check your pylons for safety

I know it’s easy to criticize other people’s work but in this case I will. I’m a professional engineer and wonder what the Correct Craft engineers (or rather lack of) were thinking about when they designed the mounting of the pylon to the keel. I removed the pylon to replace the carpet on my 77 Tique and found that the carbon steel pin that engages to the socket gla$$ed to the keel was almost completely rusted off. The female socket sits verticaly in the bottom of the boat and holds water. Besides not using stainless, it would have been a simple redesign to invert this mounting so the male pin was gla$$ed to the keel eliminating the water trap and the female socket was in the pylon.
The repair involved replacing the pin in the bottom of the pylon with stainless, cleaning up the socket on the keel, (most of the rust was on the male pin) and then after coating both the pin and socket with grease as a release agent poring in a mix of epoxy/ gla$$ fiber in the socket. The pylon was then installed before the epoxy cured.
I don’t know what the current pylon mounting technique is but think everyone should periodically check the condition. I know in the 60’s the pylon was bolted to the keel and then simply went through a hole in the floor. I would hate to see a pylon along with a piece of the floor go flying out of the boat.

Peter-

I have been working on my boat and wondered the same thing about the design. How did you remove the old steel rod out of the aluminum pylon? How did you install the new SS rod stock?


Check out the retrofits I did on miy ski pylon base:

I drilled a small weep hole near the bottom of the bra$$ pylon fitting which is gla$$ed in. The hole is not all the way to the bottom of the fitting because the hull gla$$ comes up a bit over the base. I also added two 1/4 -20 SS set screws into the peice to be able to sinch the connection tighter.

Food 4 thought...

Thanks-
NM

Hey Pete or anyone else-

I looked over my pylon and the steel base pin could use a replacement. My pylon has two 1/4" roll pins at the top, just inches below the ski rope ring and thumb. These I'm guessing hold on the ring and thumb, not the steel base pin.

There is no roll pin near the steel base pin and it seems unlikely that the base pin goes the whole length through the 3' pylon. This is a pylon off a 78'SN has a slight bend just around the welded on alumn. floor plate.

I think my pylon has just a force fit steel base pin put in by a PILE DRIVER!

I have tried removing the two roll pins, soaked it in WD-40, and have yanked on the base pin with a huge pipe wrench. The D@m thing, just won't move!!!

Any ideas????

Thanks,
NM

Thanks Pete!

Yeah, looks like I will have to chuck it up and mill it out. I have a milling machine so I can do it myself.

How deep was your steel pin into the pylon shaft?

Thanks-
NM

Mike, It was about 3" into the aluminum pylon.Probably a long end mill or a boring bar will do. If you end up oversise, I'm a great fan of Locktite retaining compound. It will take up up to .010" of slop I think.Pete

Mike, Yes, as long as you have it clamped in the mill, you can easily go oversize for the female sleeve. Like I stated originally it's the way it should have been designed from the start. Pete