i don't know what it is but dont get silicon anywhere near epoxy it will soften the epoxy and snap your mast ,
i had this problem with my pryde rs6 6/7 so i packed the inside of the cam 5mm each side so that the batten hits the cam early and problem sorted

In my early-days as a joiner I was talked into using silicone spray on the beds of our woodworking machines...made the timber slide beautifully. Unfortunately, anyone who's tried to polish/paint over silicone knows what the outcome was...

Not related to this thread, but as it's already totally confusing, I thought I'd add to the muddle.

Not sure how it would work but there's a product we used to use called 'silverglide' (or 'silbergleiten'...or something, as it was imported at the time). From memory, it's a graphite paste, use it sparingly ($$$) it makes anything slide well!

keef said...

i hope you have done your sum's mark trust me silicon will make epoxy soft, epoxy is a resin and it doent like silicon

I think mark's comment was more based on the fact that the term 'food additive' was used when describing silicone spray.
Personally I wouldn't use silicone spray to grease my scone trays either...

you could try this stuff. it's very good.

www.mclubemarine.com/

just don't spray the bottom section of mast or your boom won't stay attached.

Sailhack said...

keef said...

i hope you have done your sum's mark trust me silicon will make epoxy soft, epoxy is a resin and it doent like silicon

I think mark's comment was more based on the fact that the term 'food additive' was used when describing silicone spray.
Personally I wouldn't use silicone spray to grease my scone trays either...

sorry mark & sailhack ill have to pay more attention

Thanks Keef, I was thinking (I guess wrongly) that there was too much tension pushing on the cam stopping it from rotating, I'll give the packing it out idea a go next time I rig it up and see what happens.

i htink this has already been tried.

from memory someone added silicon to the breast!

Be careful when using silicon sprays! don't get any near the boom area on the mast because you will forever be adjusting your sliding boom...i'm talking from experience
You could try taking some material off the back of the cam to help the cam pressure.

choco said...

]
You could try taking some material off the back of the cam to help the cam pressure.

it sounds more like a mast issue try a different mast

it sounds more like a mast issue try a different mast

I agree: since switching to RDM masts I haven't had any sail rotation issues at all...

Bender said...

Too true Nebs, mind you that nice rotation you have using a RDM mast is no good if you cant waterstart the sail

Touché

keef said...

i don't know what it is but dont get silicon anywhere near epoxy it will soften the epoxy and snap your mast ,

ive been meaning to retract that statement and i deserved a red thumb and i don't think it would harm a mast but after saying that, years ago i made a race board of carbon and k/glass and i wanted to have a finnish like a polyester surfboard, so i used a yellow tint in the resin rather than paint so you could see the pattern of the carbon, the board had a windrush sliding mast track so i sprayed it with silicone to make it slide better, well that was befor vacuum bagging and the resin would fall into the core and the glass had to be filled with bog Qcells ect, well the Qcells mixed with epoxy makes the laminate porous and seeing it wasnt sealed with paint ect after spraying the track and silicone( being moisture base) the bog absorbed the moisture from the silicone and the laminate went soft
after saying all that there is a lesson to be learnt, if your doing a repair on your board and your useing bog Qcells /microballoons ect make sure it is totally sealed other wise your board will absorb moisture through the epoxy/Qcell mix

wind surfing guru's.Any feed back on options for increasing Cam rotation performance.Adjusting batten tension does not always work.What do the pro's do?

not only do the pros buy the correct mast.

they actually try 10 or so out and see which one rigs the best then give all of the others back or sell them on.

Rubby said...

club309 said...

if you must use a lubricant on your mast I'd try using a dry lubricant like "Mclube". on sailingboats it is used on everything and it won't effect resins. olympic 49er sailors spray most of the front end of their boats with it to make spinnaker handlign and gybing quicker.

I've used this with ambiguous results. They recommend spraying your mast at the beginning of the season with it. Supposedly it will last a number of sessions, but I'm reapplying mine today. Some camber inducers are better than others, I believe. I have a North Spectra sail with excellently rotating cams, but it's harder to thread. There's the rub. Sailmakers face a public that wants their cake and eat it too.

On the 29ers and 49ers, it is generally used before every session. And lots of it too, far from sparingly.