Foil maintenance

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

How do you take care of your foil (especially Slingshot foils and other foils that have stainless steel screws going into aluminum, which creates corrosion problems)?

The Slingshot manual suggests lanolin grease and wrapping with teflon tape. I've started with just the grease, but there was a bit of seizing and some corrosion a few days later. I have added teflon wrapping, but that is a bit tedious when you have to redo it, since removing the old teflon bits is a PITA.

I got a bit worried after reading about bolt failure on the Seabreeze forum, and then discovering that the two bolts connecting the mast to the fuselage had come slightly loose in a 3-hour session. I can see how this could lead to bolts breaking. When I removed the screws, the teflon tape was bunched up more than usual, which might have something to do with the screws coming loose. I had assembled mast and fuselage right before the session, using as much torque as I thought the screws can handle (the inside of one screw to attach the front wing, which uses the same key, has been deformed a bit when I used too much force earlier, so I'm holding back a bit).

One guy on Seabreeze suggested using TefGel. Similar teflon-based marine greases are available in the US. It seems this may be simpler than using lanolin + teflon tape, and perhaps work better.

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Tef or other marine gel works great but checking screw tightness is vital.
Take the whole assy apart every 10 days but check all screws before every session.
A bit messy.

grantmac017 · Joined: 04 Aug 2016 Posts: 946

I use Teflon pipe "dope". It doesn't totally dry but it kind of stiffens up and acts like a very mild thread locker. I'd use something thinner for the wing "socket" on the slingshot.

thombiz · Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 799 Location: Corpus Christi

I tried "spark plug anti-seize" and it worked for a couple months but a couple of the long screws at the top of the mast did seize. The screws phillips recess rounded out so I drilled the recess in the screw to remove the head. This allowed the top piece on the mast to be removed. The screws only projected about 1/8" above the top of the mast so I had to cut about 1 cm of the aluminum off the top of the mast, exposing 1 cm of the screw, then I used vice grips to remove the screw. I drilled tapped them to 1/4" 20 screws which are readily available as opposed to the metric OEM screws. Now, I'm trying a very stiff equipment grease I use on my trailer hitch. It bonds very well. Will post results.

d0uglass · Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:20 pm Post subject:

I've been using both the lanolin grease and the teflon tape that came with the my Slingshot foil, tape wrapped in a spiral over the top of the grease.

My maintenance schedule is as such:

Before every session- Check if anything is wiggly or loose. I crank everything pretty tight with the exception of the bolts that hold the front wing on, which I only crank medium tight so as not to strip the threads in the shallow aluminum cap. (Learned that the hard way and had to get a new cap.)

After every session- Wash the thing off with a freshwater hose

When I get around to it; maybe once a month but ought to do it more often- Disassemble, re-grease and reassemble the whole thing.

Haven't had anything seize yet... that I know of.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

I have the Naish foil. They recommend, & I have been using anti seize compound that I got at Home Depot. I remove the top plate 3 screws after every session to drain the water from the mast. I probably re-grease those threads every two months. The bottom three screws that go into the foil I check once a month. The wing screws I check once a season. I check for tightness on all screws once a week.

I know of one person who didn't check his screws for a full season & ended up having to drill them out because they seized. He sails in mostly the bay so salt water. I'm sailing only in fresh water.

Coachg

thombiz · Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 799 Location: Corpus Christi

To keep saltwater cleaned out of the mast I drilled two small 3/32" holes in the sidewall of the mast just down from the top cap with the cap in place and just above where the mast fits to the fuselage. These holes allow me to spray water in the upper holes which then comes squirting out the lower holes, flushing the saltwater away. This also eliminates the possibility of saltwater leaking out into the interior of my windsurf truck, causing a mess and/or rust.

grantmac017 · Joined: 04 Aug 2016 Posts: 946

Do NOT use anti-seize on the socket of the slingshot. Only non-metallic products should be used since the carbon of the wing has a very strong galvanic effect on the fuselage.

dcharlton · Joined: 24 Apr 2002 Posts: 414

I'm using Slingshot and don't use the Teflon tape, just seems a little tricky to apply over the greased up bolts.

I use Lucas Marine Grease, which seems like it's pretty heavy duty stuff on the bolts and on the Fuselage where it connects to the wing. You don't need much of this stuff, just on the tips of the bolts.

I do this about every six weeks where I break it down wipe off and re-apply. So far, no problems and I foil in salt water exclusively.

Definitely want to ensure you tighten the bolts snuggly and check before each run.

DC

kevinkan · Joined: 07 Jun 2001 Posts: 1661 Location: San Francisco

+1 for Tef-Gel