That, and a lot of us used to shim the shackle that went into the hounds to avoid all the movement (which exaserbated the elongation/cracking). I used plastic shims since they were disposable. I basically cut up a plastic kitchen cutting board with a drill and set of bits. I also used SS washers but had trouble finding the right sizes..

I replaced my hounds when I started to see a small crack at the bottom of the fitting. Adding the shims seemed to correct the problem, but I didn't have as many years of sailing on the new hounds before the boat was sold, so I don't know how the modification worked long-term..


Jay