Replacing Armie (or other) Screws
Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2024 10:21 pm
My better half still rides the HS1850 kit with 72 cm mast I got in '21. I sometimes take it out in light wind if she's not going, I still have a lot of fun on it - it is fast for what it is, easy to get on foil, super low stall speed, etc. I also got an 85 cm mast that year but didn't ride it much, as I was learning. Then in '22 got the A+ upgrade kit, drilled through the two masts (had a minor alignment issue on the 85 cm, that I was able to remedy) and front foil, plus bought an A+ fuse, HA1125, and HA925. Those all get ridden to this day. Lately been mostly on the HA1125 (which might be more like an HA1100 from hitting the ends and sanding them down a few times).
I'm pretty good about using a torque key to get the screws up to 8 N⋅m (even checked the key with an adjustable ratcheting torque wrench, after finding a broken screw last week - see photo below). I know the Armie manuals say change screws annually. I have mine in a fishing tackle box and have a decent idea of new/used/year of screw but I have not religiously changed screws every year but I check they are tight regularly. Going to buy a few more spares but just checking: do others replace all screws every year as a habit? I might be adopting this habit. It was the front fuse-to-mast screw that was already broken when checking everything was tight. There was no 'event' I can think of so I'm chalking it up to fatigue. Generally I leave my gear tightened up and together but break it down for overnight trips, like to Nitinat.
I'm pretty good about using a torque key to get the screws up to 8 N⋅m (even checked the key with an adjustable ratcheting torque wrench, after finding a broken screw last week - see photo below). I know the Armie manuals say change screws annually. I have mine in a fishing tackle box and have a decent idea of new/used/year of screw but I have not religiously changed screws every year but I check they are tight regularly. Going to buy a few more spares but just checking: do others replace all screws every year as a habit? I might be adopting this habit. It was the front fuse-to-mast screw that was already broken when checking everything was tight. There was no 'event' I can think of so I'm chalking it up to fatigue. Generally I leave my gear tightened up and together but break it down for overnight trips, like to Nitinat.
