I just got off the phone with Phillip Mumm, and he reminded me of the marvelous product that we used at Spring Fever called McLube OneDrop. It is by-and-large, probably the best product to hit the sailing world that actually exceeds any expectation you have of it.

One drop on either side of the track, run the car back and forth rapidly over that area, and just feel your traveller glide like it was a maglev train over the track... its honestly amazing. Not only that, but they claim it repels salt and dirt (and sand).

Every boat that we put it on at SF - the skipper was honestly amazed at how much of a difference it made.

One of the best parts is that since it only takes two drops per application, one bottle will last you like 3 years.

You can find it at Murrays and other sailing retailers:
http://www.murrays.com/mm5/merchant...;Product_Code=40-0410&Category_Code=

Man, I put it on all of the boats for free at SF, and I don't even get pimped...

http://www.layline.com/product/16613/332

Does it also work on all the other blocks, like the mainsheet and spinnaker blocks?

Anything with synthetic bearings. It bonds to the bearing surface, and forms a slick coating. Wash the blocks with soap and water before the first application so you'll have a clean surface to work with. Much better than Sailkote for your hardware

Mike-Can you bring me one at Cinco? Or what time you open the shop-we may swing by on the way in.

OK to use this for synthetic, but what's best for brass-on-aluminim (H16)?

Mike

Brucat - I would use a teflon based grease for brass/aluminum
http://www.layline.com/product/16613/332

Joanna - I'll bring some with me to Cinco. We're open 9 to 5 if you want to stop by the warehouse.

I had the same question, so I popped open a tube for a shop demo and have been lubing every 16 that comes through. Great positive responses from the 16 guys. Even better response from the 18 guys. And of course the Harken, Fredrikson, Ronstan style Jib and Main Travelers are what this stuff was designed for, and makes them work great. Lubed my FX1 with it just before I sold it last month:(

Works great in cleats too. And I've tried it on H16 rudder cams. Still experimenting, but it seems like great stuff.

J

Jeremy if you want to test it on an F-18 my boats available.
See you friday.

I have to admit that I have been against putting any lubrication on bearings in traveler cars. My reasoning has been that the traveler car bearings fail because they slide and get tiny flat spots on them (and this is true). Adding lubricant to the bearings will tend to make them slide more easily (and attract dust dirt) ... ergo, lubrication can make your bearings suffer a shorter life.

I caught Bret monkeying around with my traveler car on the back of our 20 (that I was planning to replace the bearings in) and he said he was putting that lube on there that Mike with Layline had brought in the Layline parts trailer (see, that's how it's done!). I was skeptical but didn't really give it much thought because I was going to replace the bearings anyway.

HOLY GREAT MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!!.....that stuff works extremely well and will be in my tool box from now on. I've never had a traveler car - even with NEW bearings - work that well.

Well that says it all, doesn't it

Yeah, I was amazed at how incredibly well this stuff works. After applying to the self-tacking jib car, while in the parking lot, I sheeted the jib sheet really hard, I mean HARD. The car moved back and forth with the tap of your finger like Tad said, like it was mag-levitating. You could actually feel where the radius to the track was different than the sail. Amazing stuff. I remember everyone in the parking lot hollering out "Hey Tad, do my balls next!" Kudos to Mike at Layline for introducing this stuff to us, and those gloves work like black vodoo magic. Another great Zhik killer-app.

Mike would you be interested in sending a couple bottles out here to the left coast as A regatta sponsorship prize? 1 to give away in the raffle the other to do the boats at the regatta? Wet N Wild regatta is coming up and I happen to be the Raffle chairman. I would also make sure all competetors got to use the product on their travelers to hook them into buying more.
PM me if you think this would work.

What can I say. Everyone wants me to condition their torlon balls :P

You know that noise the traveler cars make when they slide..? that 'scrrrrrr' noise? Both my main and jib traveler are dead silent now when they slide.

Brett