It’s time to replace the Tides Marine Mast Track on my NS30C. I would appreciate suggestions, recommendations, words of wisdom, etc.
Thanks,
Bob McPeek
Nonsuch 30C Pau Hana, San Francisco, CA
My experiences with it on two different boats have been all positive.
Their instructions are good and easy to follow. It unwinds and slides up the mast most easily if slightly warmed, either by being put out on the dock or gone over lightly with a heat gun.
On a Nonsuch, the easiest way to do it is with one person feeding it through the forward port from inside the boat, with another at the mast guiding and pushing it up. (Or, of course, if installed while the mast is down in a yard and horizontal.)
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
Hi Bob,
Thank you for your response. The heat gun is a great idea. Is the heat gun electric?
Bob McPeek
Pau Hana, Nonsuch 30C
Bob: You can do it yourself. When you purchase it, they will give you good instructions and a tool. The trick is doing it on a warm day, lubrication and installing it through the forward port.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
I did mine last year. My mast was unstepped so it was fairly straight forward. Tides supplies you with two self tapping screws. to secure it at the bottom. Through those away. You will need to drill and tap holes in the mast depending on how your old one was secured. I started installing the track on a cool day but didn’t complete. I came back the next day (much warmer) and the track had expanded 4". I had to cut it off as it was now too long! The track is fastened at the bottom and floats free at the top. My one criticism of the system is that on cooler days you track is shorter and you sail wont hoist as high. If i has to do it again i would consider trying to extend the old stainless track a little higher up the mast to compensate for the contraction of the poly track on cool days.
jo…@deerhaven is correct about drilling and tapping. It would be nice if we knew who he/she was in a signature.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
I installed ourTides track on a cold, rainy day in April. Did the work by myself. The track came coiled with numerous cable ties holding it in sections so you can unroll it in a controlled manner. You do not need to work through the front port - I did it without any problems standing at the base of the mast, hauling it up with the halyard with one hand, guiding it to the metal track with the other and using a foot to hold the coil in place. I recall it went up pretty quick. I did not use a heat gun and depended upon the rain to lubricate everything.
I also helped Ed Botterell (aka Botts) and the owner of a 36 install one just a few weeks after mine. We worked through the port and uncoiled the track - stuck out over the stern of the boat and onto the dock. It was no easier to install than managing the coil at the foot of the mast. That track went up/down twice that day as the owner mistakenly ordered one that was too long and we needed to cut off a few inches at the top and drill a new hole for the stopper pin.
lloyd herman
Rendezvous , 30U
Port Washington, NY
Just did mine as Joe described. Removing the old one was quite a mess as it shed quite a bit of material. Tap the retaining pin hole and use some lock tight.
On Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 9:06:25 AM UTC-8 Julie & Lloyd on Rendezvous wrote:
sorry…hit send before signing
John Vincent
Salem N26C #108
PEYC, Picton ON
Responding to a couple of points:
-
Yes, my heat gun’s electric. For this particular job, a regular handheld hair dryer might work just as well.
-
I’m not sure if this is true for all boats, but on mine the mast track at the lower point was fastened to a bracket which was in turn held to the mast with giant hose clamps. With care, that meant it was possible to drill and tap the retaining pin hole into that bracket without putting a penetration in the mast itself.
-
I found it very hard to be sure of the length measurement. Tides tells you to expect that and to plan on raising twice. The first time is to check the height and bring it down to cut off any excess. The second is the final lift, which you do after you’ve got the right length and installed a retaining pin at the top so that the sail can’t be lifted above the track.
-
I wasn’t aware that the length expansion/contraction issue was as big as previous posters have suggested, perhaps because I’m in a temperate climate (Los Angeles). If your boat’s in San Francisco, it’s probably less of an issue than if your boat’s in Ontario. The important takeaway sounds to me to be that on the day you do the installation, you want to be sensitive to how that day’s weather compares to the range you sail in. Then finalize your length accordingly.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
I left out an opinion I meant to offer regarding the length measurement issue – if you order too long, you can cut it shorter and all that happens is you’ve wasted a few dollars worth of material. If you order too short, you’re kinda screwed.
So, erring in the direction of a bit extra is cheap insurance.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
I’m curious: could you order a bit long, then when it arrives, remove the old track and lay it out on the dock next to the new one? Cut the new one to the same length as the old one and you should be spot on without having to guess about different lengths at different temperatures. What am I not aware of? (There’s always something.)
Brian,
It’s a good question. The “something” in this case isn’t something you could be expected to know if you hadn’t previously dealt with the track.
Tides track is designed to slide on top of the existing track. Part of the order placement process is identifying the form of your current track so that the underside of your Tides track will mate to it.
If you removed the old track for measurements, you’d have to either reinstall it or find some other way to fasten the Tides track to the mast without compromising the structural integrity of either.
– Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch 26U #233
Bob,
If I’m not mistaken I think Brian M.G was referring to removing the old Tides Track and using it to determine the correct length of the new.
Brian
Boat-less in New England
I remember having a tool to haul up the track and getting the exact measurement.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Contacting Strong Track will answer any and all questions.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
One more thought here. When discussing my mast with Mike Quill a couple of months ago, he recomended removing the old slide stopper at the top (see pic), to allow for that thermal expansion, without sacrificing the lengh of the track to account for it. Obviously this requires a trip up the mast, or the mast mast.
Robin B
ZOE, 30U #307
SF Bay, CA
Boy - am I glad my local store still carries liquid soap - Blue Dawn” that keeps my sail going up and down really easily!!
Safe Sailing
Cedric - Single Malt
26 C # 207
Chester Nova Scotia
How often do you apply liquid soap?
Our strong track is old, and weather checked. I likely will need to replace it within a couple of years.
…..Ed
Ed and Marlene Brost
SaSeaCat, NS30322
Sarnia Yacht Club
519 312-8650
There is zero need to have a track stop at the top. The cross bolt stops the sail. The track has a high thermal expansion co efficient. .