BB Hardware - Rudders and Struts

[Steve Seebold]

I was looking at the hardware from www.bbhardware.se this morning and I'll say again, it's some nice stuff. A little on the pricey side, but nice stuff.

I did however see a point on his strut that concerns me and should concern all of you.

Where the leg joins the tube that holds the shaft assembly, he has a sharp corner. In aluminum, that is a place for a crack to occur which could cause a catastrophic failure resulting in either severe damage to the boat or loss of the prop and shaft assembly.

I recommended to him that he replace those sharp corners with a 3mm corner radius.

I'm not trying to be critical here, but I have been in aerospace machining for over 40 years, and I have seen failures like that countless times.

Good luck guys,

Steve

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Hi Steve

Thanks for input, I have just talked to BB and he says that struts have been made for about three years and many of them raced at Naviga top level, no failures reported so far.

Thanks

Jorgen

You have a good point, BUT, It only takes one piece to fail and now your name is in the trash. I'm not saying it's GOING to happen, what I am saying is it could. I have seen 7075 parts fail. I think a better choice for struts would be 7050 T7. It's a lot more expensive, but it's a lot more vibration resistant.

 

[Jorgen Andersson]

Yes, I see your point and agree, I will forward your thoughts to BB.

Thanks

Jorgen

 

[eekern]

Anything from Zweden has got to be good!

 

[Jorgen Andersson]

Anything from Zweden has got to be good!

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I wish that was the case.....

 

[Tim_Duggan]

Received my order today, 6 days after placing the order. Not bad from Sweden to Australia!

Thanks BB!

 

[Jorgen Andersson]

Tim

Good to hear!

Jorgen