Inexpensive fix for sail track damage

[bruce]

Many Mastendr owners have been faced with repairing damage to the sail track from lowering the mast before the boom and gaff were lowered below the hinge onto the mast stub. Typically, the track is spread, above and possibly below the hinge, as the gooseneck slide attached to the spar is levered out of the track. Now, slides and sail slugs fall out of the track where damaged, never helpful when raising or dousing the sail.

Generally, the track can be reformed with simple techniques for working cold metal, and the track will be fine. There isn't a lot of stress on the track in normal use, and there is plenty of slop anyway, so tolerances aren't critical. However, if the track is cracked, possibly from repeated damage to this area, some reinforcement may be necessary. Com-Pac sells SS bars to screw along either side of the damaged track section. These are intended to reinforce the track, but the slides and slugs still ride on the original, reformed track. In some cases, sections of the track have broken off, and the gaps must be filled before the track is serviceable. At some point, replacement of the mast, and/or stub, might be considered. Dwyer Provides the masts for Com-Pac. The mast for a Sun Cat, above the hinge, is 18' 4.5" @ $29.40/ft. That's $541. Shipping won't be cheap.

I fellow PC owner, Andy, had a great idea. Flip the mast end for end. You'll have to remove and reinstall all of the fittings, as you would above, but now the damaged section of track is at the top of the mast where it isn't in play. There'll be extra holes to contend with, it's not a fix for everyone. I told Andy he needed a catchy name for the idea. I'll offer Andy's Flip until I hear back from him!