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PostPosted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:21 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:01 pm
Posts: 6
Aloha!

I’m trying to figure out how to remove parts of the broken wing, has anyone had this issue before? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/EPXno2]Image


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:28 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:11 pm
Posts: 5197
Location: Detroit, MI
I've had one leave the plastic end cap down the hull tube, but not a piece of the aluminum tubing. That's nasty looking.

You need to get it loose first - and from the looks of it, it's pretty well corroded / welded to the fiberglass tube.

Fortunately, the fiberglass is impervious to almost all solvents, so you might as well try soaking it in a penetrating lube like Kroil (http://www.kanolabs.com/). Soak it for a day, give it a few light taps with a long screwdriver and see if it moves. Repeat. It could take a while.

Theoretically, an acid solution will dissolve the aluminum (eventually, depending on how strong the acid is), but using severely corrosive / caustic liquids isn't to be taken lightly. You don't want to do this if the tube leaks at all - you'll have acid inside the boat.

Once it's loose, you should be able to fish it out with a bent coat hanger.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:24 am 
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Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:20 pm
Posts: 295
Location: South Boardman, Mi
When the rest of the wing broke off it may have bent the remaining piece a bit, jamming it in place. If this is the case you might have to cut it or bend it back. If it is reachable a dremel with a cutoff wheel should suffice.


Once you have dealt with the obvious jamming issues you can try to pull it out.
My recommendation here is as follows:
0) Clear out all that foam and such in the bottom of the broken pipe. Make sure the pipe walls are not slimy, greasy or slippery. Maybe run some 50 grid down in there to clean things up a bit
1) Find a soft-ish rubber cylinder or block (hockey pucks are probably too firm). Ideally it will be the same diameter as the inside of the wing tube. It will be trimmed if needed.
2) Drill a hole through the center of the cylinder
3) Assemble the following parts on a threaded rod, in order from bottom to top:
two nuts at the bottom end of the rod, tightened together to lock
Big Fender Washer, ideally only slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the wing tube
Rubber Cylinder
Another Big Fender Washer
Tube, ~1" longer than the distance from the top of the hull tube to the top of the damaged pipe
Nut
small gap
two nuts, tightened together to lock.

Trimming the block to size, if needed:
Using the top two locked nuts to hold the threaded rod, tighten the single nut just past finger tight onto the tube, slightly compressing and holding in place your rubber cylinder. If needed you can now trim your rubber block to size. For fine trimming, place the bottom two nuts in the chuck of a drill and use the drill to spin the assembly. You may want to clamp down the drill in a vice or something. A rough file can then be used to trim down the rubber. Congrats, you have built a redneck lathe.

Using the tool
Insert the tool, bottom end down, into the broken pipe in your hull. Tighten the single nut (using the top two nuts to hold the rod if needed). By compressing the rubber cylinder along it's length, you are squeezing it outward, enlarging it's diameter and applying pressure against the pipe. This will provide enough friction to pull the pipe out of the hull tube. To provide the pulling force you can pull on the end of the rod, or devise a puller mechanism that pulls on the rod and pushes on the hull, like this:
~2" length of 3" PVC pipe, pressed down onto the hull with a giant 3" washer (or metal bar, plate) via tightening a nut onto the top end of the threaded rod.


*Disclaimer*
I've never had to do this job, but if I did I suspect this method would be the most effective.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:02 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
Hard to tell exactly what that material is we're seeing inside the tube. I'm assuming it's the upper foam plug. The way the wings are manufactured, there is a foam plug pushed into the tube. Then a wooden block is placed inside the tube, then another foam plug, and finally the black cap is riveted to the end of the tube.

Assuming that what we're seeing is the remnants of the upper foam plug, I would try to pull that out first. You would probably be able to get it out with a bent coat hanger or a pair of long reach needle nose pliers.

Once you get that out, you should see the wooden block. Use a long drill bit to drill a hole in the block and then thread the longest lag screw you can find into the block and use the lag screw to pull the whole mess out of the tube. (I've used a similar technique to remove the wooden blocks themselves from the tubes).

The only other thing I can think of to do without damaging the hull would be to get a 2 foot long piece of rebar , push it into the broken wing tube, fill the tube with epoxy, and then after the epoxy cures, use the rebar to pull the whole thing out of the hull.

As a last ditch effort if all else fails, perhaps slice the fiberglass wing tube vertically from inside the hull and force some wedges into the slot to spread open the tube and then pull out the broken stump and glass the wing tube back together after it's out.

sm


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:50 am 
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Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:20 pm
Posts: 295
Location: South Boardman, Mi
Just thought of another option for you. Pipe connecting star nuts, or as cyclists say, star fangled nuts.

Image

Line it up, tap it in, pull it out with a threaded rod.

Might be tricky to find a large enough star fangled nut.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:10 pm 
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Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:25 pm
Posts: 32
Location: Seffner, Florida
That sounds like the old slide hammer technique they use to pull dents out of car bodies.

John

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