Surfriding superfreakhulls, whats best for towing and keeping water out of rear tray pocket?

[masterblaster]

Was wondering what you guys do for towing with superfreak,can you drill and put a bow eye in the thin bond line on the rear of these carbon hulls? also,im getting a little water in the back of hull,since no foam is used,someone made me aware of little mini versa plugs that are used in rc boats,was wondering if putting them in would be a surf issue,If the ski gets away and is upside down,will air escape from the rear tray pocket and allow water in? There are chambers in the rear so im thinking not,might be better if it lets all the water out the rear during the ride to lessen chances of it sinking if it gets away and upside down?

 

[JamesG]

I use a versa plug and I have a hole in the back of my tray for a tow loop, but this is on a Q8. I assume it would be fine on the Superfreak, but hopefully somebody with first hand experience will chime in so we can be sure.

 

[Freakrider]

Drain screws out.

 

[masterblaster]

freakrider,I have the same kinda screw drains now,thats a interesting way to attach a tow point,does the ski tow alright with it off to the side like that?

 

[Freakrider]

Tows decent off center, you just compensate a little with steering. Ride with no drain screws, JM does this also he told me.

 

[TheBuzzard]

i put a single strap around the reduction nozzle to hold it down in the back. i do this on both my freaks. i also leave the drain screws in until i pull out of the water at days end. if you blow air in the drain holes, you can find out where the water is coming in. i would rather have those cavities as air tight as possible, with the screws in. if you are that concerned about the water in there, you can drain it between rides when it sits on the stand. my green freak has one stern eye on one side and i was going to drill the other side but havent.

 

[madness maker]

i run a tow strap with a single bolt through the edge of the tray, also doubles as a handle to drag ski on off beach etc. For drains, i installed (and epoxied) 6mm stainless nutserts in the drain locations. then plug with 6mm allen bolts with a small o ring under the head. easy to take out and drain after every use.

 

[masterblaster]

cant ride off beach here,we have very long slow wake to get to ocean,Id be sunk with drain screws out before I ever got to ocean,we cant really go on shore in summer so we rest in the water also. Anyone actually have the mini rc versa plugs installed on a ski they can post pics of?

 

[Freakrider]

masterblaster these light hulls float much better than a SJ. With the drain screws out, the hull barely floats lower in the water standing still and the chambers are equalized with water level. Try a test at shoreline and you will see what Jetmaniac is talking about, he's right you don't need drain screws in.

 

[masterblaster]

flat water test on that one..our slow wake is crazy long,makes me wonder how much water would be in there after that long slow ride

 

[Buckwild12]

I'd be more worried about my cooling lines rotting out from salt water, we've already had to cut the tray out of mine because they corroded through. But even with them full of water, I rode them for half a year without issue. They float fine.

 

[Freakrider]

That's the first time I heard about water lines corroding to the point you have to cut open the the tray...not fun.

 

[masterblaster]

what were your cooling lines made from? first ive heard of something like that also,doesnt really seem possible

 

[Buckwild12]

Yep, the issue made my Freak as heavy as most round noses. It's all good now though. Only gets a few drops in around the rear screws. No big deal.

 

[RMBC Freeride]

I recently discovered the same problem. Cooling line corroded thru, inside the center "sealed" chamber. Filled my ski with water. PITA to fix... cut open the tray.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Freakrider]

Did you guys replace the cooling lines with stainless steel or use aluminum ?

 

[Superunatural]

Did you guys replace the cooling lines with stainless steel or use aluminum ?

We used 6061 aluminum I was going to do stainless the it would have been difficult to make the bends. The corrosion was only where it was glued into the hull. Wondering if the epoxy was attacking the aluminum because the tubes were perfect everywhere else.

 

[masterblaster]

good to know,wonder how many are out there that are going to do this at some point

 

[JetManiac]

We used 6061 aluminum I was going to do stainless the it would have been difficult to make the bends. The corrosion was only where it was glued into the hull. Wondering if the epoxy was attacking the aluminum because the tubes were perfect everywhere else.

I think it would be the carbon not the epoxy.

 

[Freakrider]

We used 6061 aluminum I was going to do stainless the it would have been difficult to make the bends. The corrosion was only where it was glued into the hull. Wondering if the epoxy was attacking the aluminum because the tubes were perfect everywhere else.

Lines were a problem where it meets carbon hull saltwater did not affect the rest of the lines...galvanic action between carbon n aluminum caused by saltwater....like impellar housings.Below link talks about this.

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_07/corrosn.html