I have just bought a F2 Race board at 152 litres with a deep Tuttle box and I am having a hard time trying to get any of my many shallow Tuttle fins to fit. The fin goes in alright but the screws holding the fin are going sideways. Can anyone help?
I have just bought a F2 Race board at 152 litres with a deep Tuttle box and I am having a hard time trying to get any of my many shallow Tuttle fins to fit. The fin goes in alright but the screws holding the fin are going sideways. Can anyone help?
No problem using those fins . Just need longer bolts .
I actually got lucky at Sailboard Headquarters and picked up a deep Tuttle fin for $60. I did try an assortment of longer bolts but one bolt seemed to go sideways and it just wasn't working out.
What do you mean 'going sideways ' ?
Is it flapping around or not aligning up ?
This is what I would do.
First check that the thread in the brass nuts is in good condition .
Lay the new fin over the old one and make sure the brass nuts are the same width apart , they should be. Which should also be the same width as the holes in the board .( just making sure there's nothing weird going on with the new fin ).
Go to Bunnings and buy two 100mm long M6 bolts . Cheap and nasty ones .
Put the bolts all the way through the board and screw them into the fin .
Slide the fin into the board . ( this is to make sure the holes in the board are aligned with the fin nuts ).They should be . ( Ive had one board where the holes in the board were not perfect and I got a long 7mm drill and had to re angle a hole slightly ) .
Then with the bolts screwed in and the fin all the way into the board , measure how much gap there is under the bolt heads . The front and rear may be different . Deduct this measurement from the 100mm bolts and that is the exact size you need for that fin and board.
Go to a marine or windsurf shop and buy the bolts in stainless. You may have to cut them down . Stainless washer and thin rubber washer.
I actually did all that - got 85mm stainless steel, marine grade M6 bolts but one was misaligned with the shallow tuttle fin. I could have drilled sideways, as you suggested, with a 7mm drill bit but I was not confident enough to do this so I just bought a deep tuttle fin instead. I just think that sailboard manufacturers these days build certain equipment to fit specific boards etc. It's like cutting down a 430cm mast to fit the luff pocket of a sail that needs a 400cm mast.