Strongtrack (TidesMarine) question

[areisenweb]

Tides Marine SailTrack system (year 2015, E 32-3)

I installed over Christmas. My mainsail always went up pretty well until the last ten feet. Then I need the winch. It never dropped easily, and I usually had to go to the cabin house to haul it down, an annoyance in harbor and inconvenient when reefing in a breeze.

The SailTrack is an easy installation and it does look pretty yar. Enlargement of the luff gate is usually necessary, but easy enough to do. The new external track mounts in the original and looks like it has always been there. The kit comes with new luff slides, which may require a sailmaker to install.

I'd say the sail goes up easier--but I still need the winch for the last few feet. It does drop like a falling piano, which is nice. Overall, a necessary improvement. After 5,000 miles this simple upgrade is one of the best changes I've ever made to a sailboat.

Christian,

Did you unstep the mast to add the sail track?

Andrew

 

[Christian Williams]

No, certainly not. The new track feeds up the old one, takes about an hour.

 

[ConchyDug]

I've read through several Tides mainsail track installs and haven't seen anybody face this issue yet on an E38.

So I have a sail track within a sail track(track-ception)... I've attached photos. My question is has anybody removed one of these tracks?

I want to install a tides marine track but don't want 3 mainsail tracks stacked up like some kind of hardware lasagna. The current inserted channel track is very stiff and notching the mast track with a Dremel then trying to pull it out seems impossible. Also pulling it out the top through the masthead isn't an option as you can see from the photo. I honestly have no idea how they got this track on without welding the gooseneck or masthead crane after it was installed.

My plan B is to loctite the track screws and learn to live with a mainsail that may or may not douse when asked. I have had the mainsail jam 2/3s of the way up the mast offshore and I had to go up to unjam the slug that was hung on a screw.

If anybody has experience or knowledge with this track system that would great!

 

[goldenstate]

I've read through several Tides mainsail track installs and haven't seen anybody face this issue yet on an E38.

So I have a sail track within a sail track(track-ception)... I've attached photos. My question is has anybody removed one of these tracks?

I want to install a tides marine track but don't want 3 mainsail tracks stacked up like some kind of hardware lasagna. The current inserted channel track is very stiff and notching the mast track with a Dremel then trying to pull it out seems impossible. Also pulling it out the top through the masthead isn't an option as you can see from the photo. I honestly have no idea how they got this track on without welding the gooseneck or masthead crane after it was installed.

My plan B is to loctite the track screws and learn to live with a mainsail that may or may not douse when asked. I have had the mainsail jam 2/3s of the way up the mast offshore and I had to go up to unjam the slug that was hung on a screw.

If anybody has experience or knowledge with this track system that would great!View attachment 45629View attachment 45630View attachment 45631View attachment 45632View attachment 45633

That does seem like a pain in the neck.

As you mention, if you pulled the mast with a crane, you could presumably slide the track out of the bottom of the mast if the extrusion form is continuous at the base. Perhaps that's how it was originally installed.

 

[Christian Williams]

Conchy, what mast brand is it? Doesn't look like a Kenyon as it doesn't seem tapered.

Is possible the track is original equipment?

 

[ConchyDug]

I'm pretty sure it's a Kenyon, has the taper starting around the upper spreaders.

I'm not sure how clear the photo is from this crap angle.

I agree it's either OEM or somebody removed the gooseneck tang and rewelded it back on, after the track was slid up the extrusion. It's the 11th 38 so maybe this was an add on feature in 1980?

It has maybe 10 screws along the track but they only hold the track vertically in the mast track extrusion.

Maybe the blue or even the red loctite might be the better route? Then beveling the track slugs some so they don't hang up on the screw heads so easy?