On Sat, 2 Aug 2008 08:51:10 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

WD-40 has a reaction with salt water that makes a sticky mess. You may get
away with it up in the rig on a coastal boat where it's mostly rained on.
McLube seems to be the best. It's probably something common repackaged and
repriced but I havent' figured out what yet and it isn't expensive enough to
worry about.

Roger,

I like your idea and am going to pinch it (copy) but have never heard
of "McLube". Does Napa carry it?

Also, til now I have been using silicon spray which doesn't last a;;
that long. How does your McLube compare with silicon?

regards
Peter

"Herodotus" wrote

Also, til now I have been using silicon spray which doesn't last a;;
that long. How does your McLube compare with silicon?


I haven't done any comparisons. McLube is available from both West and
Hamilton Marine and is a rigging specific product. It may just be dry
silicone spray but my impression is that it leaves much more of a white
residue than the dry silicone spray I used a lot of on aircraft. It may be
specially formulated to stand up better in the marine environment. I use it
on my jib foils and the sail dropped like it wasn't attached to anything.
It lasted full season with my old main last year but the bronze slides on
the two full length battens wore the paint out of the sail track and took
the lube with it.

--
Roger Long

On Aug 2, 12:30 pm, "Roger Long" wrote:
"Herodotus" wrote

Also, til now I have been using silicon spray which doesn't last a;;
that long. How does your McLube compare with silicon?

I haven't done any comparisons. McLube is available from both West and
Hamilton Marine and is a rigging specific product. It may just be dry
silicone spray but my impression is that it leaves much more of a white
residue than the dry silicone spray I used a lot of on aircraft. It may be
specially formulated to stand up better in the marine environment. I use it
on my jib foils and the sail dropped like it wasn't attached to anything.
It lasted full season with my old main last year but the bronze slides on
the two full length battens wore the paint out of the sail track and took
the lube with it.

--
Roger Long

Roger:

It wouldnt take much to get a metal shop to make some cheapo
prototypes and you could sell em at sailing shows to finance your
cruising. You wouldnt make a lot but might pay for the trip to the
shows. I also doubt that a patent would pay for itself.

Roger Long wrote:
Someone asked here quite a while ago about a sail track lubricator
that could be sent up and down the mast to spray dry lube into the
track. I found myself in need of such a device so I built one.

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/TrackLube.htm

Took about 15 minutes to make and worked perfectly. Sail now zips up
and down freely again.

From my very distant memories of childrens' playground slides, candlewax is
the best metal-to-plastic or metal-to-seat-of-pants lubricant. Pity we can't
make sail slides out of same! Try it on your obstinate zip fasteners.

Dennis.

On Mon, 4 Aug 2008 19:44:13 +0100, "Dennis Pogson"
wrote:

From my very distant memories of childrens' playground slides, candlewax is
the best metal-to-plastic or metal-to-seat-of-pants lubricant. Pity we can't
make sail slides out of same! Try it on your obstinate zip fasteners.

There are at least two kinds of wax used for candles, the kind from
petroleum and the kind from bees. Paraffin, from oil, is a better lube
for playground slides, zippers, and many applications. Bees wax is
somewhat sticky, but it makes better candles.

Casady