Tracking fin pulled out on rock

[MarkL]

Hi all,

Out for a slow cruise with my wife and I had the unlucky experience of finding an unmarked rock in our lake. The front tacking fin took the brunt of the hit pulling nearly all 4 lags completely out of the hull and causing the boat to take on water. Thankfully the bilge pump was fairly new.

Anyone know how these fins are installed. I read some threads that you don’t need to pull the tank. But I don’t know if those posts experienced a leak the way I did. Something tells me the tank needs to be pulled given the leaking so it can be properly fixed on both sides.

I’m thinking this may be left to the professionals.

Any thoughts are appreciated as she’ll likely miss the 4th, my favorite holiday.

Cheers

[freeheel4life]

They are just threaded thru the glass. No nuts on the other side. It likely pulled the threads in the glass and would need some fiberglass work to be properly repaired.

That being said, a crafty guy could do some ghetto repairs to keep you boating and have it fixed at a later date...

[UNSTUCK]

I'd take it all the way out, then fill the holes with 5200. Leave it off so you can enjoy your July 4th. Grind/smooth out the fin behind it so it's still doing its job properly. Fix it later on.

[MarkL]

Thank you both!

Freewheel, thanks for the number. I took a screenshot of it. Might be good to edit and remove it from the post. I really appreciate that offer!

A little update, it seems both the first and second fin are bent. I can pull the first one off and fill the holes, but should probably replace the second since it’s not lined up anymore and the threads are good. Anyone know where I can buy 2 of these fins? Does Tige have their own or are they just standard parts. The boat is an 11 RZ2. The local marina is checking to prop shaft to see if its out of balance. It seems only one prop blade hit and it wasn’t rotating at the time, but I don’t want future issues so having checked. Will post an update.

[freeheel4life]

I have a couple in inventory. Tige PN is U1050 as far as I know. Dont think tracking fins have changed much over the years, just the location and how many. Koolaid would know for sure. Just guessing here but South East Foundries casts some of the other underwater gear and Id guess that Tige gets these from them. If you want the ones I have overnighted let me know via text sooner than later. I am at the shop today.

[UNSTUCK]

If surfing is your thing, you may try running without them. Seems all the newer boats are running with less tracking fins. I think it's supposed to make the boat crab better. Might be worth a try and see how it changes your wave and overall boat handling.

[SONIC]

If it were me, I would pull the fin and drill the holes out slightly oversize. Then fill them with epoxy resin mixed with some glass fibers and tape them up. Once cured you can drill and retap like it never happened.

[Sublimer23]

What if he was just to pull the fin, fill the holes and leave it off. My R23 only has 1 fin. Are 3 really necessary?

[KoolAid]

What if he was just to pull the fin, fill the holes and leave it off. My R23 only has 1 fin. Are 3 really necessary?

Front one is the main one to have. Since he has two trailing fins left, it may be fine without it. I would silicone the four holes and see how it behaves.

[skiguy]

My front fin loosened and fell off last summer. Looked at replacing but it’s a big project. Would require moving the fuel tank — which I’m not sure is possible without pulling the motor. 05 22v.

I filled the mounting holes a good as possible with MarineTex and went on with my life. Boat tracks and surfs fine. Notice no different.


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