Among the whips I've replaced, damage has occurred in two places. One is right above the lower end where there are two fiberglass tubes, one longer than the other, telescoped over the central shaft and fiberglassed/epoxied/cemented in place. That thickened end is inserted into the bracket that mounts on the dock. When the shaft above that thickened lower end starts splitting, I see no hope for it, unless I were to add multiple layers of fiberglass mat over that place.
The current situation is at the two tubes right at the bottom, which have developed splits and have separated from the central shaft. After years of using the whips and storing them outside over the winter, I finally read the instructions (was I supposed to?), which say to store them in a non-freezing environment. I theorize that water may have wicked in between the central shaft and the two tubes over it, and on freezing caused the cracks. Expensive lesson learned.
So now I am trying to conjure up a DIY fix, likely involving replacing the two lower tubes with something and cemented somehow into place. That may be just buying time, but that's fine. It's like really extending the life of old hiking boots with ShoeGoo for use around the yard or broken sandals with duct tape.
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