Gun Mounting Sleeve Relining

Re: Relining the Gary Hoyt gun mount spinnaker sleeve on a Freedom 21

I relined the spinnaker sleeve of my 1984 F-21 in 1998 as the UV had done a number on the PVC plastic. Note that the original liner was not glued in place, but only held by three "buttons" of [3M 5200?] plastic in the 3 holes of the SS sleeve.

The relining constraints:

• The plastic must be thin enough
• The plastic would have to be "moulded" perhaps with a heat gun
• The plastic would have to hold glue that would also adhere to the SS sleeve.

Teflon would be ideal, but the cost is quite prohibitive as well as the issue with adhesion.

I found my solution for under $6.00 at a local plastics supplier (Commercial Plastics & Supply Corp.) here in Somerville, MA.

The plastic was found picking through the assorted bins of scrap pieces.  Although I believe that the original lining was made of PVC, I opted for a semi-hard plastic known as "Sintra". It is used to make plastic signs. The thickness was right (2mm), would work with adhesives, and was pliable. I bough two scrap pieces (6" x 16") for twenty-five cents ($0.25).

The adhesive used was "E6000", an Industrial Strength adhesive and sealant made by Eclectic Products, Inc., that was purchased at the same store. A 3.7 fl. oz. tube costs $4.59. I was considering epoxy, but this stuff is great! 3M 5200 was rejected as I may need to do this again.

I cut to size and molded two strips of the plastic with a heat gun to fit the inside of the sleeve.

The "E6000" adhesive was applied as a "contact cement" to both surfaces and then the already formed liner was placed in the sleeve. The adhesive gives you some working time. Later, I filled the three holes in the SS sleeve with the adhesive to make new "buttons".

The adhesive sticks like the dickens but it will peal away from the SS if you work at it. So the liner is firmly held in place but it can be removed at a later time.

Lastly, use "Sailkote", available at West Marine, on both the liner and the pole to reduce friction.

From John "Blue Merle" Hull# 259