Snatch block Lube

[paxfish]

Ha! It is a real question!

I cleaned up a couple of older heavy snatch blocks similar to these:



They were jammed up with some combination of salt and perhaps old grease. Now that they are freed up, what sort of lube do they need, if any?

[belizesailor]

Im gonna, with some diffuculty, refrain from commenting, but sy_gilana should be along soon! [emoji6]

[Sailmonkey]

Heheheheh

[a64pilot]

I changed the title, hope no one minds.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I changed the title, hope no one minds.

Now my immature giggle makes little to no sense![emoji56]

[senormechanico]

Dang! I missed it !

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I changed the title, hope no one minds.

Not surprisingly, it wasnt the edit I had in mind. I think a reference to the age of what was in need of lubrication would have been appropriate! [emoji6]

[rbk]

Well you could always spit on it...or try sailkote, not greasy dries mostly clear and doesn’t attract dirt and salt. It does however have to be re-coated regularly.

[paxfish]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Not surprisingly, it wasnt the edit I had in mind. I think a reference to the age of what was in need of lubrication would have been appropriate! [emoji6]

Well, I did say older. Perhaps “mature” would have been more helpful.

RBK - like a moth to the flame!

[AndyEss]

Next, somebody will ask what's the best way to feed the kitty on a long cruise.

[a64pilot]

As far as lube for the blocks, I guess a question is what are the bearings made of?
For example I was told to not lube my composite “plastic” bearings in my furler etc with Sailkote of other PTFE spray, cause it’s so slippery that the bearings won’t rotate and the race will slide over them eventually making flat spots on the bearings. Just flush them out with fresh water frequently is all they need.
Seemed plausible.

[JPA Cate]

That's an old Nicro Ficro Snatch block. Just keep it clean (fresh water rinse after getting salty), can spray lube the piston that snaps closed, but really, works just fine, clean.

Do, carefully check for cracks. We had to replace one, that otherwise looked good.

Ann

[sailah]

I rebuilt all 3 of mine same model. They have bronze bushings in them which I machined from oilite bronze. I think I just used a drop of oil.

[Jim Cate]

the Nicro Fico snatchblocks that we have utilize loose s/s needle bearings. They will work dry as Ann says upthread, but I usually pack them with some form of waterproof grease. This means higher no-load drag but IMO better performance under load and after exposure to saltwater inundation, and likely longer life. One of ours is now some 30 years old and still in regular use. Good kit, they are!

Jim

[sailah]

Hmmm, now that you mention it, maybe they do use needle bearings and the bronze bushings I machined were for my sheaves, was a couple years ago. If that's the case I would have cleaned bearings in clean diesel, dried and used waterproof grease.