Based on a suggestion to my inquiry on this list about mast track extensions for my CC 35 MkII, I contacted Mastgate.com and since then have had very positive interactions with the person who makes the tracks (and I think owns the company). His name is Tom Luque. My CC 35 has track slides, not slugs, and most of the pictures on Tom's website are for extensions for boats with slugs. However, he took on my request - I sent him detailed sketches of the mast cross section and he has already made 3 or 4 prototypes. Cat's Paw has a space below the end of the track of about 11 inches before the boom, presumably for the old main roller reefing. The track slide, cast into the mast, looks like it was machined off to make space for the rolled up main.
The first prototypes were made of SS ( .018 inch SS-316) tracks that are a single piece which Tom then spot welds onto a back plate which would screw to the mast. My concern with that design is that the track slides would have to jump up over two thicknesses of SS (the back plate and the middle portion of the track) when crossing over from the existing track to the extension. He sent me the pieces to try, but I have not yet had a chance to try them on Cat's Paw. The newest option, which looks best to me, is an extension made of two pieces of SS (same stock), one for each side of the track. The total width is 1.5 inches, which is the width of the machined flat on the mast below the bottom of the existing track. Tom has fabricated two sides, each about 7.5 inches long, that can be screwed into the machined flat on the mast and are spaced to allow the track slides to move easily across the junction between the existing track and the extension. Apparently it is difficult for Tom to construct tracks longer than 7.5 inches, but he could make another shorter extension if one wants the track to extend all the way to the boom. That prototype (which I hope is the final one we adopt) is in the mail - I will let the list know how it works. In any case, Tom is very responsive, and the quality of his constructions appears to be high. FYI, I have no financial interest in this - just passing along my impressions of the company and its ability to construct good extensions tailored for our specific requirements. Eric Cat's Paw C&C 35 Mk II Mattapoisett, MA > From: Joel Aronson <joel.aron...@gmail.com> > To: "cnc-list@cnc-list.com" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > Subject: Re: Stus-List Mast Gates > Message-ID: > <cael16p-4pxumn7nkjuehebiyukdae1b376kda8mnnfobo9k...@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Alan, > > I know size matters, but my gate is probably half the size of yours, and we > have the same boat. Bummer! > I have a double gate. The hard part is getting the two pieces close enough > that I don't yank out the slides. > > Joel > 35/3 > Annapolis > > > On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 11:29 AM, Alan Bergen <alan-at-h...@comcast.net>wrote: > >> Frank: >> >> It looks like the largest boat that it's been used on is a 27' (Ericson >> and Pearson). The gate opening on our boats is so large (mine is about >> eighteen inches long), that I doubt it would work. Why not check with the >> manufacturer, and let us know what you find out. >> >> Alan Bergen >> C&C 35 Mk III Thirsty >> Rose City YC >> Portland, OR >>
_______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com
