Is This Boom Gonna Break?

shreddbob · Joined: 31 Mar 1987 Posts: 361 Location: Hawaii

This is a 2008 HPL Slalom 170 boom. Not all that much use since I only use it with my 6.5...but have been seeing a rust stain seeping out from the heat shrink at front of arm. I peeled back to see the rusty stainless rivet seen in photo. The rivet 180 degrees around at this same spot is also rusting.

I thought carbon booms were done with metal and carbon together! Anyone had an HPL like this break due to galvanic corrosion? Interesting that my really old HPL Hybrid Carbon Wave from 2003 has no rivets in this location, and is still going strong after tons of use.

Bob

shreddbob · Joined: 31 Mar 1987 Posts: 361 Location: Hawaii

Reflecting on this some more...I think the center stud of the stainless rivet is normal non-stainless steel and the source of the rust. I'm thinking of coating the rivet with POR-15 rust neutralizer and then sealing over the top with wetsuit rubber cement before taping everything back up.

I'm thinking that the rivet is not very structural (why did they even use it??) and this solution will be adequate.

nw30 · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:57 pm Post subject:

It's definitely going to break, I'll buy it off you for $25!!! Cash!

Actually it's your harness lines that need to be replaced, from the looks of them.

shreddbob · Joined: 31 Mar 1987 Posts: 361 Location: Hawaii

Mulekick84 · Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 407

Hey Ripper, that's a mighty long boom you have there. Too big for my sails, but I guess you need a big sail to outrun those big sharks you like to sail with.

Great gorge season! Good to see you chasing it so hard! I thought you forgot where you parked with some of those long sessions you take! You show up to sail, unlike so many!

John H

shreddbob · Joined: 31 Mar 1987 Posts: 361 Location: Hawaii

Hey John,

Good to see you slashing it up this year too! If I could slash like that I wouldn't have to sail so long LOL.

...And you don't want to even know how long my 9.4 boom is... Sad

See you next year.

Bob

bred2shred · Joined: 02 May 2000 Posts: 989 Location: Jersey Shore

You are correct, it's just the mandrel that is rusting. It's not uncommon for stainless steel pop rivets to be supplied with plain steel mandrels. I wouldn't worry about this at all. Just buy a section of shrink tubing and slip it over where you cut the existing tubing, or wrap it with electrical tape.

Stainless steel and carbon fiber are more or less galvanically compatible. It's aluminum with carbon or aluminum with stainless that you have to worry about.

sm

shreddbob · Joined: 31 Mar 1987 Posts: 361 Location: Hawaii

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll wrap over the cut part with 3M Super 33+ electrical tape, and also wrap the tape at all the other edges of the shrink tubing too. This way no more salt water should get in there.

BTW: 3M Super 33+ tape is the best waterproof electrical tape around! Stretches and conforms, sticks great, and is even removable at a later date if necessary. And doesn't have any of that black sticky adhesive crap oozing out of the tape over time like other electrical tapes.