Build of E5 number 6 (i think)

[Will_Lee]

This is an area we decided not to be smart-arses about. It is really important that they work, so we went for a 49er track with rollers instead of balls. The radius is really big at 2.6m or something so the clew is a long way back.

I have seen poor experiences with lightweight tracks blowing up (2006 nationals, Loco Perro, among many others) and I have seen the balls fly out for reasons unknown when sailing with Gav at Neyland in Mango Jam.

We chose simplicity and reliability over lightness and fanciness and when the time came to choose for Antidote we did the same again.

[dave_ching]

W tracks gain very little. I was going to try on Shiny but it would of gained around 3mm further aft. I opted for flat section with curve at both ends. You would gain more because I hope your mast will be further back but even so.
As for choice of material This is one part of the boat I think you get what you pay for.
Personally I think Will's 49er option is the way to go. Failing that go for the best car and track money can buy.
Though if your are brave and want to build your own I think it would be very difficult to underestimate the amount of punishment a track takes.

[dave_ching]

Ofcourse the counter argument to all of that is W tracks do look good.
Probably why it took me so long to decide against one.

[daniel_kemble]

the only reason locos track came off is i became a member of the moscow state circus and and went flying and kicked it off otherwise it held up well. having said that it came off in one piece and it was stuck on and we went sailing the next day. The jib had terminal damage  though

[andy_paterson]

The Ronstan 19mm ball track ( like on 29ers ) is good, but you must get the undrilled track it you want to bend it.  It only needs support at the ends and middle if it's prebent. The 49er track is a bit sturdier, fits Ok and works as Will said.
The 29er track is predrilled, but not bent, so this is only Ok if you bend it into place and use hundreds of bolts on a curved bit of structure.

[roland_trim]

The 29er track is predrilled, but not bent, so this is only Ok if you bend it into place and use hundreds of bolts on a curved bit of structure.

Have tested this one to destruction and can confirm it is fairly correct.

On EJ we tried a bent 29er track with holes and it was disastrous. Now we have 9 bolts attaching the thin track to a carbon Z spar (spar weight about 150g + 8 bolts - rest of boat still carries a fair bit of lead).

Dave Ching has recently made a new track for shiny out of the 29er un-drillled. The old track lasted a fair amount of abuse and nationals wins (?) before exploding. Allen have very kindly made a new part number so we can order raw track before their guys drill it and cover it in black anodisation. With a longer lead time they will also do anodised undrilled (6-8 weeks)

[Banshee Ambulance]

Class Anodising Tank?

[roland_trim]

If you order it with enough time spare the gents at Allen will anodise it for almost nothing.

[john_hamilton]

hmm, where to have the boat painted? ideas/suggestions?

[phil_kirk]

Not in the kitchen!

[Phil Alderson]

I think that unless you know someone with the kit to spray it and can get a good deal on the paint then the best bet is to just paint it by hand.

If you apply the paint with a roller and then tip it off with a foam brush you can get a pretty good finish. Once done you can flat it back with wet and dry, then polish, which you would need to do to get a proper finish after spraying anyway.

I would recommend two pack paint the last stuff I used was Jotun they have a wide range of colours, and it is pretty tough.

[john_hamilton]

are there weight issues with painting it yourself?

[phil_kirk]

Spraying will be lighter than rolling by about 0.5kg for the top coat.

We used a high build primer which was compatible with the top coat.  We used an acrylic car paint for the top coat but this only gives a good finish if sprayed.

If rolling and brushing we had good results on Slippery with Epithanes boat paint. Limited range of colours.

Personally I would spray again. 

We found that after we faired the hull and then put the first coat of high build on it showed up all the defects. We wet sanded and applied 2 more coats of high build before we were happy.

[Phil Alderson]

are there weight issues with painting it yourself?

If you are not careful you can get weight issues with either method. If the person spraying is not focussed on getting the thinnest coat then it is easy to add thickness quite quickly, particularly if they do a primer, then undercoat then colour then lackour .

[roland_trim]

The other option for home spraying is to borrow a compressor, leads and spray head from a friend. Remember to promise them that you will clean the system thoroughly and buy a replacement gun if you stuff up (£75) and I think you'd find a ready offer from this post!

You'd still have to buy the paint at a lower discount than a commercial spray centre will get it, but most car suppliers will give you a very full shopping list of colours.
Spray training available on collection of the kit - or you could come over when we spray Born slippy in a few weeks!