Lewmar block melted

[ClaudiaDOnofrio]

Here is a picture of the Lewmar block that was attached to one of my reef lined. I opened up my stack pack and this is how I found it / what could possibly have happened to it?

[ClaudiaDOnofrio]

[Orion Jim]

I see severe long term U.V. effects.

[Island Time O25]

It's called "Made in China" effect.

[ggray]

And this was covered within the stack pack??

[ClaudiaDOnofrio]

Originally Posted by ggray

And this was covered within the stack pack??

Yes. It looks like lightening hit it.

[Shrew]

That looks porous. When I've arc'd something bad enough to weld something (wrench across batter terminals comes to mind) it 'melted' with a more liquid look to it.

That looks jagged and porous. It looks like corrosion.

[rotrax]

I recently purchased 4 of those blocks, identical hole pattern and swivel.


Mine are black.


Have your blocks had long exposure to UV?


I have seen black plastic motorcycle and automotive parts turn grey and crumble from the effect of long term UV.

[Benz]

If that's plastic, then it looks like something violently crushed it. If that's aluminum, then it looks like it corroded hugely before something violently crushed it.
Either way, I don't think that'll buff out. Might be time to replace.

[Franziska]

It is a plastic casing holding the sheave. We have the same ones already for a few years and under the sun.
No corrosion and no UV damage and they are outside in the sun all the time.

I suspect you may be on to something with that lighting theory.
Say a bolt hit the mast and the blocks metal parts touched boom or mast at the same moment.
The metal gets instantly very hot and melts the plastic away. Plastic bubbles up due to the heat.
Surprised it was under the stack pack though. Damage to sails and stack?

Was the stack pack off when you purchased the boat? Or was the block perhaps already damaged back then and you did not see this on purchase?
Maybe a lightning strike before the sale?

[Franziska]

Actually a steel reinforced plastic casing that is..

[Jim Cate]

Hard to believe that it could have been some sort of thermal event without damaging the sail as well. Melting points of dacron and engineering plastics are not that far apart, dacron likely being lower.

A puzzle for sure!

Jim