I dry my boards after every sail and remove the plug , wash it and brush and vacuum out any sand in the system.
Somehow I've got dirt in the hole. I noticed it before the sail yesterday and moistened a tissue and removed as much as I could.
I screwed it in ( it ground a bit ) and sailed.
Back home and I gave it a better clean but it's still got some grit in there.
Any suggestions to clean it and get it screwing in ok again?

Unless you leave the board in or on a hot car or in an aeroplane , leave the plug alone. There will always be a grain of sand or salt crystals in there. Every time you loosen the screw the o ring and thread will suffer.
Ive got popcorn, discuss
p.s , I wonder , do the same people who undo vent plugs also tape masts together ?

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Imax1 said..
Unless you leave the board in or on a hot car or in an aeroplane , leave the plug alone. There will always be a grain of sand or salt crystals in there. Every time you loosen the screw the o ring and thread will suffer.
Ive got popcorn, discuss
p.s , I wonder , do the same people who undo vent plugs also tape masts together ?

I wonder , do the same people who undo vent plugs also tape masts together ?
Yep..
It's a black board so not a good colour to leave around on a hot day with the vent plug done up..

Sue, go to a servo and use the compressed air to gently and from a distance blow the dirt out. Rinse the vent screw in fresh water and simples.
Taking the vent screw out now and then is normal. Thats why manufacturers put a warning saying "close during sailing, open when not".
two schools of thought on this but it wont hurt. and if like others that dont want to spend a couple of bucks for a few O rings, strewth!!
As for taping a mast together!!! Seriously it takes 30 seconds, costs $2 for a roll of duct tape or electric tape which lasts years and saves so much grief trying to get a jammed 2 piece mast apart.
This is basic windsurfing 101 !!!!

Great idea. Thanks.

Masts sticking is a design flaw..

I like to inspect vents, so undo them, clean them out, lube the oring with silicon grease, and put the screw back in half undone. The problem with this design is the vent can fail or be defective in my experience, and you won't know water is getting in until your board starts becoming water damaged.

Sue, it may be a sign your vent is failing (perished oring, cracked vent hole, or vent hole that has not been properly tapped - just some of the faults I have seen), and sandy water is getting sucked in during use.

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jn1 said..
I like to inspect vents, so undo them, clean them out, lube the oring with silicon grease, and put the screw back in half undone. The problem with this design is the vent can fail or be defective in my experience, and you won't know water is getting in until your board starts becoming water damaged.

Sue, it may be a sign your vent is failing (perished oring, cracked vent hole, or vent hole that has not been properly tapped - just some of the faults I have seen), and sandy water is getting sucked in during use.

That sounds like a possibility.
I've been wondering how it gets sand as I don't rig or place it anywhere sandy.
The board is 10 years old.
Where could I get it fixed? Lake Macquarie area..

I'm a taper and an unscrewer.
The dog doesn't like me using tape. Because it goes in the wetsuit bucket afterwards and often ends up stuck to his feet after he finds it on the grass. He goes into a bit of a spaz thinking it's attacking him.
Scared to not tape so won't go there at this stage. Rigging in sand.
I'll try it if ever sailing with Imax so I can blame him and he can help pull.

I like the idea of leaving plug alone. When the sailing is on, every day, in and out, in and out.. wear will happen I guess.
Sue, those cans of compressed air are handy. Blow out electrical things and vent plug holes. Air comes out at like 100kts I reckon. Sand be gone!

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MobZ said..
I'm a taper and an unscrewer.
The dog doesn't like me using tape. Because it goes in the wetsuit bucket afterwards and often ends up stuck to his feet after he finds it on the grass. He goes into a bit of a spaz thinking it's attacking him.
Scared to not tape so won't go there at this stage. Rigging in sand.
I'll try it if ever sailing with Imax so I can blame him and he can help pull.

I like the idea of leaving plug alone. When the sailing is on, every day, in and out, in and out.. wear will happen I guess.
Sue, those cans of compressed air are handy. Blow out electrical things and vent plug holes. Air comes out at like 100kts I reckon. Sand be gone!

I haven't heard of compressed air cans. I'll have to have a look and get one.

I don't think lubing a O ring is a good idea , especially if your a vent unscrewer . It would just attract more sand. I think mast tape is a good idea if rigging on sand. It's also stops the mast separating when rigging.
But I don't use it cos I like livin on the edge and I check the mast join every time I rig. I also notice on mast tapers mast joins , there is a ring of tape goop that has sand stuck to it.
On another note , over the years , I've noticed that the O ring seating area can be really bad. Some are bad from new and some are flogged out from unscrewing. I've seen some badly flogged out threads , bearly hanging on from chronic vent unscrewers. Sand , salt and plastic threads are not a good mix .I reseat every board I come across and new O ring. Personally ,unless the board is roasting in the sun , the way I see it ,on average , more bad comes from unscrewing vent plugs. Threads flog out , O rings fail, ( I suppose it doesn't matter on new boards because they don't last long enough for this to happen ),and the big one , forgetting to tighten the plug before every sail.
I suppose it's a gamble either way .

Some sort of toothpick or small flat screwdriver to scrape thread clean before tightening. The O-ring will take some imperfections.

Dry the board in the sun and use a vacuum

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Imax1 said..
I don't think lubing a O ring is a good idea , especially if your a vent unscrewer . It would just attract more sand. I think mast tape is a good idea if rigging on sand. It's also stops the mast separating when rigging.
But I don't use it cos I like livin on the edge and I check the mast join every time I rig. I also notice on mast tapers mast joins , there is a ring of tape goop that has sand stuck to it.
On another note , over the years , I've noticed that the O ring seating area can be really bad. Some are bad from new and some are flogged out from unscrewing. I've seen some badly flogged out threads , bearly hanging on from chronic vent unscrewers. Sand , salt and plastic threads are not a good mix .I reseat every board I come across and new O ring. Personally ,unless the board is roasting in the sun , the way I see it ,on average , more bad comes from unscrewing vent plugs. Threads flog out , O rings fail, ( I suppose it doesn't matter on new boards because they don't last long enough for this to happen ),and the big one , forgetting to tighten the plug before every sail.
I suppose it's a gamble either way .

These Exocet RS boards have a good design. The vent plug is behind the mast track so you can't put the mastfoot on until you've screwed in the plug.
I don't know why all boards aren't designed that way.

All fixed.
Quote " Cleaned up the threads on the vent plug. Cleaned the hole with a wd40 soaked piece of cloth wrapped around a piece of wire so it was pointed and narrow. Cleaned up the thread of the board using a 3/8 bolt."
I reckon its good for another 10 years .

Check the o-ring for cracks. Remove it from the plug with care and inspect; if you see ANY cracks, or it looks very dry replace it. They tend to last for years if you don't over tighten them, though.

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WillyWind said..
Check the o-ring for cracks. Remove it from the plug with care and inspect; if you see ANY cracks, or it looks very dry replace it. They tend to last for years if you don't over tighten them, though.

Will do next time I unscrew it

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ka43 said..
Sue, go to a servo and use the compressed air to gently and from a distance blow the dirt out. Rinse the vent screw in fresh water and simples.
Taking the vent screw out now and then is normal. Thats why manufacturers put a warning saying "close during sailing, open when not".
two schools of thought on this but it wont hurt. and if like others that dont want to spend a couple of bucks for a few O rings, strewth!!
As for taping a mast together!!! Seriously it takes 30 seconds, costs $2 for a roll of duct tape or electric tape which lasts years and saves so much grief trying to get a jammed 2 piece mast apart.
This is basic windsurfing 101 !!!!

When did you get so sensible Larko?

I like to live dangerously
- I have a Goretex plug on my foil board
- I always loosen my vent screws on my slalom boards and check the O-ring at the beginning of each season
- I don't tape my mast anymore after years of doing so
- I change my tendon, boom clamp and outhaul ropes at the beginning of each season

Dont really care if sand falls into the styro thats drilled out 3" deep and is powdery as a result.
If its not in the seat, good to go.
If it is, two sec with a stick from the rigging area and blow in it.

Not seeing the issue.

Now never opening it, well...... big fan of ppl who never open it. I get to meet them often

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Mark _australia said..
Dont really care if sand falls into the styro thats drilled out 3" deep and is powdery as a result.
If its not in the seat, good to go.
If it is, two sec with a stick from the rigging area and blow in it.

Not seeing the issue.

Now never opening it, well...... big fan of ppl who never open it. I get to meet them often

And as Mark's last sentence said, therein lies the answer!!!

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Mark _australia said..
Dont really care if sand falls into the styro thats drilled out 3" deep and is powdery as a result.
If its not in the seat, good to go.
If it is, two sec with a stick from the rigging area and blow in it.

Not seeing the issue.

Now never opening it, well...... big fan of ppl who never open it. I get to meet them often

If I can convince people to never open their plugs, can I get some sort of repair kick back? ?
As you know, I'm a leave the plug alone kind of guy. I don't suggest never loosening it. Just when it gets hot. Not every time for time's sake. It's just wear and tear and breaking the seal which is a weak link.
How many board repairs are there from leaking plugs? Soft spots seem to be where water gets in, just saying.
Popcorn.

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Imax1 said..
I don't think lubing a O ring is a good idea

Yes, naturally at sandy rigging areas I don't use lube. When I sail at very windy/sandy spots, I do the vent screw up at home.

I've fixed about 10 boards now (both friends boards and my own) with faulty vent holes. I've currently got a 2018 79 FSW Pro. I brought it 2nd hand from a shop, and I'm guessing the 1st owner owned it for a year full of water, because they obviously screwed up and never checked it. It turned out that the diameter of the vent hole was too small for the screw, and this owner was never able to fully screw it in properly and get the oring squished. So, he sells it to the shop, and hopes nobody will notice.... So sucker buys it 2nd hand for $1.5k, and sees a fault after first ride. I epoxied and retapped hole. Board has been bone dry every since. But, after 5 very enjoyable years riding it, the starboard rail is showing signs of structurally failing (I've just ordered a brand new 78 FSW Pro now). If I did what the first owner did, the board would have failed a long time ago.

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sboardcrazy said..

jn1 said..
I like to inspect vents, so undo them, clean them out, lube the oring with silicon grease, and put the screw back in half undone. The problem with this design is the vent can fail or be defective in my experience, and you won't know water is getting in until your board starts becoming water damaged.

Sue, it may be a sign your vent is failing (perished oring, cracked vent hole, or vent hole that has not been properly tapped - just some of the faults I have seen), and sandy water is getting sucked in during use.

That sounds like a possibility.
I've been wondering how it gets sand as I don't rig or place it anywhere sandy.
The board is 10 years old.
Where could I get it fixed? Lake Macquarie area..

But before you panic, is it really broken? How much water has got in? To get sand in by water sucking in would be a major o ring gap, i.e a sand grain sized gap. Water would be coming out again in well noticeable amounts when you open it up again. Has the board got heavy? Im going to guess it's just sand doing what sand does, washing round in the luff tube and lodging along side or around the bung. Like larko said blow it out gently, or as you mentioned you vacuumed, try to tape a smaller diameter tube (eg a bic pen tube) to the end of your vacuume hose and suck it out. Myself I don't like greasing the o ring as sand sticks to it always then. Again like larko said, bag of spare o rings are a few bucks can be bought on line and sent to you even!.

Those of us who sail on Sandy beaches know better than to lube the o-ring.

Besides, viton o-rings are like $3/dozen in the plumbing section of the local hardware store. If in doubt, swap if out.

Use scrapie tool for gunk and small brush for loose grit.
I like to spit on it, it adds lube but dries shut, there's no oily residue, risk of swelling, etc.

Do rinse around plug before opening and double check for dirt before closing.

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Manuel7 said..
Use scrapie tool for gunk and small brush for loose grit.
I like to spit on it, it adds lube but dries shut, there's no oily residue, risk of swelling, etc.

Do rinse around plug before opening and double check for dirt before closing.

Jesus, I wonder if we are still talking vent plugs

Came up with an idea on my last 'way up north' trip.

I had a pump spray bottle with water in it for some reason. Bloody brilliant to crank fresh water into areas of concern when there's lots of salt or sand around. Every few days I'd pump the uni base, boom head+clips, bung while it's done up, etc... at the of the session. Got rid of all the crap. Absolute luxxrey for ya kit.

Also handy when I holed the board. Pump fresh water in to get the salty stuff out, dried properly, glass job done with blowouts and back on the water quick smart the next day.

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Gestalt said..

Manuel7 said..
Use scrapie tool for gunk and small brush for loose grit.
I like to spit on it, it adds lube but dries shut, there's no oily residue, risk of swelling, etc.

Do rinse around plug before opening and double check for dirt before closing.

Jesus, I wonder if we are still talking vent plugs

Yes they are apparently

After reading the title of this and some of the responses - I think it's best I say nothing and don't get a 10 year ban from seabreeze.