board #2 first time glassing. need help with glass on fins

General Discussion
1

hey everybody! this is my first post, read a lot of discussions here which were a great help! I’m on to my second board. it a mini simmons, inspired by the “bar of soap”. 5"0’-21’-2 3/8. domed/S-deck. little belly in the nose, slight single, and vee in the tail. 

shaped it a few weeks ago, started glassing a few days ago (PU/PE). and yes it is a free lap resin tint… I’m using UV and with the el niño rains it’s been tough timing it. so i finished the lam it it came out better than I expected for a first time, a few small pools but i was happy with it. I then moved on to glassing on the fins, and things got messy. i used two 6 oz patches on each side of the fins, one going up only 3/4 the fin. however i messed up and and basically the cloth didn’t fit the fin right and i ended up some parts of the tip of the fin not having glass on them at all, the two sides not sealing properly, and air bubbles on the fin edges. i also got lots or resin drips on my tail. I was rushing to do this as the sun was going down and it’s suppose to rain for a week straight. after that all cured i hotcoated the bottom and thats where I’m at now. 

So my question is, Should i sand down the hot coat and the rough edges of fiberglass on the fins, then try to add another layer of fiberglass over the cedar wood fins ? do i have any other options? How do i get my tail around the fins nice and smooth?

3264×2448 1.45 MB

3264×2448 1.45 MB

3264×2448 1.51 MB

https://swaylocks7stage.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/IMG_3660.png(image larger than 4 MB)

2

Those keels look huge.  

Yes… hit any high spots with a grinder.  I like those 3" Rol-Lok discs on a hard backup pad for tight spots around fins.  Open up any obvious bubbles, knock down any frayed edges and add some more cloth.  Assuming the wood was glassed before you attached them, you should be fine.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend plenty of bias cut glass patches right along the bases. As far as getting them nice and smooth - get out the elbow grease. If they weren’t glassed before attachment, just add full length pieces as you build up around the bases.

That looks like a cool board.  I’d use it as a ‘gut-slider’ but someone younger and with better skills could use it as a standup board. 

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thanks for the advice! yeah the keels are a little large. 9’x5’. but the angle of the photo makes them look way bigger compared to the board than they look in real life.