Bending Lewmar Genoa "T" Track

[woff]

Hello all, can anyone advise on bending 32mm Lewmar "T" track.
I bought and want to fit two 1.5m, 32mm "T" tracks to my boat. The original was mounted on a 25x28mm teak up-stand bolted through the deck. It isn't straight, over the 1.5m length there in a 15-20mm radius bend. By which I mean, if I screwed down each end the centre would be 15-20mm off the centre of the up-stand. Also if falls away horizontally. The track is 32x15mm aluminium drilled every 50mm for fixings and car stops. Is it safe to bend the track? Has anyone done it? How should I go about it? Will the Lewmar Ocean still cars slide? I have tried to get answers from Lewmar but they haven't replied to my emails. I have considered filling the gap with a strip of teak but this isn't ideal.

It is possible to see the teak up-stand here in an earlier post, search "Is This A Kelsall?"

[roverhi]

Replaced the SS genoa track and riser on the cap rail of my boat with a similar aluminum track as yours. The bend was at least as large and probably larger as you are contemplating though over 8'/244cm. Will try and measure this afternoon to get a more accurate idea of the bend. No problems bending it, just started at one end and pulled it in a little at a time as each fastener was bolted down. It works fine with line control cars which are longer than the typical padeye cars. It's done a TransPac since install. Pulled the track off later when I glassed in the hull to deck joint and the track sprang back out straight as I pulled the fasteners. Reinstallation was no problem.

If you are really nervous about the bend fouling the cars, you could install the track on a piece of plywood scrap and see how the cars slide. Doubt if it will be any problem to bend the track.

[woff]

Thanks for that, I often struggle when starting new tasks, that first step is daunting. I will screw it to some ply and check the car movement. I was concerned about having the whole thing under permanent tension, this will give an idea of the load.
One more thing, putting steel fixings into aluminium track did you use anything to separate these reactive metals?

[roverhi]

The track should be anodized which acts like an insulator between the dissimilar metals. Used LifeCaulk, a polysulfide caulk, when I put them down initially and thoroughly gunked up the fasteners so that also acted somewhat as an insulator. No signs of corrosion when I pulled the tracks after three years. As long as you thoroughly seal the fasteners with a polysulfide, polyurethane, or butyl sealant shouldn't be any issues. Our previous boat is still next to us at the marina. The Schaeffer track on that boat is going on 40 years and the aluminum tracks with SS fasteners on that are still in good shape.