applied by the
halyard, cunningham or sliging gooseneck wont be 'altered' by track
friction ... and the middle of the sail will be easier to 'shape' via
control tension. If the track remains dirty/sticky, the friction
consumes a portion of the tension .... and the sail remains full or
draft aft in the middle of the panels. If the slugs or boltrope is
free to adjust, then the sail setting/shaping will be better.

In article , Scotty
wrote:

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.

Okay, thanks.

SV


"Rich Hampel" wrote in message
...
Initial application is by rubbing in as much as you can
do, then simply
'whittling' a slug sized shape out of the paraffin and
putting it
between the first two slugs (usually on the headboard).
When raising
and lowering the sail the 'wax' slug continually applies
wax.

For a track that doenst use slugs but just a boltrop,
simply rub on the
boltrope every now and then.

Get out the way when the sail drops as there will be very
little
friction.
What happens with a well lubed track is that tension
applied by the
halyard, cunningham or sliging gooseneck wont be 'altered'
by track
friction ... and the middle of the sail will be easier to
'shape' via
control tension. If the track remains dirty/sticky, the
friction
consumes a portion of the tension .... and the sail
remains full or
draft aft in the middle of the panels. If the slugs or
boltrope is
free to adjust, then the sail setting/shaping will be
better.

In article ,
Scotty
wrote:

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.

Rich Hampel wrote:
Initial application is by rubbing in as much as you can do, then simply
'whittling' a slug sized shape out of the paraffin and putting it
between the first two slugs (usually on the headboard). When raising
and lowering the sail the 'wax' slug continually applies wax.

For a track that doenst use slugs but just a boltrop, simply rub on the
boltrope every now and then.

Get out the way when the sail drops as there will be very little
friction.
What happens with a well lubed track is that tension applied by the
halyard, cunningham or sliging gooseneck wont be 'altered' by track
friction ... and the middle of the sail will be easier to 'shape' via
control tension. If the track remains dirty/sticky, the friction
consumes a portion of the tension .... and the sail remains full or
draft aft in the middle of the panels. If the slugs or boltrope is
free to adjust, then the sail setting/shaping will be better.

In article , Scotty
wrote:



This is a really slick (oops - pun) idea!

I will try it out immediately

bob
s/v Eolian
Seattle