Replacement pin repair for leash plug

[Naeco78]

Anyone know if there's a workaround to replace just the metal pin that goes inside the leash plug? Luckily the foam (or plug housing) wasn't damaged so I'm hoping there might be a way to install a replacement pin inside the existing plug, rather than replacing the entire leash plug.

So far, I haven't been able to find the Pins only for sale online. I'm thinking of the type of pins that compress and expand like a wrist watch pin. Anyone else attempt this type of repair?

[dtc]

How did the pin come out without damaging the plug? As in, if you can get a new pin, how will it stay in? In the plugs I've seen, the pin goes through a hole in the sides of the plug and won't come out unless the plug itself is also damaged (its hard to tell from your pics)

You can buy 'replacement' pins - look up 'stainless steel dowel pins' and find one the right diameter and cut to size. But I dont know how you would install them. Your concept of a spring pin is ingenious but I can't imagine is very strong - to be able to compress it means that one half of the pin has to be hollow (so the other half can slide into it) and that would probably not make the pin particularly strong. Given how much pressure it needs to cope with, I wouldnt feel very confident

Pins sort of what you are after do exist - search up 'spring loaded pin' or 'spring loaded pin plunger'. But I'm not aware that any of these are built to take pressure, most are used in electrical connections to join two parts of the circuit.

So you may need to just bite the bullet and pay for a new plug to be installed.

[Naeco78]

Thats an excellent point dtc.. the spring pin probably wouldn't be strong enough for the type of load it would be under with surfing. I guess anything I try to Jimmy Rig into it, wouldn't be nearly as strong as a new plug, so maybe I am stuck with replacing the whole thing. It's too bad they don't make these as a 2 piece plug, so that it doesn't always need to be re-glassed every time the plastic connections fail.

The pin was missing when I bought the board recently. Not sure how it happened but I would guess it was in the shed instead of the surf.

[Naeco78]

I think the earlier pics got skewed when they uploaded. This should be a better one.. it looks like the plastic mounts for the pin broke clean off, without damaging the rest of the housing.

I've been looking for an older fish for awhile, so I guess it's worth fixing it up.

[waikikikichan]

Try finding a smaller leash cup.
Tape off the top of the cup ( draw a line on top for the pin alignment ).
Bore out the broken one.
Clean up the hole.
Tape off the tail.
Cut up 2-3 layer of fiberglass to wrap around the cup.
Mix a tiny bit of pigment into your resin.
Add less catalyst than usual to make the resin go off slower.

[Naeco78]

Hey chan, why does a smaller leash cup work better?
Wouldn't the bore hole need to be bigger than the existing cup?

[waikikikichan]

Not if you find a smaller cup than the one in it now. Will save you from drilling out an even bigger hole in the fiberglass deck layer.

[Naeco78]

I gotta admit I get some anxiety when I think about putting a drill bit into a surfboard

I found this alternative in the meantime . But easy always feels so dirty at the same time

Surfing dilemmas..

[waikikikichan]

I was going to recommend that EZ plug. It’s from Surfco in Hawaii. Are you going to mount it offset to the side in one of the twin tail tips ?

[Naeco78]

Yeah I was thinking about putting it on one of the twin pins until I can put the board in the shop for a couple weeks over the winter.

For some reason I usually see the plug off to one side on the old fish. Wasn't sure if it matters.. lots of tail area for it.

[oldmansurfer]

In boards that are thin near the tail where the plug is put in it affects the structural integrity of the board since the plug will go through most of the stringer creating a weak point in the board.

[Naeco78]

In boards that are thin near the tail where the plug is put in it affects the structural integrity of the board since the plug will go through most of the stringer creating a weak point in the board.

Thanks that makes sense to me now. After looking into the leash plugs i kinda wish they still made the old Fiberglass loops like some of the old style boards had. I think it has a nice look to it and the shaper in the video claims they're stronger than leash plugs. Probably strengthens the stringer too, with the extra fiberglass running over it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ-jawAtoUU

[Naeco78]

I went with the EZ Plug option but decided to glue it directly in the old leash plug housing. Seems like it might be a permanent fix, since it was only the Pin that was damaged.

It took a lot of work with the Dremel to cut it down to size. Might not be too much of a shortcut for people that are familiar with replacing the entire thing. But just wanted to share the results if it might be helpful to someone in the same situation.

If I could do it again, I would loop the leash cord through the plug before gluing it into the board. That was regrettable lol but it all worked out

[oldmansurfer]

Well that’s interesting. Let us know how it works out. Fiberglass loop! You can always do that. There must be a reason they don’t do that on every board