So, it's a stainless steel track, which had been held to the boom with
SS self-tapping screws. About half of them broke on removal, making
the job of filling the holes easier, as there weren't as many of them :
{))

The track had a strip of red plastic between it and the boom, but it
didn't fully keep corrosion at bay in that area. Of course, that's
nearly 30 years ago, and horizontal. I suspect that the vertical
installation on the mast may have slightly different results.

Meanwhile, the speculation about the SS rivets being stronger is an
order-of-magnitude difference. I had to buy a new gun, as the spikes
in the SS rivets we used to fix our railings (see my log post coming
soon on that subject) are so strong (needed to pull the much harder SS
rivet material in, and the bond/pull a notable improvement over the
setscrews, let alone whether they'd hold better) that it broke the
"normal" gun(s) I'd had. I gave them away (still ok for aluminum
rivets) to a fellow cruiser, one of the angels mentioned in my log
posting.

OTOH, filling the holes in the boom with aluminum rivets was a piece
of cake, by comparison. Those who have seen me wield tools have
commented on my strength. It took all I had, with both hands, to pop
the studs. That suffices to say that SS rivets will be lots stronger :
{))

Further, the track is SS, and so would not have that area of
corrosion, and as tight as the bond is, I speculate that the holes
will be entirely waterproof, slowing any potential corrosion. Yet, I
hear the arguments loud and clear, and had considered them myself. I
think that the potential for corrosion at the mast level, rather than
at the track level (as would be the case if I used aluminum rivets),
let alone the strength differences (this will be, after all, a trysail
track, by definition subject to huge loading), is preferable, so I'll
be using SS rivets (I bought 250 in the box from Grainger, so I have
enough left from my railing project) to attach it.

However, the jury's still out about what I'll use - if anything - for
isolation. The plastic tape under the track didn't survive the
removal; some of it stuck to the boom, so I don't have that barrier.
I'll also, perhaps, want to do something about the mast and rivet
location. I've used LocTite blue on all other aluminum-SS joints on
the boat, so far, and for the very few I've had to remove, they've
come out without a fuss. Of course, it might be different 20 years
from now, but hoonose? As to the trysail track, I'd have to drill the
rivets out to remove it anyway, but I'd just as soon not have the
corrosion if I could avoid it.

Thanks for the discussion. As to simplifying the boat, while I
recognize that many think we've got an overloaded pleasure barge, this
addition is strictly a safety one, and pretty much attention free once
installed. As to the rest of the goodies aboard, we're slowly chasing
down the bugs and exterminating them. My logs are starting to sound
like Lydia's :{)) with nothing to talk about other than wind or no
wind, and visitors offshore!

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
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