Bronze t-track on a Typhoon

[bamabratsche]

Folks,

My Typhoon came without genoa tracks mounted on the toerails (just the jib tracks on the cabin top), and I'd like to be able to use a larger sail than the working jib when I launch this spring. So I have three questions:

1) My understanding is that 2 feet of track on each side was the standard setup, but I am wondering if this would be long enough to accommodate whatever size genoas I may end up using in the future--she came with a 150 but I'd like to at least have the option of using something in the 125 range down the road. Any advantages/disadvantages to putting on 3- or 4-foot tracks instead, just to cover all bases?

2) I have noticed that Rig Rite sells 3/4" t-track in bronze, and think this would look much better than the black aluminum available from Schaefer (the only other 3/4" I have seen). Again, any issues here, particularly mixing with stainless steel cars?

3) This may be a dumb question, but what is the best way to secure them to the toerail--the toerail itself is only screwed into the deck, but I am assuming the track would need to be through-bolted with a backing plate of some sort?

Thanks for any and all observations.

[Jim Buck]

My new from the shop 74 Ty weekender came with the bright aluminum track and if you talk to Rig-rite they may be able to provide you with same bright track. They did for me a couple years ago. My Ty "G" open Daysailer has track that is not thru-bolted but has several beefy wood screws that are long enough to go through the deck. Not sure if you were flying a 150 or larger if this would be strong enough. Since you mentioned a cabin top that means you probably have a weekender and you should be able to thru-bolt to strengthen the connection. The photo is from a '79 Weekender I no longer own showing the thru-bolted track. Hope this helps.

[Jeff D]

My 85 Daysailer has the bright aluminum 3/4 t track and is screwed using ~2" screws. I think these screws were plenty beefy. I increased the length of the track two years ago to better match an overlapping jib and bought the longer tracks from RR which had the same hole pattern as the originals with the Spartan logos. Have you located the 3/4 cars? I think that may be the limiting factor.

[bamabratsche]

Jeff--how far did you increase the length of your tracks? I'm thinking 3-4 feet on each side. Also, Schaefer makes a couple of 3/4" cars, including one with spring-loaded stand-up blocks. Rig Rite also lists a bronze 3/4" car on their website, which I think would look kind of cool if I decide to go with the bronze tracks. I haven't gotten a price quote for the bronze vs. stainless/aluminum yet, though, so that may be the deciding factor.

Jim--yep, mine is a Weekender, so looks like there should be room to thru-bolt. I can't quite see whether there's any backing in the photo, but it looks like there's not. I guess backing could be overkill, considering that a previous owner's solution to not having tracks was to tie a block to the toerail drain holes and fly the 150 that way. (!) The toerail seems to have come through unscathed, but I would like something a little more legit.

[Jeff D]

My boat is under cover, but I think the new tracks were 3' - it was the standard size that RR offered. After going to the trouble of installing the longer track I switched to a working jib, which given my typical sailing location works well under any conditions that I go out (>10 knots). My problem with an 110% jib was the inability to point.

[Jim Buck]

Here's a better photo of the track thru-bolted. Large washers are readily apparent on the full size image. This is from a Ty Weekender I considered purchasing but passed. (Interesting aside is how different owners of pre-1980 Weekenders secured their lazarettes.)

[Markst95]

(Interesting aside is how different owners of pre-1980 Weekenders secured their lazarettes.)

I was thinking the same thing. I did the rope through padeye back to the cabin and it has worked well. Like the dowel trick though...

[Dick Villamil]

My 1974 Typhoon has the track through bolted with backing washers - I removed then replaced them when I refurbished the boat. I wish that I had moved the track forward or obtained a longer track - I think it is 2' long but will have to measure it. Place the forward portion of the track just aft of the shrouds and continue aft of the winch a foot or so. I use a roller furling 130 genny and it is sheeted to the forward stop on the trask - I never use the aft portion of the track and I am thinking of moving the track forward 6-12 inches. Therefore get a 3' track. I actually liked the way she sailed in ultra light air with the original working jib but the convenience of the roller furling genny is very nice.

[bamabratsche]

Dick--that's pretty much what I was thinking, 2 feet seemed a little short to accommodate a full range of headsails. Who knows if I'll ever actually get a smaller genny, but it would be good to have the option in the future...

[hoehnt]

You can also make your own bronze t-track. I bought some bronze bar stock and made my own.

[mashenden]

Although in the original post it was a case of not having tracks at all, the discussion about 2' vs 3' vs 4' may be a lot to do about 0.

We found that when using a small jib, routing the sheets to the eye hardware on the cabin top made for a better sail shape than routing the sheets further aft to the track. Point being that if the standard sized track is far enough aft for use on the larger jibs, and you use the cabin top approach for the smaller jibs, all could be just fine the way it was designed.

Food for thought.

[mashenden]

(Interesting aside is how different owners of pre-1980 Weekenders secured their lazarettes.)

I was thinking the same thing. I did the rope through padeye back to the cabin and it has worked well. Like the dowel trick though...

Until a fire breaks out - Presumably one waits for the fire to burn the dowel before gaining access to the extinguisher .

[tjr818]

You can also make your own bronze t-track. I bought some bronze bar stock and made my own.

Those look beautiful. Tell me that's not a router table you did that on. If it is I know what my next project will be.

[hoehnt]

It was...After being a machinist for 20yrs I suddenly found myself without access to a milling machine and had to make due.
It was far from Ideal though...each pass was limited to .030. Took forever.

[bamabratsche]

Looks great!

Just as an update, I quickly abandoned the bronze track idea after pricing them out. I don't remember the exact quote, but it was something on the order of 4 times more expensive than the aluminum ones, and those weren't cheap either. I believe it was going to be something like $400 or more for both sides in bronze. I ended up going with the 4-foot black aluminum ones from Schaefer since they don't carry a 3-foot option and I had heard so many negative things about dealing with Rig Rite.

Contrary to what I was expecting, bending them to the curve of the toerail was one of the easiest parts of the whole process--just tightened down the first two bolts and used the other end as leverage to bend it a little for each subsequent bolt. However, the whole process of drilling, dry-fitting, through-bolting, and cleaning up excess sealant took the better part of 3 hours per side, mainly because I was doing it by myself and had to make a trip between the cockpit and the quarter berths for each bolt.

We are hopefully stepping the mast and finishing up the outboard's water pump and carb this week, so we shall see how it all holds up under sail.