A friend of mine recently broke his tendon in big waves so I decided to check mine. Looks fine but I'm going to replace it anyway. Probably use the old tendon in an old base for the 2 times a year I go foiling. Or maybe I should just bin it?

I say change them no matter what discipline
I've had brand new spares just fall in half in storage - they just harden or something with age. Fair enough we see some pretty full on heat here but I say change annually
At the same time change ur goretex vent or the o-ring in a normal vent
Cheap insurance

now do I actually? Ummm

Same, the Severne mast base (pretty sure most come out of the same factory) seems to get quite a bit of play overtime. It's the bolt that connects to the board and it can't be replaced.

I generally replace the tendon once and the next time the entire base, somewhere after 200-300 sessions. A bit of a shame as otherwise the base is still fine.

Recently started using one of the Chinook Two Bolt Tendon Quick Release mast bases which don't seem to have that issue. So far, I'm impressed. Replacing a tendon is also much easier on those. You know what I mean if you tried to replace a tendon on Severne mast base, oh boy!




If your tendon looks like the cracked one on the left, replace it otherwise be ready for a swim or damaging your board deck if you have to sail back with the one on the right.



Many people including myself have learnt it the hard way. Check your tendon regularly, replace periodically. You have to remove it in order to properly inspect it so as well just replace it.

General rule I run by is:
1. Change tendon after 1 season & assess the failsafe ropes.
2. Change foot after 2 seasons.
3. If it's a NP foot.....change it for a real one straight away.

AB.......

Mark _australia said..
3 rules.

Chinook
chinook
chinook

the one piece machined stainless cups and pin (for Europin) being one bit is the go. The bolts are thick and only need one Allen key to disassemble.. Not WD40 and a wrench and a screwdriver and cursing. It's a pleasure to change the tendon and nothing else on it breaks or gets sloppy

I switched from Chinook to Duotone (before Covid so since my experience is now > 6 years old, quality may have improved since then) after buying replacement chinook tendons on 3 separate occasions from 2 different retailers and each time having the tendon fail within between a few days and a few months of replacing. Haven't had a Duotone tendon fail on me yet, even though I have pushed replacement past 12 months. Thus I am now of the opinion that the material used in the Duotone tendons lasts longer than material used in the black chinook tendons.

Volcano pad is toe & deck insurance . When the sail feels strange it's time to hobble back in for a 5min swappsie , no biggie .Chinook is the gold standard for sure .

Phil thru did have a bad batch lonnngggg ago so u scored that one I think. I refer to the actual base - just the ease of changing a tendon is a selling point. I've had bases where I simply couldn't change it with a lot of tools and a vice. Skinned knuckles etc.
Chinook comparison is how wonderfully nice to be able to easily change a tendon at the beach with only a Severne sails hex tool

I go with inspection. Bend them and see how bad they are, looking right around the pin holes. When it starts cracking it'll look like it's almost coming off.

It helps to use shims and get the tendon really tight in the base. That way there's minimal torque on the pins.

I gave up on streamlined, they seem to not like humidity!?!!?
Chinook last a while (1-2 years) and Bic seem to be working very well in the tropics.

It may vary per climate!

Picture posted upside down.

lao shi said..
Well done on getting it apart. I couldn't get the screws out of mine. Any tips?

I didn't do anything special. I had 2 torx screwdrivers, one for each side.

It may be that certain tendons prefer certain climate. Also you want the tendon to fit very tightly in its base, use shims if needed.

I've tried streamlined, bic, chinook and North.
Worst streamlined 3-6 months, crumble apart in high humidity.
Second north, fails no warning.
Third Chinook 1-2 years.
Winner curiously Bic, changed it once in 2 years. Since then not changing it. Got 2 in 2022.

~150 sessions a year, all waves.