Fraine4
New Member
I have a westerly Fulmar with a Kemp kicker rod which seems to be seized. Does anyone know where I may get details on how kickers are constructed and how I might un-seize it ?
Kemp kicker rod seized - maintenance?
- Thread starter Fraine4
- Start date
gandy
Well-Known Member
Kemp spars are now owned by Selden, so your nearest Selden agent may be able to help. For example "Mast and Rigging Services" at Largs reckon they can supply upgrade parts for our Kemp boom.
Tony S
(ps lovely boat the Fulmar)
Tony S
(ps lovely boat the Fulmar)
davidfox
Well-Known Member
Try Selden spars on the internet, they have all sorts of downloadable tech details, I found out how my inline reefing worked from it
Dalliance
Well-Known Member
I'd call the Selden office for tech help -they are an increadibly friendly bunch in my experience.
chrisbailey
Well-Known Member
Kicker Renovation
This year I was let down, or rather my boom was, when the gas spring in my rod kicker failed. On making enquiries for a replacement part I was shocked to find that it would be in the region of £100.
I therefore decided to investigate and dismantled the kicker strut. Inside I found a very sorry looking gas spring that had suffered nine years of salt water abuse.
Although I had completely disassembled my kicker I found that this should not have been necessary, as the two halves should have just pulled apart. In my case the gas spring was causing the two parts to remain together. I drilled out the rivets that held the top of the gas spring into the tube and then I had to use a long drift to drive the old gas spring out.
It was remarkable that it had lasted this long, as it was quite obviously an auto part that had been modified to suit this application. In fact it looked very similar to the units that supported the tailgate on my car. This made me remember that I had a pair of gas springs from a Ford Sierra hidden away somewhere in my store. Just shows that it doesn’t pay to throw these things away, they will always come in handy sometime.
When I found these Ford gas springs they were almost identical in size to the one from my kicker, only being about 6 mm shorter in the body. The ends required modification because they were fitted with plastic cups to locate on studs on the car and these were easily removed by unscrewing them. I found that the top would screw directly into the original aluminium boss that had been riveted into the tube of the kicker strut. For the bottom fitting, the rod that came out of the gas strut required an M8 thread to be cut onto it, easily done with the correct sized die. Care is required here to protect the rod from scoring in case it damages the seal. I used a piece of plastic normally used to stop crockery etc. slipping on a sloping table, this worked well and gave an excellent grip in the vice. The original base plug was then screwed onto the gas spring and this spring assembly fitted into the kicker tube and riveted into position. The heads of these rivets had to be filed smooth with the outside surface of the tube as it had to slide inside the other tube that made up the kicker assembly. The rest of the kicker strut was then reassembled.
When the kicker was refitted to the boom it worked perfectly again.
A new gas spring from a motor dealer should cost around £25, although my local Ford dealer has a salvage department where they sell old stock and used parts and here they had various gas springs for £11.75. Car breakers may also be another cheap source. A worthwhile cost saving can therefore be made.
Chris Bailey 2000
This year I was let down, or rather my boom was, when the gas spring in my rod kicker failed. On making enquiries for a replacement part I was shocked to find that it would be in the region of £100.
I therefore decided to investigate and dismantled the kicker strut. Inside I found a very sorry looking gas spring that had suffered nine years of salt water abuse.
Although I had completely disassembled my kicker I found that this should not have been necessary, as the two halves should have just pulled apart. In my case the gas spring was causing the two parts to remain together. I drilled out the rivets that held the top of the gas spring into the tube and then I had to use a long drift to drive the old gas spring out.
It was remarkable that it had lasted this long, as it was quite obviously an auto part that had been modified to suit this application. In fact it looked very similar to the units that supported the tailgate on my car. This made me remember that I had a pair of gas springs from a Ford Sierra hidden away somewhere in my store. Just shows that it doesn’t pay to throw these things away, they will always come in handy sometime.
When I found these Ford gas springs they were almost identical in size to the one from my kicker, only being about 6 mm shorter in the body. The ends required modification because they were fitted with plastic cups to locate on studs on the car and these were easily removed by unscrewing them. I found that the top would screw directly into the original aluminium boss that had been riveted into the tube of the kicker strut. For the bottom fitting, the rod that came out of the gas strut required an M8 thread to be cut onto it, easily done with the correct sized die. Care is required here to protect the rod from scoring in case it damages the seal. I used a piece of plastic normally used to stop crockery etc. slipping on a sloping table, this worked well and gave an excellent grip in the vice. The original base plug was then screwed onto the gas spring and this spring assembly fitted into the kicker tube and riveted into position. The heads of these rivets had to be filed smooth with the outside surface of the tube as it had to slide inside the other tube that made up the kicker assembly. The rest of the kicker strut was then reassembled.
When the kicker was refitted to the boom it worked perfectly again.
A new gas spring from a motor dealer should cost around £25, although my local Ford dealer has a salvage department where they sell old stock and used parts and here they had various gas springs for £11.75. Car breakers may also be another cheap source. A worthwhile cost saving can therefore be made.
Chris Bailey 2000
karlfaeunst
New Member
Hi Chris, very interesting post about how you've replaced the gas strut in your kicker. Can you tell me what make and model the kicker was, or even the size of boat it was on?
I've just bought a Beneteau first 305 and was thinking the gas spring needed changing, it's fitted with a Kemp unit and the only thing is says on it is Gas strength 1.
cheers
I've just bought a Beneteau first 305 and was thinking the gas spring needed changing, it's fitted with a Kemp unit and the only thing is says on it is Gas strength 1.
cheers
