Bending the mainsail onto boom and mast is no longer smoothe... I have both Silicone and PTFE spray... is either of these a better choice for mast/boom tracks, sail slugs, and bolt rope?
Mast Track & Slugs, lubrication
- Thread starter billder99
- Start date
Thanks Kappy, I'll make it so... with an ice cold Bohemia Oscuro.Okay. I'd try PTFE then.
Hi Dave,
As far as I know, both silicon and PTFE are categorized as dry lubricants.... is that correct?
BD
I think it depends on how it is delivered, what kind of vehicle is used and how quickly it will evaporate and will it leave a residue. In general I try to avoid silicone on the boat.
Search the Practical Sailor archives for suggestions on how to clean mast tracks. Sometimes just a good cleaning will work best. Between salt, spiders, and dirt the tracks can get clogged up.
Search the Practical Sailor archives for suggestions on how to clean mast tracks. Sometimes just a good cleaning will work best. Between salt, spiders, and dirt the tracks can get clogged up.
After your recommendation of PFTE, I looked up PFTE spray vs Silicone spray (should have done that in the first place!)... I found a good article comparing uses of silicone, PFTE, WD40, and White Lithium... it's not about using them on boats, but good descriptions of how they differ and the types of uses they are designed for... scroll all the way down, lot's of useful info.
Liquid dish soap....
Edit: not kidding about this, I use Dawn.
A sailor I've know for 30+ years turned me on to this.
I even put it on the luff tape when hoisting the head sail into the foil. Whenever I release the halyard the sails drop like an anchor.
Edit: not kidding about this, I use Dawn.
A sailor I've know for 30+ years turned me on to this.
I even put it on the luff tape when hoisting the head sail into the foil. Whenever I release the halyard the sails drop like an anchor.
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jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,746
I wonder... when it rains on your boat does you gooseneck foam like a rabid dog?
I would think soap surfactants would be sticky as they dry over time.
Thank God for rain!
We're not washing dishes. A little goes a long way.
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Before I installed a nylon sail track on our boat I used to use two sail slugs with some Scotch-Brite pad trapped between them to run up and down the mask track to clean it out. The halyard was attached to the upper slug and a tag line was attached to the lower slug with a small line to connect the slugs together. Although I did not use dish soap and some water to moisten the Scotch-Brite that probably would have helped with the cleaning. Once I got the track clean I would replace the Scotch-Brite with a small piece of rag that I soaked in PTFE and ran that up and down the track to lubricate it. Although that worked well enough to haul the main to the top of the mast by hand it was not a long-lasting solution. The nylon mast track solved all those problems.