Foil cleaning and lube

[Flyboy69]

As the soft water season is soon approaching, I'm starting to gear up my mind for spring maintenance tasks.
My question is.... What's a good way to clean up the foil tracks and then lube them for a slick sail raising when the time comes. My boat is a 1978 Oday 23 and I will guess this has never been done before due to the effort it takes to haul the sails up the foils. Oh, there is a bead sewn into the leading edge of the sails, not the little travellers so in the interest of keeping my sails white, I need some advice!!!

 

[Joe11688]

As the soft water season is soon approaching, I'm starting to gear up my mind for spring maintenance tasks.
My question is.... What's a good way to clean up the foil tracks and then lube them for a slick sail raising when the time comes. My boat is a 1978 Oday 23 and I will guess this has never been done before due to the effort it takes to haul the sails up the foils. Oh, there is a bead sewn into the leading edge of the sails, not the little travellers so in the interest of keeping my sails white, I need some advice!!!

If I'm reading this correctly, the luff on your mainsail has no sail slides or sail slugs, and it's a bear to raise the sail.
What you have on the luff of your mainsail is a sewn in bolt rope that fits into the mast track.
If this sail is good condition and worth altering, I would take it to a sail shop and have them install sail slides to the luff of the sail. I would even go one step further and have the foot of the sail made up with sail slides also. This way, you can tie off the loose sail over the boom instead of under it after you have reefed the mainsail.
The foot of the sail will also set a lot better when you pull on the sail's clew outhaul not to mention that it's going to be a lot easier and faster to put the mainsail on the boom and take it off when you have to.

The best sail track lubricant that I've found is to add a couple of drops of dish washing detergent on each sail slide. That sail will not only go up fast, but it will come down even faster when you let go of the main halyard.
After a nice rain, the soap in the mast track will clean out that track so that it's spotless and you can use your own discretion about whether to add more soap to the slides. Here's a few pics so that you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.
Joe

 

[Flyboy69]

Thanks for the reply Joe!
Yes, you've read it correctly. My sail setup is a little bit unique, with a furling main and hank on jib. There is quite a gap between the boom and the mainsail foot so I cant use slides in either place. Of course, I don't raise the main often but the jib I do. I will try the soap trick on them for sure and see how that goes. I'll post a pic of the setup soon so you can see.
Thanks again for the advice!!

 

[HukilauMike]

I agree with Joe (as usual); installing slides is the long-term solution here as he has suggested. If you don't want to do that, you can take advantage of any one of the multitudes of silicone or teflon spray lubricants to make that bolt rope slippery. Or, you can use "Sailkote", which claims to be specifically made for the marine environment and works better than silicone or teflon sprays. I have never used it, so I can't say one way or another. In any case, I can't see how any spray will work as well as installing slides. No matter which lubricant you use or how well it works, you are going to be fighting against the friction of the entire length of the sail going through the slot.

 

[Joe11688]

OK. So you have a furling Mainsail. That's different than what I have but they're supposed to be great. Alll you need now is a roller fuler for your Gennie and you'll be all set fo single handing this boat. Unless you buy an autopilot which is always good to have. I never sail without one myself.

Mike,
Give the dishwashing liquid a try this season and let me know what you think. I use Dawn for my dishes and the sail slugs.
Joe

 

[Flyboy69]

Haha Ok Joe.... as promised, here is the pic I have that shows it...

 

[Flyboy69]

And, yes it is definitely easy to get going. I just bought a Raymarine st1000 Tiller pilot that wll be one of the first things that goes on her in the spring. A furler for the headsail is the next 'big' investment. Tough to find a good used one tho and I hate the thought of spending a thousand or so on a new one... so, if anyone happens to have one for sale kicking around the boathouse, let me know...

 

[Joe11688]

And, yes it is definitely easy to get going. I just bought a Raymarine st1000 Tiller pilot that wll be one of the first things that goes on her in the spring. A furler for the headsail is the next 'big' investment. Tough to find a good used one tho and I hate the thought of spending a thousand or so on a new one... so, if anyone happens to have one for sale kicking around the boathouse, let me know...

Hey, that's cool! I like that! Easy to reef, too. You'll love the Autohelm ST 1000 +. I have one and I wouldn't sail without it.

I used a hanked on Gennie for years. I was younger back then and didn't mind the extra time and work that went into getting it set or breaking it down when it came time to anchor.
I anchor under sail a lot which means that I need to get the Gennie furled and out of my way as I drop the hook with the mainsail luffing away. The furler has been very useful in that respect.
Also, I had installed a bow anchor roller long before I bought the furler, so before I installed the CDI Roller Furler I have now, I installed a 5" tang on my bow chain plate to get the furler drum a little higher so it wouldn't interfere with anchor handling.

The Gennie needed to be re-cut but it was well worth the effort. He cut the foot of the sail so that it's more up swept for good visibility. Plus, the sail had to be converted for the furler with the tape and UV sun screen.
I think that when the time comes to buy a furler, you should buy a new one. That way, you can decide which way you want the sail to roll up, and what side you want the control line on.
My furler rolls up counter clockwise. The UV shield is on the Starboard side of the sail, and my control line is on the Starboard side of my boat which I can access near my stern rail on that side.

Do you have a UV sunshield on your Mainsail? If not, you should think about having one installed. That way, you can set it and forget it, in the same way you would for a Gennie sail on a roller furler.
Joe

 

[HukilauMike]

That looks like a foresail furler on your main! I've never seen that before.

I agree with Joe (again) about the new furler for the genny. You just don't find many used furlers on the market, and you want to get something under warranty. I have the CDI, which is probably the easiest to install and maintain. You never have to worry about halyard wrap as it has an internal halyard. This also means that once the sail is raised, its really a pain to adjust. Not a problem for us cruisers, but if you plan to race or change headsails, the CDI will not be your first choice. And the CDI is generally among the least expensive models out there. I think I have the FF4 model, which runs about $600. Figure another couple of hundred to have your sail modified with a tape, UV cover and stiffening panels, and your in!

And Joe, I have never had a big issue with sail track friction, but I am going to give the dishwashing liquid a try in the spring.

 

[Sunbird22358]

On my DS II the mainsail has a boltrope on the luff of the main (Class rules required) and I usually rub a piece of parrafin (candle?) wax up and down the luff groove on the mast each season. Works great and no mess. That might work on your furler as well.
I rarely remmember to do this before stepping the mast, so usually only do as high as I can reach, but it still makes a difference.....the boltrope probably drags the wax up the groove.