Windsurfing Magazine

Andy McKinney
2010-03-15 11:43:14 | 830 views | 6 Comments

The winter westerlies in Cape Hatteras have been so strong, steady and non-stop that my house seems to have taken a cant to the east, like the leaning tower of Pisa. The west-facing bedroom windows have been ceaselessly rattling and interrupting my sleep, while the rest of the house sat in a silent east-facing protected vacuum.

This morning, the first thing that I heard was a low rustle and whistle of breeze through the thin gap beneath my kitchen door. “Haven’t heard that in awhile,” I thought to myself. And then: Crack! The house flexed and popped under the mild strain of a 12-knot gust from the south. It was the gentle chiropractor’s touch, adjusting the weary, winter-wind-strained spine of the roof line.

So I smiled, for at that moment, I learned that spring is finally upon us!

Which means it’s a good time to do some maintenance. One thing that I’ve made a habit of regularly checking is the tendon in my universal joint. Compared to the hassle of breaking down, swimming in, potentially losing a board and/or rig, etc etc, taking five minutes to pull the UJ apart and inspect it seems well worth the effort!  Here’s my THREE-PLUS-YEAR-OLD Chinook stainless steel Euro-Pin. Sorry for yelling, but this thing has well over 400 sessions on it, and it looks brand new. If that’s not worth yelling about, I don’t know what is! As long as I don’t lose this UJ, I don’t think I’ll ever need to replace it. Ever.

The tendon in the middle, on the other hand, is a totally different story. These things definitely have a lifespan. I like to make an inspection every few months, or if I notice that it’s starting to look “pregnant.” If you look closely, you’ll see that the middle is starting to bow out a little bit, which is the first sign of wear and tear. So it’s time to pull it apart and inspect the screw holes, because that’s generally where it’ll break on you. Use a number 4 allen key to pull those screws out.

Turns out, this one is still fine, so I’ll keep using it for awhile with confidence. I can tell it’s OK because there aren’t any little cracks forming at the edges of the screw holes. Check out this picture of a tendon about to explode to see what a dangerously worn tendon looks like. Please don’t ever let it get to that point, because it’s very dangerous.

Alright, now you’re one step closer to being ready to charge it this spring! Yeeehaw!

Andy McKinney Rides:
Read more of Andy’s blogs at lostinhatteras.blogspot.com.