Which is the better base for wavesailing? I presently use the bases with the US cup but there is a lot of wobble in the joint. It seems like it could fail but I've heard the pins break depending on the brand. Any thoughts?

I've pulled both out of the extention getting dumped, so I reckon there both as strong (or weak) as each other. As for sliding it in, the male end of the euro pin just slips straight in the female end, makes sense...
If ya keep em new every season you should'nt have a problem either way, a $100 UJ is cheaper than losing your rig, which sux.
Happy sailing.

I changed from US base to euro pin for wavesailing a couple of seasons ago and have had no worries at all.

Only changed because I was sent one in an incorrect order, but since then I have become a fan. No wobble like us base gets, easier to attach and detach, and has been super reliable so far.

iVE seen way more Euro Pins fail, the US cup may get sloppy but it has to be very worn before it lets go.(never happened to me)
The Euro pin has a smaller contact area..... my money is always on the US twin pin cup and twin bolt base set up.
AKA - Chinook system, the only bugger about these base/extension is the minimum extension has to be 10cm it can't go any lower

go the twin cupsy

seen a few of the snapped euros....not seen any cupsys....yet.

i never notice the wobble when i'm fangin it

chinook pin, had it for 4 years and still going strong.

OK here comes the dissenter .....

Everyone says europin breaks more, and yes it got a bad rap years ago but the quality brand new ones are way better.

I changed to europin as I got sick of the US cup / Chinook cup having the two little pins break off the spring they attach to, and the bolt hole enlarging in the end cups the tendon goes into. Never had a proper separation, but it was way loose with only 1 pin trust me!!!! and of course you did not discover it when the little buttons sheared off halfway thru a sesh and you get back to the beach and think 'strewth what if...'

The new europin base from Chinook is way stronger then the US cup.
In the new one, the pin is one piece with the top cup that the tendon goes into. The older ones had a pin that screwed on, and that was where they broke. Cant happen with the new one.

It also does not have a countersunk bolt rotating in the tendon cup like a US cup base does, which eventually enlarges the hole.

have a look at a Chinook stainless europin base. Beefy and no parts that can fail.



That has 3 parts, the whole top section is machined from one piece. Unlike the US cup system that has a plastic cup, with two buttons on a spring, bolted to a a little ally cup (and the bolt wears the hole out), then a tendon, then another little cup bolted to the base (again witht he bolt wearing the cup out), 2 washers, and piddly little bolts thru the tendon. The above one also has proper downhaul rope, not two bits of 1.5mm string, in case of tendon failure. Less bits = stronger.
The pin rotates in the extension = less wear (on the cup system you have a stainless bolt rotating in a little alloy cup which will wear and the wear is unseen.)

+1 (for Chinook uni) Absolutely bullet proof.

same as mark,
chinook europin has served well for 2 seasons. i bought a rubber tendon end of last winter to replace as that is what is recommended to be safe. i got lazy and the tendon lasted all last summer, then last week, i was coming in after a session and a wavelet in the shorey just tipped and jolted the board against the mast and presto the old stiff tendon just tore out in the screw hole clean. but the ropes held it all together.
moral is: dont wait for grief, if you have had a good season out of a black rubber tendon, then spend 30 bucks on a new one which can be changed really quickly with the right hex driver, and you shouldnt have to worry for another season at least.
but make sure the spigot is firmly and securely clicked into its extension socket before going out as it gets tricky trying mate it back together out in break or at sea.
surf sail has spares on the net order system.
i lke the streamlined as its nice and light, but it doesnt click in and seat perfectly in my generic carbon & aluminium extensions. meaning i probably should have purchased a streamlined ext to go with the base. although it does click into the north xt ext okay.

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Mark _australia said...
have a look at a Chinook stainless europin base. Beefy and no parts that can fail.

Do you find the tendon wears faster than usual with this setup?

^^^ I dunno as I have only had it for 3 seasons and the tendon is still in tact.
About to change it just to be safe.

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stehsegler said...

Mark _australia said...
have a look at a Chinook stainless europin base. Beefy and no parts that can fail.

Do you find the tendon wears faster than usual with this setup?

i use this system and havent had any worn out tendons HOWEVER dont get the chinook imitation base be cause it will snap.... it will.... will.... just when your out the back, it will snap then you'll have to swim in, all the way... just cause you bought a cheapy base.... it will go ping then GONE.....

the chinook bases are a one piece machined part where as the imitations have a screw on pin and the thread snaps

After you have your first 2 hour swim back to shore you'll go for the non pin joints. like myself.
Had the pin snap..... and a few years ago had the sail dislodge in real heavy windy swelly conditions from the extension lock.

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busterwa said...

After you have your first 2 hour swim back to shore you'll go for the non pin joints. like myself.

Surely that wasn't the pin machined from a single piece. The break off point of a solid stainless steel pin of that size would be well in excess of 8 tons. The only way that would break would be due to hairline fractures already existent in the steel itself. Maybe if it was cheap steel from China. But high quality steel from the US or Europe... it would be a fluke.

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busterwa said...

After you have your first 2 hour swim back to shore you'll go for the non pin joints. like myself.
Had the pin snap..... and a few years ago had the sail dislodge in real heavy windy swelly conditions from the extension lock.

What brand was it?

I had the nut snap/split in the bottom of a BOGE rubber UJ/tendon (not the steamlined version) a couple of weeks ago. Had to swim it all in, through surfers and 4ft swell - luckily nothing else broke.

I've never had this happen in 20 years of windsurfing - but I have snapped plenty of tendon types UJs (just the rubber part).