Seriously Stuck Fin

windswell · Joined: 20 May 2010 Posts: 211

I've had a Tuttle Fin stuck for over a year. Yeah, I should have taken it out sooner, but didn't. I did bang on it pretty hard with a rubber mallet. That didn't work. So I clamped a couple 2x4's on either side and hit 2x4'st VERY hard with a sledge hammer. It finally moved, and no fin damage. In the attached pic, the 2x4s have rotated down slightly with the force of the hammer.[img][/img]

nw30 · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 1:20 pm Post subject:

Kid's stuff solution~
Put the screws back in the fin, but not all the way, just a few turns in, then hit the screw heads with your mallet as to not damage the screw heads.
Hopefully you didn't buy those very new looking clamps just for that.

outcast · Joined: 04 May 2004 Posts: 2724

what he said.

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

With a weedfin with an extended leading edge, you're damn lucky that you didn't punch it into the bottom of the board by pounding it out from the trailing edge. In any case, I bet you've had a good lesson about the risks of being lazy. If I was you, I would spend some time sanding the fin base for a slippery, but snug fit.

bse · Joined: 30 Jul 2013 Posts: 34

to expound on NW30's suggestion...

make sure you have at least 3 threads engaged, but personally i'd screw it all the way in and then back it out a few threads, all you need is a bit of movement.

engage a screwdriver (bigger is better) in the phillips head recess, and tap the top of the screwdriver with the hammer, of course start lightly at first, making sure the baord is sitting on a well supported surface (the objective is to put as much force into the fin as possible, while the board moves as little as possible, so just holding it in air wouldn't suffice)

make sure you are sure that it hasn't moved after every few taps, and if it has (and it's still stuck) back out the bolt a bit more. If it ever appears to have less than 3+ threads of engagement, find a longer bolt... a glancing blow might screw up the threads in the fin and/or the bolt.

Brian_S · Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 249 Location: SE Michigan

I'd add to bse's suggestions, and put some water into the fin screw hole, or even put some PB Blaster in the night before and tap the fin a couple times, go away and repeat.

BTW this is not a tuttle but rather a power box fin.

windswell · Joined: 20 May 2010 Posts: 211

Pounding hard on the fin screw heads didn't work, and yes, it is a tuttle box. I was able to get a thin piece of flat steel under the leading edge of the fin against the bottom of the board, so it wouldn't rotate up into the board.

kmf · Joined: 02 Apr 2001 Posts: 503

So back to square one.....

What caused the fin to stick?

Sand?

Salt water?

If it is salt which has dried in the cavity thus sticking the fin and the box together, try sticking the entire back end of the board and fin into a bucket of water for a couple of days. Perhaps enough salt will go into solution to give you a chance for removal.

If it is sand in there, good luck.

Keith

bred2shred · Joined: 02 May 2000 Posts: 989 Location: Jersey Shore

I was going to suggest the same as above and say to back out the screws or better yet, install longer screws (so you are full engaged in the insert and the screw is seated against the fin) and then, with the bottom of the board well supported, whack the screw heads with a hammer/dead blow mallet.

A more radical solution if that doesn't work, would be to drill a hole through the fin and pull it out using mechanical means (pulley system, come along, trailer hitch on a car....). Then once it's out, fill the hole in with epoxy and sand it fair.

sm

Mulekick84 · Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 407

You may be able to tie a rope tightly around the fin using the tab on the back. Tie the rope to your trailer hitch or stable tree and jerk it away holding the board so it stays parallel to the hitch and at 90 degrees. May be a two man procedure.

The alternative is to drill a hole through the fin, thread the rope and tie a figure 8 knot, which will be easy to untie, then try it. The hole could then be filled with a combination of epoxy and graphite powder or similar filler.

I have used this method to extract mast bases and seat posts from frames with great success. You just have to pop it really hard and make sure you are over a soft surface like grass for when the fin hits the ground.

Good Luck!