Old Fiberspa/Neilpryde twistlock carbon boom modification - drilling holes a bad idea?

Has anyone resorted to drilling adjustment holes in an old Neilpryde twist lock boom after the twist lock has failed?

I can't seem to find twist lock replacements anymore. Its for a small carbon race boom 160cm - ???cm, 70Kg sailor and used for small speed sails. Ideally I would have 3 settings eg 160cm, 167cm & 176cm, would drilling holes make the tail end too weak to use in practise?

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srtgumbee said..
Has anyone resorted to drilling adjustment holes in an old Neilpryde twist lock boom after the twist lock has failed?

I can't seem to find twist lock replacements anymore. Its for a small carbon race boom 160cm - ???cm, 70Kg sailor and used for small speed sails. Ideally I would have 3 settings eg 160cm, 167cm & 176cm, would drilling holes make the tail end too weak to use in practise?

There's an effective hack/bodge you can do to keep it going without drilling holes. You put an o ring in the groove that you want to stop against and the turny bits can screw down snug and slip free. You might want to lubricate the slots in the turny bits to mitigate wear.

The wall thickness in the extension is nothing like booms designed with holes.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

RichardG has pointed out twist locks replacement may still be a thing....so will go there first :-)

The boom is in desperate need of a revamp...grip, twistlocks (have used hose clamps in the past) and tail end are all failing. I got fed up with out haul slipping in strong gusts that I bought a chinook 160cm - ???cm and have very been happy using that for the last couple of years. I want to get a smaller sail which doesn't fit the chinook and thought I could recycle my old Neilpryde boom as a useful project.
Will post my progress if this goes ahead.

Windpower in the US have a fair bit of Fiberspar spares so email them and they will be only to happy to provide assistance to keep the boom on the water. They have authentic Fiberspar grip and boom ends as well. I think Neil Pryde booms were originally made by Fiberspar. It can be expensive to keep them in condition as postage costs can be high from the US so you will need to consider. Maybe buy a few sets of twist locks. You might want to also check this online shop in NZ: www.google.co.nz/?gws_rd=ssl as some of their parts may be of use, but not sure precisely, they may have some spares off site.