Question for the collective wisdom of the board. I am considering the purchase of a 98% headsail for my Hunter 28.5, however, My old 110 headsail was properly trimmed with the jib car completely forward on the track. Thus, the track forward track limit will likely not be sufficient for a 98% headsail and I am considering installation of short tracks more forward and more amidship(don't have to worry about the spreaders anymore since sail is non-overlapping so I might as well have the cars more inboard to facilitate pointing as long as I don't crowd the main---I think). Has anyone added track? Does anyone know how much added support to the deck undersides would be required? Is it safely feasable at all? Any responses will be appreciated. Thanks, Ken Matejka
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New Tracks
Ken I assume the old tracks haven't pulled out yet. Since they still work, why not just duplicate how they are installed? Stu
Ken I assume the old tracks haven't pulled out yet. Since they still work, why not just duplicate how they are installed? Stu
Installing tracks
I installed 4 ft long tracks last year on my trusty H23. It wasn't hard, but it was time consuming. Here's the process in a nutshell: a) Tape the track securely to the deck b) mark all the holes, including a hole at each end for the track end-stop. c) drill the holes. If your deck is cored, drill the holes at least 1/4-inch larger than the diameter of the fasteners you will use to bolt the track down d) seal the holes from underneath with a dab of caulk. Don't overdo it. Tape won't work (I have cured epoxy drips in my carpeting overhead to prove it) e) when the caulk has cured (at least 24 hr later, fill the holes with epoxy from above. This will seal the wood core of your deck from water in case the future caulking ever fails. West System or Epiglass is best. You want to give the epoxy some time to soak into the wood. Do't be surprised if you have to top up some of the holes before the epoxy begins to set f) When the epoxy has cured, retape the track to the deck and drill small pilot holes, then remove track and finish drilling holes all the way through. Do NOT through-drill the holes for the track end-stops. g) Clean up drilling mess, mask off deck next to track, mask off the entire track except for the mounting surface underneath and the holes on top for the bolts. Mask off track end-stops. h) lay beads of your favorite caulk on deck around mounting holes. I used LifeCaulk simply because I had a lot of it laying around. 3M 5200 is probably better because the track is not going to move. Push the bolts in. Tighten the nuts finger-tight. i) have a cold beer (you earned it!) j) when caulk gets tacky, remove masking tape. If you do this right you will have NOTHING else to clean up k) when the caulk has cured, tighten nuts uniformly to compress caulk. l) fasten track end stops to deck with self-tapping screws in pilot holes. This will allow you to replace end-stops single-handed in less than ten minutes when they break in the future. m) go sailing Peter H23 "Raven"
I installed 4 ft long tracks last year on my trusty H23. It wasn't hard, but it was time consuming. Here's the process in a nutshell: a) Tape the track securely to the deck b) mark all the holes, including a hole at each end for the track end-stop. c) drill the holes. If your deck is cored, drill the holes at least 1/4-inch larger than the diameter of the fasteners you will use to bolt the track down d) seal the holes from underneath with a dab of caulk. Don't overdo it. Tape won't work (I have cured epoxy drips in my carpeting overhead to prove it) e) when the caulk has cured (at least 24 hr later, fill the holes with epoxy from above. This will seal the wood core of your deck from water in case the future caulking ever fails. West System or Epiglass is best. You want to give the epoxy some time to soak into the wood. Do't be surprised if you have to top up some of the holes before the epoxy begins to set f) When the epoxy has cured, retape the track to the deck and drill small pilot holes, then remove track and finish drilling holes all the way through. Do NOT through-drill the holes for the track end-stops. g) Clean up drilling mess, mask off deck next to track, mask off the entire track except for the mounting surface underneath and the holes on top for the bolts. Mask off track end-stops. h) lay beads of your favorite caulk on deck around mounting holes. I used LifeCaulk simply because I had a lot of it laying around. 3M 5200 is probably better because the track is not going to move. Push the bolts in. Tighten the nuts finger-tight. i) have a cold beer (you earned it!) j) when caulk gets tacky, remove masking tape. If you do this right you will have NOTHING else to clean up k) when the caulk has cured, tighten nuts uniformly to compress caulk. l) fasten track end stops to deck with self-tapping screws in pilot holes. This will allow you to replace end-stops single-handed in less than ten minutes when they break in the future. m) go sailing Peter H23 "Raven"
I'd wait until I got my sail.
Ken: I'd wait until I got my new sail. Depending on the cut of the sail you may find that it works fine. If you decide to add a track, be sure that you do it properly. You need to drill holes through the top layer and the core. This hole should be at least 2 times the size of the bolts that you may be using (probably 1/4" bolts). Then you need to fill these holes with epoxy. Then drill you holes to the correct size. Be sure that you caulk with a good removable sealant like 4200, Lifecaulk etc.
Ken: I'd wait until I got my new sail. Depending on the cut of the sail you may find that it works fine. If you decide to add a track, be sure that you do it properly. You need to drill holes through the top layer and the core. This hole should be at least 2 times the size of the bolts that you may be using (probably 1/4" bolts). Then you need to fill these holes with epoxy. Then drill you holes to the correct size. Be sure that you caulk with a good removable sealant like 4200, Lifecaulk etc.
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