Expert: Windlover - 9/25/2009

Question
Hi Windlover,

I hope you had a good vacation!  I recently purchased a BIC F2 windsurfer.  My son-in-law and I had it out in the bay about 10 seconds before the rubber universal joint broke.  I have gone to the Chinook sailing website and saw both the mechanical universal joint and the rubber universal joint.  My question is: can I replace the rubber universal joint with a mechanical universal joint?  I'm new to windsurfing so I would really appreciate any help you could provide.

Thanks,
Steve

Answer
Hey Steve,

Yes, you can use either a mechanical or rubber universal joint. The threaded inserts on either type joint are the same size and thread type. Thankfully, all the universal joint threaded inserts, studs, bolts, and nuts have stayed the same metric size despite who makes them. Not sure how or why it came about this way but old and new can be mated together.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover