Last year I noticed excessive up/down oscillation of my hulls in relation to each other. This I believed was due to significant slop where the front cross-bar end seats in the hull. I pulled things apart and discovered highly elongated holes in the fiberglass where the casting pins, pictured below, engage the hull.
So, I hired a structural fiberglass repair expert to fabricate and install a new receiver-hole area made of a composite material similar to fiberglass, only harder (called G10, if I recall) in that spot. He did a fantastic job. But I took the boat out sailing and, well, not a big difference, it's still sloppy (I'm comparing to a H16). (note: my trampoline is very tight)
When I ponder the role of the casting, and the gap between the casting and cross bar (see popsicle stick) it looks to me like it is not intended to snugly fit the cross bar, rather it serves to capture the cross bar between the bottom of itself and the bed of the crossbar pocket in the hull. Making vertical positioning of the casting very important; if the casting were adversely raised a small amount (as in elongated holes), it would open the gap and allow the hull to rotate axially about the screw anchor point at the hull rim, causing slop that could not be reduced tightening the screws.
My questions: Am I correct about the function of the casting? Can an improperly positioned casting cause slop? And how stiff should a 17 be?
Thanks,
Dan
Campbell, CA
03 H17 SE