I’ve got a crack around a fin base (not the fin itself but the roving and patch area, see pic) and I’m after opinions on the “best” way to fix it if were a really special board and a “decent” way to fix it considering that the board is really just a beater.
I guess the best way would be to grind out the whole area along the inside of the fin and re-glass as if it were a new fin (new roving & new patches etc.)
For this board though, I’m thinking about thinning down some resin with some styrene and let that wick into the crack, then put a couple of patches over the top for strength. Would this constitute a “decent” repair? Would it be strong enough considering it’s a twin fin?
Like these guys have said, any repair that doesn’t involve removing the fin is gonna be pretty much the same amount of work and pretty much a cobby looking awful job anyhow. If you don’t have or have access to a grinder or disc sander, it’s kinda tough to do, so there can be some justification for a quick and dirty, but I’d go at it , get a cheap Harbor Freight grinder if ya have to. They are surprisingly useful anyhow.
Some tricks of the ding trade:
Make cardboard templates from the other fin and the centerline, or use a bevel gauge and layout square so you’ll have no doubts where the fin goes.
A hot glue gun is nice for sticking the fin back on enough to glass it, without lotsa clamps and tape.
If you have a dual-action ( DA ) pneumatic sander, it’s just the tool for this. In disc sander mode it’ll do what ya need to grind away the old glass, in random orbit mode it’s the cat’s posterior for sanding the stuff smooth right up to the fin.
If you use some decent gloves, you can get stuff done faster and better by hand and fingers.
