[Public-List] Main Sail Track Fasetening (aka fastening)

[David Tessier]

Michael,

   I too have considered how I might re-attach my track (should I ever remove it) so as to give me maximum peace of mind on some future passage.  A close read of your post indicates that you, like me, may be a bit, well, fanatical.  I have an excuse in the 6-month long winters up here in Canada when our A30 is on the hard and my heart yearns to sail.  What is your excuse? In the therapeutic spirit of full public disclosure I offer the following related possibilities...

   a) threaded backing plates: consider threading suitably thick stainless steel backing plates and placing them inside the mast in order to secure the sail track thereto.  The question of how to get the plates in there has many answers, some trivial.  But the length of each backing plate (or equivalently the choice of the number of threaded holed in each backing plate) needs some thought in relation to tolerances, especially when retro-fitting to existing holes.

   b) backing plates with attached nylok nuts: consider using s.s. backing plates to which nylok nuts have been welded.  I used this approach to attach a custom mast bracket when I fixed the position of my gooseneck.  I was discussing approach a) with the good folks at Garhauer and they suggested that they could probably weld nylok nuts to s.s. while retaining the locking functionality of the of the plastic insert.  I used two backing plates each with 4 holes/attached_nuts.  Note that the backing plate thickness in this case can be less than that in a) since the attached nuts provide the requisite number of threads for secure fastening. Please give me a shout offline if you would like to see a pic of option b) as applied to my custom gooseneck bracket.

   Negative attributes of using backing plates as in methods a) and b) might include:

- tedious/costly to fabticate and install

- making repairs underway (e.g., without unstepping the mast) when a machine screw shears off

- additional weight aloft

Positive attributes might include:

+ peace of mind?

+ making repairs underway when a machine screw shears off, provided each backing plate has more that 2 or 3 holes/nuts

 

BTW, If I were to opt for tapping holes in the mast, I would tap each one lovingly by hand, in the traditional way,  (but perhaps using a jig to keep the tool dead square) and definitely not with a drill to form the threads.

 

 

Cheers,

 

David

P.s.: We have a plastic "Strong Track" over our metal sail track which makes the sail slides slide extremely smoothly.

 

> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:10:14 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Michael Taylor <m_tayau at yahoo.com.au>
> To: public-list at lists.alberg30.org
> Subject: [Public-List] Main Sail Track Fasetening
> Message-ID: <887750.90636.qm at web31705.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> After painting the mast I am putting the main sail track back onto the mast.? I see that some have tapped each of the existing holes to replace the rivets with machine screws.??? The track is stainless 7/8" with 3/16th holes drilled.? The next drill size up will just clean out the existing mast holes and leave sufficient room to thread either 1/4 inch or 6mm machine screws.
> 
> Having got a sample of machine screws with various heads it seems that the heads are too big for the existing sail track (they don't seat at the base of the track).? I assume that the only way to use machine screws is to either change the sail track or drill new holes which I'm not prepared to do.
> 
> If I can't use machine screws it will be back to aluminum rivets with a steel mandrel as I've found strainless very difficult to remove - and install.
> 
> Have I missed something with machine screw fitting here?
> 
> thanks
> 
> Mick 
> 
> #231
> 
> 
> 

 		 	   		  
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