I found this very small grain of rice sized indent/hole in my board where the screws tighten down and the rubber and metal washers rest. I don't overtighten the bolt just make sure there snug. So am very surprised to see this on my basically brand new board(~20 sessions). I am thinking of putting some epoxy on to fill that void and hope my new board doesn't fail prematurely. It's right beside the edge (2 o'clock) so that makes me nervous(this was my first brand new board I bought)

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

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CAN17 said..
I found this very small grain of rice sized indent/hole in my board where the screws tighten down and the rubber and metal washers rest. I don't overtighten the bolt just make sure there snug. So am very surprised to see this on my basically brand new board(~20 sessions). I am thinking of putting some epoxy on to fill that void and hope my new board doesn't fail prematurely. It's right beside the edge (2 o'clock) so that makes me nervous(this was my first brand new board I bought)

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Short answer no, thats really nothing to worry about. I don't think i've got a board without a little gouge in the fin box plastic somewhere.

board is farked ... send it to me I'll gladly bin it for you.
you can thank me later !

^^^
Very funny Sean I'm sure you would.

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Subsonic said..
Short answer no, thats really nothing to worry about. I don't think i've got a board without a little gouge in the fin box plastic somewhere.

Glad to hear. I thought it would be fine. The chimney is actually really thick

There's always one^^^^ Sean

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CAN17 said..
^^^ The chimney is actually really thick

Chimney? How long these foil things been fossil fuel burners?

I would assume your vent screw has an o-ring seal. That chip would likely bugger the o-ring and/or cause a leak. I'd put epoxy on the screw and make the seal permanent

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DWF said..
I would assume your vent screw has an o-ring seal. That chip would likely bugger the o-ring and/or cause a leak. I'd put epoxy on the screw and make the seal permanent

Its the fin box screw hole, not the vent plug.

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CAN17 said..

DWF said..
I would assume your vent screw has an o-ring seal. That chip would likely bugger the o-ring and/or cause a leak. I'd put epoxy on the screw and make the seal permanent

It's the fin screw hole not the vent hole so likely no leaks here.

^^^
Yes you just posted 1 sec before me. Didn't think we need two people saying the same thing

Thinking of going with a bigger rubber washer. Might be overkill but can't hurt. Still original sized stainless washer for now until I find one slightly bigger. Seems silly why manufacturers wouldn't give you a bigger(wider) washer to try to utilize all the space in that recessed part of the fin box to help distribute the force more. Just my $0.02

Just put a dab of epoxy on. If I keep on making small repairs like this epoxy will last a lifetime

That's some serious QA examination to spot that.
And all to no avail.
the load is over whole washer so no problem plus using that spongey washer will not help and may allow movement in the box.

Yep. ^^^

i eventually made up some plastic washers for the foil screws. The rubber washers we use on normal fins have way too much give in them for foil pitch movement.

Don't be shy with tensioning the screws up either. With foils its worse not to. Don't forget how much weight the foil actually ends up supporting when airborne. A "long term" foiler also taught me to "shock load" the foil by bouncing the board and foil with a foot on the back end of the fuse (on grass of course), which ensures the foil is seated properly in the board as you tension the bolts.

I think it's the same type of rubber but it it less bendy because it's a lot thicker.

I agree the force is much greater with a foil. I have felt the screws loosen a little before(about half turm) after taking the foil apart.
My slingshot foil has a flange and I make sure the flange is seated all the way to the board before I tighten it down, it is a really nicely designed deep tuttle head on the SS foil.

Flanges, even small ones, are a great idea for both a correct seating as well as some amount of load spreading. Too bad not all foil mfers offer them. Looking at you, Starboard.

yes.... bloody starboard... oh wait a minute :




LOL I see your point though, a little flange on the carbon mast wouldn't hurt

I don't use any rubber washers. Just two ss washers, one with about 25 mm and one standard sized.
The rubber lets the tuttlehead move too much in the box.
Alex