Same strength, half the weight - New Ronstan Series 19 C-Track
by Kylie Wilson 15 Oct 2018 06:45 PDT
New Ronstan Series 19 C-Track © Ronstan International Pty Ltd
Sailors of small dinghies such as the Tasar, or catamarans like the Hobie 16, will find the new Ronstan Series 19 C-Track to be a simple, lightweight and reliable system with a myriad of uses both on and off the boat.
The Series 19 is an update of Ronstan's proven small boat track and slide systems. The brass slides of the earlier series have been replaced with glass-fibre reinforced polymer and the track is now alloy instead of stainless steel. This means the fittings are only half the weight of the earlier system but provide identical load capacities. The composite slides also have lower friction when running in the track.
Stop holes are at 19mm (3/4") spacing, allowing fine adjustment for optimum sail trim. Fasteners have been changed to lighter 4mm (5/32") diameter and mounting holes updated from 3" centres to a metric based 75mm – something that needs to be considered if updating long track lengths from an older system.
Replacing old track is not difficult, however, as the underside of the Series 19 track is slightly concaved to suit mounting on curved or uneven surfaces, and to allow for a bead of sealant at the mounting holes.
A new soft-attached RopeGlide™ ring slide reflects the trend on modern dinghies for simple, light and reliable fittings with minimum moving parts. A hard anodised finish on the ring provides excellent low friction performance and the soft attachment gives up to 250 degrees of articulation/rotation to allow crew to control their sails from multiple positions on the boat. The ergonomic spring-loaded plunger stops allow crew to set their optimum sheeting position quickly and accurately.
The Series 19 is described as a great low cost, entry-level track and slide system which will enhance performance on most small sailing craft.
For more information visit www.ronstan.com