What I know about the pin failure..------WebKitFormBoundary7j7uXdFh+4DaN0XV

Posted By: Tom Cannon, 2023A, Coupeville WA------WebKitFormBoundary7j7uXdFh+4DaN0XV
Date: 4/18/08 10:49a.m.

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In Response To: Question? (pic) (Bob Frak)

is limited. The previous owner said he didn't notice the failure until he was tied to a dock after a day of sailing from Anacortes WA, where he launched the boat, to Orcas Island WA. I assume he "noticed" when he couldn't raise the board. It was only much later when he hired a professional boat builder to repair the pin that it was discovered the trunk wall had been breached. This was after sailing the boat back to Anacortes and hauling it to Eugene OR. I don't know if any glass cloth was used in the original repair that was made from inside the trunk. Because of this I ground down the excess Bondo and added multiple layers of glass cloth to the damaged area inside the ballast tank. I don't know exactly how the pin failed. I do know it was left hanging by one end after the failure. The original aluminum pin was replaced with a stainless steel pin and new lag bolts were used to hold it in place as can be seen in my photo. I can't see any wear on either side of the board, but I assume any damage to the board was repaired. I get the impression that when the board broke loose and went through the trunk wall it jammed at an angle. The previous owner is a racer and was probably applying maximum pressure to the board and pin while tacking repeatedly over a period of 6 to 8 hours. There is no doubt in my mind that the OEM design is bad. Using an aluminum pin was a mistake, but using two wood screws into wood blocks to resist the forces on the pin is an accident waiting to happen. Because I don't trust the original design, I added additional support to keep the pin in place. I'll make a separate posting showing how I put some "suspenders" on the original pin support. ------WebKitFormBoundary7j7uXdFh+4DaN0XV