My Ariel had a relocated jib track and a strangely augmented Genoa track, See the “before” picture on the left below and the “after” picture on the right. The original jib track leaked I guess, so a previous owner removed it and repaired the delamination. The new jib track was located further inboard close to the trunk cabin.
A Genoa track was also installed. That Genoa track went from here to there and back again. It was the world’s longest Genoa track. See the photo on left. The oddest thing about it was that the Genoa track had bends between the forward section and middle section and again between the middle section and the aft section. The bends created corners that no jib block car known to human kind could negotiate. No cars came with the boat when I adopted it. I never did find a car that could make the corners. Perhaps the previous owner had articulating track cars. That track was actually a very ugly looking thing. I hope that I have improved both the appearance and functionality.
The good thing about that old Genoa track was that all of the holes were drilled extra large from below and filled with epoxy, and then re-drilled. A thoughtful and careful previous owner obviously cared about the boat. I decided to remove the center (unusable) part of the track. I recycled that section of track by using it below deck backed by a teak 1” X 1” as a backing plate for the two eye bolts that run through my deck and a boarding step in two of the former track holes. I permanently filled the rest of the holes with epoxy. A boarding step seen in the photo on the right now covers all of the old holes.
The eyebolts serve as the connection points for my drop-down emergency boarding ladders and as terminals for my forward and my aft lifeline system. Since they are through bolted to the wood backed steel track below the eyebolts are most secure. The forward life line runs to pin rails that are through bolted around the forward lower shroud and finally to the bow pulpit and down to thru-bolted pad eyes on the foredeck. Although the lifelines are Dacron and not wire, they are securely fastened to the boat. If I did not have to lower my mast twice on every sail as I pass below the bridge, the Dacron lifelines probably would be coated wire instead, but I like the Dacron personally.
So if you do remove part of that Genoa track, don't fill the holes, use them. Jackline, lifeline, boarding ladder connection points all come to mind. And by the way, as can be seen in the photo on the right, the Genoa track makes a grand place to hang fenders, or attach a two point flexible boarding ladder.
However I kept my Genoa track. If it ever blows kindly enough around here to use mine again, I may just get my Genoa out and move my blocks off the jib tracks and onto that ample Genoa track. Last time I did that, I had to pull the darn thing down, reef the main, and raise the class jib. I was single-handing at the time with no autopilot, and the sail change and reef took about forty five minutes. I just stuffed the Genoa below and folded it when I was back at the dock. I do like that class jib.
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