Track keeps blowing up

Not really, no.

what do you mean by the thread eats at the track? The mast track is generally a very solid piece of plastic laminated into the board with re-enforcing laid around it. Seen them catastrophically ripped out before, but never seen one damaged through general use?

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Subsonic said..
Not really, no.

what do you mean by the thread eats at the track? The mast track is generally a very solid piece of plastic laminated into the board with re-enforcing laid around it. Seen them catastrophically ripped out before, but never seen one damaged through general use?

Like the thread (thread from mast base) grates on the the mast track, when i take the mast base out there are big wear marks from the thread of the base.

Have a look at your uni base too. Maybe another round spacer is required.

I see confusion , is the damage to the bottom or sides of the box ?
Is the screw too long and damagaging the bottom of the track ? If so , you can shorten the screw or ,( as above suggests ) ,put another spacer , the big 100mm one ,under the mast base .It should lift it a couple mm. However , if the damage is to the side of the box , replace the threaded plate in your mast track to a T nut shaped one .

Are you using a T-shaped nut or the older flat-nut version?

Seems to me like the T-nut is not doing its job. So perhaps replace it with a new one. I have had some in which the bolt hole was not centered well.

photo of the mast base showing thread and nut would be helpful I've never seen anything like that.

Looks like it's the the thread wearing on the side of the slot, As others have said, the nut should centre the bolt. if not, the nut isn't wide enough ,or the cut out in the track is too wide.

That is strange if using a T nut. Is the damage only on one side ? If so , could the box have been badly installed on an angle ? Nothing surprises me . That would explain those marks if they are only on one side .It's easy to check if you have a US fin lying around.

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Sandman1221 said..
Does the nut have little spikes at each of the 4 corners, and are those spikes on the nut pointing upward towards the mast base? Are the marks on the track at the different positions where the mast base has been locked in place?

its an average t nut i believe

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Roy1000 said..

WillyWind said..

Roy1000 said..

SurferKris said..
Are you using a T-shaped nut or the older flat-nut version?

Seems to me like the T-nut is not doing its job. So perhaps replace it with a new one. I have had some in which the bolt hole was not centered well.

Yes i am using a t nut but i've used it on other boards with no issues perhaps its just gotten old.
Thanks

A worn out nut should not cause that type of damage.


put the T-nut in the slot and with a flashlight see if the hole (where the mast base gets screwed in) is right in the middle or is more toward the side it is rubbing. Wiggle the t-nut side with a pencil side to see if it has a little bit of space to move. Also, you can Get a bolt from a hardware store that fits the t-nut thread, Screw it into the t-nut in and check if the bolt is rubbing that side.

I've used the base and nut on the same make of board previously and never had that sort of wear. Which is odd that its doing it on my board.

So maybe the problem is the mast track is not to spec. and the side that is getting rubbed is a little too wide, that may be due to the builder wrapping a layer of glass around the edge making it wider than it is supposed to be and your screw is just removing that excess. Or, the inside track on the opposite side has extra glass that is forcing the nut to the other side. So probably just a cosmetic issue, could color some epoxy black and give it a coat to hide the wear marks. Personally, I would not worry about it from a structural stand point, but would color it black to hide it visually. Paint stores have pigments, just need the smallest amount they can dispense, and then take a touch of that and mix in with waterproof epoxy.