Hi,

I have a SABfoil M92 Fixed Twin Track mast for Windfoiling which I use with Balz W799/S399 and a 899 fuse.
Well I say "I" but it's actually my wife's, who loves it.

We do try to wash it with fresh water after each session, but sometimes it doesn't happen ... I normally spray it with WD40 after I clean it though.

I noticed recently the inserts in the foil mast (that connect to the Fuse) were looking a wee bit rusty and started wondering if they could be replaced as I'm not keen on the threads stripping and dropping the whole foil set into the ocean (is this where I say "don't worry about the wife...?). However the inserts do not look replacable? None of these photos are of my set btw.

So this started me thinking, if push came to shove, could I use brass (or stainless) M6 bushings similar to the ones used for fins?
I know the Tuttle version of one of the SABfoil masts uses these Bushings (admittedly at the other end), see stock photo from their website.

Questions:

a. Has anyone done (or thought of doing) this - and have any thoughts as if it would work? or would it weaken the whole thing and just break off?
b. If you drilled a hole for the bushing so you had enough "meat" in the mast so it didn't rip out, measured from the flat of the top of the mast (apart from obviously inline with the fuse holes... ); where would that position be?
c. I understand these are wooden cores, wrapped in carbon?; so if you drill it too low, you would expose the wood - does anyone know how far down that might be?

ta

k.

Look up "helicoil replacement" and see if that offers a solution.

One of the helicoils was unwinding from my Taaroa fuse recently. The replacement kit cost about US$12 on Amazon and once I understood the rather minimal instructions (the flanged end goes in first and the little adjustable collar is there to keep the whole assembly from riding up as yo screw it in), the replacement process really couldn't have been easier. I didn't have to tap for new threads but that would have added no more than two minutes to the process. You basically pull the old coil out, clean out the hole, re-tap or not, then thread in the new coil - as good as new. I was able to use 6mm coils to replace 6mm but if your port is really worn you could drill out and use 8mm or 1/4"-20 to replace 6mm for instance.

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Awalkspoiled said..
Look up "helicoil replacement" and see if that offers a solution.

One of the helicoils was unwinding from my Taaroa fuse recently. The replacement kit cost about US$12 on Amazon and once I understood the rather minimal instructions (the flanged end goes in first and the little adjustable collar is there to keep the whole assembly from riding up as yo screw it in), the replacement process really couldn't have been easier. I didn't have to tap for new threads but that would have added no more than two minutes to the process. You basically pull the old coil out, clean out the hole, re-tap or not, then thread in the new coil - as good as new. I was able to use 6mm coils to replace 6mm but if your port is really worn you could drill out and use 8mm or 1/4"-20 to replace 6mm for instance.

Good idea; only thing I am not sure of, (you said " You basically pull the old coil out") does anyone know if the original inserts are actually helicoils?

k.

Just use naval gel to get the rust off of the inserts, then rinse them, dry and used Beoshield T-9 on the inserts snd screws, it is anti corrosion and leaves a hard wax layer after it dries, so if you miss rinsing and treating sometimes, no big deal cause the wax is still there. And unlike tefgel or any other grease, T-9 does not attract sand. Stopped the galvanic corrosion which pitted the aluminum on my Streamlined mast extensions from getting any worse.

I'm not sure that they are barrel nuts. I've seen diagrams of the fittings on FB groups and they actually extend into the mast base. There have been several reports of the carbon on either side delaminating from them.

Found this from about 18 months ago. Looks like an x-ray or something similar of SABFoil mast. More images from others in the comments.

"I found this picture on the web of a Moses mast and it seems to have a pretty huge plate attached to the inserts at the mast-fuselage connection..... I guess the benefit is that it spreads the load of the inserts over a bigger area, but on the other hand there already is a conical-shaped connection between the mast and the fuse, which in principle should take the load."

source: www.facebook.com/groups/232666917793846/posts/397368841323652/

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Sandman1221 said..
Just use naval gel to get the rust off of the inserts, then rinse them, dry and used Beoshield T-9 on the inserts snd screws, it is anti corrosion and leaves a hard wax layer after it dries, so if you miss rinsing and treating sometimes, no big deal cause the wax is still there. And unlike tefgel or any other grease, T-9 does not attract sand. Stopped the galvanic corrosion which pitted the aluminum on my Streamlined mast extensions from getting any worse.

Cheers will have a look to see if I can source something similar to Beoshield.
Good interim solution Ta. Have been using Tefgel since I discovered the rust but goodness me it is messy...

k.

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Paducah said..
I'm not sure that they are barrel nuts.

Thanks for the wee picture, certainly looks a more robust than what I had in mind (as to being in there).
Would this answer the Q though i.e. "are the existing ones helicoils" (fitted into that plate arrangement?)

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jksmurf said..

Paducah said..
I'm not sure that they are barrel nuts.

Thanks for the wee picture, certainly looks a more robust than what I had in mind (as to being in there).
Would this answer the Q though i.e. "are the existing ones helicoils" (fitted into that plate arrangement?)

did you see this on fb (not my images)? I purchased a backout 92 and 72 (prone) old non kraken mast when they went down to 20% for this reason. I think you are better off using it until it fails which I think will be a long time.

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thedoor said..

did you see this on fb (not my images)? I purchased a backout 92 and 72 (prone) old non kraken mast when they went down to 20% for this reason. I think you are better off using it until it fails which I think will be a long time.

Actually not, because you had to join the FB Group and I wasn't sure if I needed to right now. These are great shots though thanks!
Wow; interesting stuff, that's a breakdown for sure!

Still wonder though if anyone could try to resurrect one with Barrel Nuts; in the meantime I am going to try to take better care of it...!

k.

Amazon, Ebay, plenty others online dealers have Beoshield T-9, is not cheap but works great, use it on the stab screws on my AFS foil because I do not disassemble it very often even though I am always in saltwater.

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Sandman1221 said..
Just use naval gel to get the rust off of the inserts, then rinse them, dry and used Beoshield T-9 on the inserts snd screws, it is anti corrosion and leaves a hard wax layer after it dries, so if you miss rinsing and treating sometimes, no big deal cause the wax is still there. And unlike tefgel or any other grease, T-9 does not attract sand. Stopped the galvanic corrosion which pitted the aluminum on my Streamlined mast extensions from getting any worse.

Thanks for this tip, sounds good. I'm not a fan of sticky tefgel, makes a terrible mess and I'm not sure it's a good idea with the helicoils in my SB fuse