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As a followup to my post, after looking at my problem a bit more, I have pretty much convinced myself that the problem was caused by the bolt that attaches the v-brace arm to a reinforced part of the top of the hull worked itself loose and fell out. Not sure when this occurred, but it looks like the free v-brace arm may then have ended up damaging the reinforced part of the upper hull (the area that was described to me as a "pod of reinforced hull material", which works for me). Thankfully the threaded "sleeve" that the bolt screws into is undamaged, the bolt is fine, neither are stripped, and the sleeve appears to be firmly secured to the hull. Am attaching a clean picture of the damaged area. You can see the sleeve in the middle just about the v-brace arm, and above and below the sleeve is the damage I am referring to. The top and bottom of reinforced area are, I think, where the screws that hold the XBAR are located (please correct me if I am wrong).
[img][https://share.icloud.com/photos/0edbAaJEhc88cOQauL5TC7aOg]
Since the bolt can screw into the "sleeve", my intention is just go ahead and reattach the v-brace, tighten the buckle up, and see how that works. However, I am a little concerned about the damage to the hull reinforced area, perhaps compromising the integrity of the hull in that area?
My question: would you recommend I try to fill in the damaged areas using something like G/Flex 650 with a filler or similar? Or just leave as is? Thanks in advance.
Related, the reinforced area on the other (starboard) side also shows some evidence of similar damage, though no where near as extensive. I can post a picture if anyone is interested. Is it possible that an improperly tightened v-brace bar could rotate around the bolt, damaging the raised areas of the reinforced hull area? The location of damage suggests that is the case. I purchased the TI used around 6 years ago, and never knew or thought to check this area of the hull out.
Look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions.
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