E39 Genoa Track

[boatboy]

Anyone here familiar with how the genoa track is attached to the toerail of a 39? Guy? My suspicion is that the toerail is just a piece of fiberglassed wood, and the track is held in place with big honkin' wood screws. With the liner in place inside the cabin, I cannot see any sign of through bolting. Is it possible that just wood screws would have a strong enough hold for this purpose?

I would like to add some more track forward of where the current track ends. This would be used for our new stay sail while reaching. If I am correct in how it is attached, it should be pretty simple. If it is through bolted and I have to rip open the liner, I am not so anxious to do that.

Second follow-up question. Does anyone know where in the SF Bay area I can get jib track that is bent to match the curve of my toerail?

 

[Guy Stevens]

Fiberglass, and thru bolted

No wood screws involved in the original installation, the block is all figerglass, and that piece of stainless steel is thru bolted thru it. You can see all of this if you go into either of the cockpit lockers and look up.....

Generally you are going to want the staysail track to be further in than on the rail. It doesn't seem like it would make all that much difference, however it does. You can get the aluminum t-track bent at svendsons, they have the dies for it.

I would get the track offered by Garhauer for the staysail track, especially if you are going to add it to the front of the existing track. A number of other manufactures have started to put nubs on the bottom of their track purposely to prevent the use of competitors bearing genoa cars. The best by far of these are Garhauers Ez-Glide cars.

M asked for them for her birthday one year, I had them imported into NZ, and wished that I had installed them 3 years or more earlier. To say that they made the right sail shape easier, would be a gross understatement. M loved them..... I loved them, they just worked awesome.....

Call me if you have more questions, you have the number I believe.

Guy

 

[Glyn Judson]

Dear boat boy, I replaced two lengths of almost 12 feet of 1 inch aluminum track with 1 1/4 inch bronze a few years ago on our E31 and asked the same question at the time. I ended up talking the the folks who build the Lyle Hess designed Falmouth and Bristol Channel cutters who told me that you don't need to have the track prebent at all. This, despite several nay sayers who said I'd absolutely have to prebend them. So this fellow at the Samuel L. Morse Company told me to simply insert the first fastener at one end, move the track over the second attachment hole, insert that fastener and as I worked my way along, simply persuade the track into alignment with the holes in the toe rail. For insurance, I bought 13 feet of track so as to have a handle for leverage. It worked just as he said and in the course of conversation I learned that bending aluminum is even easier that way than bending bronze. When it came to cutting off the excess, I inserted a single thickness of a flattned soup can under the point where I was to make my cut so as to protect the teak toe rail and everything went as planned. Go for it and good luck through bolting. Glyn

 

[boatboy]

Thanks for the info. Just to clarify things, I want this outside track just for use while reaching. I did install a short length of track on deck right near where the cabin house raises, but that is only good for close hauled or a high close reach. Falling off beyond that point the sheet bends against the forward lower shroud.