Curious as to what you all might recommend to lubricate sail tracks on masts and booms, etc., etc.
Thanx
Thanx
Sail track lubricant
- Thread starter gary
- Start date
Elmers Dry Lube or McLube
Elmer's E450 Slide-All Dry Spray Lubricant 4-Ounce (about $7)
McLube SailKote (about $15)
Elmer's E450 Slide-All Dry Spray Lubricant 4-Ounce (about $7)
McLube SailKote (about $15)
I'd recommend nothing. It is not like you are sliding pistons in cylinders at 1000 feet/second. Not a lot of friction here.
Keep them clean (rain) and you should be good to go.
Keep them clean (rain) and you should be good to go.
I totally agree, I waxed mine once and it gave me years of trouble and stiction. The less you mess the better you will be.:dance:
I don't use any lube. I just keep it clean. Lube can attract all manner of dust and dirt making it worse.
I take our halyard and attach a down-haul line to it and also attach a small wet rag and insert part of it in the track and then run it up and down a few times. It will pick up dirt and grime and clean the track. I do not use any lubricants in the track itself but will spray a dry lubricant on the slugs. I probably do it twice in a year and works for me.
By far, the best improvement I've made to my boat was a coat of Teflon dry lube on the sail slugs. I used whatever Lowes was selling at the time. It has not attracted any dirt or grime whatsoever.
I agree that wet or waxy lubricants should be avoided, but I don't have any experience with them on a sailboat. They are certainly a nightmare on a mountain bike chain, which is where I learned the magic of dry lubes.
I agree that wet or waxy lubricants should be avoided, but I don't have any experience with them on a sailboat. They are certainly a nightmare on a mountain bike chain, which is where I learned the magic of dry lubes.
I found this in a post by Strider about 3 or 4 years ago for a device to lube the track on the mast and made one. It works great. I run it up the mast at the start of the season and spray the track - it lasts all year.
http://www.cruisingonstrider.us/TrackLube.htm
http://www.cruisingonstrider.us/TrackLube.htm
I use McLube for sails with bolt rope and a tight track -- otherwise if you've got lugs running into the track, just keep it clean and make sure the lugs are in good condition
