sail lubricant

[chuck53]

I going to be putting my head sail on the roller furling in the next couple of weeks.  What's the best lubricant to use to make it easier to run up the furling channel?
Last year when I bought the boat, the PO and I raised the sail and it was a bear.  He didn't use any kind of lubricant and the surveyor told us it would have helped a lot.

I'm assuming some kind of dry lubricant is the best.

[yonar]

A friend of mine uses little drops of dishwashing soap. It works great. Never collect dust, particles etc. And it washes away.

[Jim Hardesty]

try Mclube sailcoat.     www.mclubemarine.com   When you took the sail down, did it pull down easily?  If so I'd guess you probably have a halyard friction issue.  Possible the top, bottom, or the organizer pulley sheeve.
Jim

[chuck53]

It came down fairly easy.  Winching it up last spring was a real b.....
The first 8-10 feet were pretty easy and then it started getting hard.  The PO and I had to take turns at the winch as we really got winded.
As I mentioned, my surveyor said it was lack of lubricant that caused the problem.

I like that idea of dish soap.  Sounds like a cheap and easy way to go that will work.

[Kevin Henderson]

I second the recommendation of the SAILKOTE.  I had a similar issue with my Mainsail track.  I inserted a small piece of cloth super saturated with the lubricant and ran it up and down using the halyard a few times and it worked great.  I also had a friend recommend a sliver of Ivory soap (The bar) because it contains silicone.  The only side effect from any kind of soap would be the inevitable bubbles when it rains. 

[Ron Hill]

Chuck : Try the Sailkote lube. 
If the sail went up hard, but came down easily you may want to check the sheave at the top of the mast.

A thought

[chuck53]

Guys, thanks for the advice.

[Phil Spicer]

Chuck, don't forget to clean the tracks before you lube. The sailkote is the way to go for both tracks. I have used many other products to save a buck, but nothing works as well so I stick with sailkote.

[sailaway]

Chuck most catalina 34 the jibs go up hard because  there are too  many sheaves and angles . Roller bearing sheaves help some but not alot. Charlie