Windsurfer Tendon Broken

Question

Expanded mast base  

Broken tendon   This question is similar to one from Ismail on 12/31/2008.  I have an old Marlin 717 board and the tendon has broken.  Is it possible to get old tendon material anymore?  The new replacement tendons seem too short and fat.  Mine is 15 mm by 172 mm (19/32" x 6 3/4").  I checked chinook sailing website and found their Mechanical Universal Joint and Rubber Universal Joint, but don't know if I would be able to convert to my system.  I will attach a picture or two to give you an idea of what my system looks like.  The orange base sandwiches the board, the middle black and red connects to the base, and the tendon goes through the bottom of the mast section and is secured by a sp;ring and cap.  Hope you can direct me to a good solution.  Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hey Tom,

There are only two places still making a tendon joint. I'm sending links for both. You should be able to sand down the diameter a bit to make it fit into your parts. Other than doing this, my only other solution would be to search ebay for someone selling a complete base with a tendon and change the tendon over to yours. The drawback to that is, anything you find will probably be old and subject to failure in the near future.

Looking at your pictures, your only option is to replace the tendon as any other type base system will not work with your board.

http://www.chinooksailing.com/products/product_info.php?cPath=2_76&products_id=2

http://www.sunsetsailboards.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=1

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover