Tore out thread for sail track mounting

[cawinter]

I have to finally deal with a pesky problem that has been around for a while: I have a problem with sail slides getting stuck on the joint between the lower two sections of the sail track in the mast, just below the first spreader. The bottom section is held in by a screw (#10 1 1/4 machine flat-head) but the upper section lost its screw (thread torn out in the back, i.e., mast). The upper track tends to move around enough to create a lip that catches my top two full-batten slip sliders. I will try to use a larger screw (hey, try finding a #12 around here. I'll try an M6 but I may have to go to a 1/4") but I am afraid of a possible cable conduit behind the hole in the extrusion that I might drill into. Age becoming an issue, I forgot where the cables are running...

Any thoughts? Fortunately, there is only one other joint up by the second spreader.

 

[rwthomas1]

Going to a larger screw is the correct solution IF there is enough clearance on the inside of the mast and also enough in the sail track so that the slides clear the head of the screw. Checking the depth of the existing hole and beyond it will tell you how careful you need to be regarding wiring, etc. If there is enough meat/thickness to the mast wall where the screw passes through then another option may be a HeliCoil insert. This would effectively repair the damage and also allow use of the correct sized screw if the size of the head is critical. RT

 

[sleather]

You may have to drill and countersink a "new" hole in the track. Countersinking at the existing hole, for a larger screw head, may actually remove mast material as well, so that the larger screw won't hold. Hard to say w/o "being there".

 

[rwthomas1]

Steve makes a good point. I was under the impression that the screw HAD to be in that location. If the screw can be anywhere in the track then just move up or down an inch or so and start from scratch. RT

 

[sleather]

Chris, Is the mast up or down?

Regarding using the same hole. If you back off 2-4 screws above that point and hold the track ~1/4" free of the mast, you could still try the larger screw at the same location. The additional clearance should allow for the larger countersink.

 

[treilley]

You can probably get the next size tap in the existing hole without drilling. It is aluminum and is relatively soft.

If you drill(existing hole or new hole) you will hit the wiring.

 

[cawinter]

Good suggestions

Thanks for the ideas. We've been trying a lot of different screw options, and if it wasn't for the possibility of hitting the conduit and its wires, I would have just redrilled, period. I'll do some more probing to see. At this point it seems that the 1 1/4'' #10 is only about 1/8" in the Al of the extrusion, i.e., the space between the back of the track and the mast is quite large (~3/4" +). Oh well... just another problem. I'll keep the group posted.