Footstrap question

[joethewindsufa]

My very old Fanatic CAT has some very old footstraps.
I purchased some new RRD straps at a good price.
As I have never put brand new straps, I was a little surprised at the effort.
Finally felt the one strap done was okay and then read about using the clip inside the strap.
The original straps had plastic clips and were often in pieces rather than a strap. An example photo is enclosed.

now to the question ...

is the strap or pieces required inside the new RRD straps or are the screws sufficient ??

thanx 4 understanding
joe windsurfer @ http://joewindsurfer.com

[isobars]

Two major issues must be assessed and addressed:
1. Are your screw heads big enough to prevent the strap from tearing off of them? Without washers, I doubt it.

2. Are your screws short enough that you did not blow the bottoms out of the inserts in your board? Unscrew and lift one end of a strap, shove its screw thoroughly through the strap hole, measure the depth of the screw hole in the board, and hope to hell the screw could not have bottomed out in the board. If there's ANY hint that it could have done so, check them all out.

You ARE using a drill, not a screwdriver, we hope. The former reduces the task of changing 4 straps to an effortless three-minute task.

Mike \m/

[joethewindsufa]

i use a screwdriver so as NOT to bottom out screws
however, i will put washers !!!
metal that is

thank you mike aka isobars

[DanWeiss]

Also, use basic bar soap to reduce friction of the screw into the plastic. Never, ever use a power drill-driver at full speed. It can easily melt the plastic of the insert. That said, I always use a drill-driver at higher torque and lower speed with the clutch set low. Slow is safe.

[isobars]

[jingebritsen]

i remember those straps. those washers were meant to be used with countersunk screws. they have the anti-twist teeth in them. the screws had machine threads, not sheet metal/wood. careful to not strip the inserts. i always use screw drivers for foot straps. takes a bit longer, but the inserts don't get stripped/bottomed out, the screw heads don't get shredded, and the extraneous strap fixtures are less likely to be screwed up.

keep it simple. the drill thing is not worth the dangers of screwing up this simple task. plus, if you've done 100 or more boards in a few dayz, you're hands become quite strong.....

[swchandler]

I'm with you John, using a good screwdriver might take a bit longer, but it safely gets the job done.

[noshuzbluz]

[johnl]

Do you guys own modern cordless drills? It sounds like you don't (and Mike obviously does). There are settings for the amount of resistance. If you set it low, it will NOT overdrive the screw unless like Mike said, the screw is too long. Think of it as a mini torque wrench. Once the setting is reached, it stops. I think mine has over 20 settings, and the lower ones I can generate more power with two fingers on a screwdriver.

That said, I use a hand screwdriver most of the time, because I tend not to take my power tools with me to windsurfing sites BUT if I'm at home, power all the way baby.....

Oh yeah, MORE important that the screwdriver is what is UNDER your board when you work on it. If there are irregularities in the ground, and if they are sharp, your weight on the board can cause a penetration through the skin on the bottom. So now I am very careful and always place a thick towel under the section I am working on.....

[dllee]

We all own cordless adjustable clutch screw guns.
Takes no pressure to punch thru the bottom of soft plastic footstrap inserts.
As Mike said, most important the screw length + strap is less than the depth of the hole of the insert.
The white spacer/strapkeeps provide SPACING and anti twist. BOTH.