[Public-list] sail track

[Gordon Laco]

I agree!

And I forgot to mention the worst consequence of needless holes in an
aluminium mast... Mysterious whistling and howling in the wind!  I have a
friend who put a Kirby 30 mast into his wooden boat after losing his spruce
stick... He noticed that the alum stick was really noisy and went on a
program of taping the holes until he silenced 'the ghost'.

Gord





> Would suggest you drill and tap the old holes and install machine screws
> with the new track - Schaeffer makes Sail slide 7/8ths track. If the holes
> don't align then drill holes in to the new track and align them to the old
> holes - drilled & tapped SS machine screws is better than rivets.
> 
> Slow job for sure but a quality end result - with the higher track loading
> of full batten mains it is the way Klacko Spars recommends.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> John
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael Connolly" <crufone at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all" <public-list at alberg30.org>
> Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2005 10:49 AM
> Subject: RE: [Public-list] sail track
> 
> 
>> John,
>> Your concern should be to NOT drill any more holes in the mast to replace
>> the sail track!!!!  Find out what they used to fill the holes.
>> Fortunately, you have the old track to use as a template to locate the
>> original holes.  You will need to be very careful to determine the
>> sequence of the original pieces of sail track.  Then find the last hole at
>> either end and carefully relocate the original holes.  Either straighten
>> the original track and reinstall or use the original track as a template
>> again to drill
>> holes in your new track.
>> 
>> My concerns would be you don't want to weaken the mast by drilling another
>> set of holes.  If the holes were filled with some nonstructural filler,
>> i.e., resin then if you drilled a new set of holes helter skelter you
>> might drill the new hole partially into the diameter of the old hole and
>> the holding power of the fastener will be severely undermined. If the yard
>> guys were careful in drilling out the old rivets then the BEST solution
>> would be to go back into the original holes with the original size rivets.
>> If the yard guys were careless and oversized the original holes then the
>> SECOND BEST solution would be to use the next size larger fastener into
>> the now oversized hole.  You then need to be cautious to size the head of
>> the fastener so that it will not jam in the sail slide.
>> 
>> You might be able to determine where the original holes are located under
>> the new paint by taking a light and placing at one end of the mast and
>> then looking down the mast toward the light. It would be better to do this
>> at dark.  The 'raking light' might show the filled holes as darker
>> dimples. Once located, use a drill smaller than the hole to locate each
>> hole.  Then use a countersink to open the hole and carefully cut away the
>> new paint to just slightly larger that the original sized hole, only at
>> the sur
>> face!!!  If you carefully rock the countersink in a circular motion as you
>> enlarge the hole it will normally center itself in the hole and not mess
>> up the new paint around the hole. Then go back with the proper sized drill
>> for the fastener you intend to use to open the hole thru the mast.
>> 
>> These guys did you no good service by filling the holes prior to
>> repainting.
>> 
>> If the yard welded the original holes closed, then you can throw away the
>> mast or use it for a flag pole because via the welding and heat they have
>> ruined the temper of the Aluminum.
>> 
>> Good Luck,
>> 
>> Michael
>> 
>> "Budington, Jonathan" <jon at globalprintinginc.com> wrote:
>> The track was damaged when it was removed (bent) and the holes in the mast
>> were filled before it was painted. I have the sail track and planned to
>> put
>> it back on - the person who replaced the rigging told me I should replace
>> the sale track.
>> 
>> Jon
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: George Dinwiddie [mailto:gdinwiddie at alberg30.org]
>> Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2005 9:16 AM
>> To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
>> Subject: [Public-list] sail track
>> 
>> 
>> Budington, Jonathan wrote:
>>> One thing I do need to do is replace my sail track. The mast was painted,
>>> and they didn't do a great job removing the old one. Any suggestions?
>> 
>> It's hard to make suggestions when I don't know what is the problem.
>> The sail track is normally pop-riveted to the mast.
>> 
>> Did they damage the old sail track in removing it? Is that the problem?
>> 
>> - George
>> 
>> -- 
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> When I remember bygone days George Dinwiddie
>> I think how evening follows morn; gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
>> So many I loved were not yet dead, http://www.Alberg30.org
>> So many I love were not yet born.
>> 'The Middle' by Ogden Nash
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> 
>> 
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