hello,
i’m going to convert an old windsurfer to a paddleboard by removing the mast track & daggerboard well, then glassing the holes. What should i fill the holes with? i was thinking i could use bubble wrap to keep weight to a minimum.
Where can i get a deck pad (or individual knee pads) and a chin pad?
Any other issues i should consider?
thanks,
bob
Hola,
My suggestions:
Fill holes using polyurethane (PU) foam. Light and polyester resin friendly. Available in cans at any hardware.
Custom made pads using an EVA mat. Available at any sports or camping store. Use contact cement for stick.
I made a sailboard into a fish a while back and posted pics of the results (the post was titled “The Sow’s Ear Project” if you want to do a search of the archives). I filled the holes (lots of 'em) with foam from other parts of the blank. I routed them and then used a hole saw without the center bit to cut out circles of foam for the round holes, and traced the finbox hole and cut foam out with a saw and handsanded it to custom fit the hole.
Depends a lot on what the sailboard is made out of in the first place - if it’s an old-style windsurfer brand or one of many other plastic roto-molded windsurfing boards made, then glass won’t stick to it - in which case dear ol’ duct tape is probably your best move.
hope that’s of use
doc…
Hey Ratt,
I noticed your “life saving” moto and was wondering if you are going to use for lifeguard competition (10’6" class)?
What size and weight is the board and, as Doc mentioned, what’s it made of? If it’s roto molded you can still patch the holes with scraps of polyethylene. (It’s a bit tricky but do-able.)
In essence, what is the intention of the board???
Why bother, you’re not saving any weight after you patch it, and you can’t use it as a windsurf board if you do.
Hey Ratt,
I noticed your “life saving” moto and was wondering if you are going to use for lifeguard competition (10’6" class)?
What size and weight is the board and, as Doc mentioned, what’s it made of? If it’s roto molded you can still patch the holes with scraps of polyethylene. (It’s a bit tricky but do-able.)
In essence, what is the intention of the board???
Thanks for the reply, it’s an old carbon composit F2 Lightening, i’d love to make it a 10’6" spec board but i can barely get resin to set up for ding repair, i’m not ready for mowing (yet).
It’s 12’6" and weighs 30 lbs. i’m hoping to shave a couple pounds off by removing the mast-track & daggerboard well. it will also prevent water from sloshing around the middle of the board (from the well).
i just want something to paddle Lake Michigan on low/ no wind days for a workout, i may also look at a stand-up canoe paddle. Just something to get me out on the water.
Surf-this,
great job on the fish! if i find an old glass windsurfer i’ll be looking for possibilities.
Lee,
i’ve got a bunch of boards for when it’s windy, i want something for low/no wind days.
Thanks for all the help.
Dagger well and mast foot cavity is lowgrade Euro ABS plastic, so no weight savings as you’d have to glass it up to be watertight after the surgical removal.
Lightnings should have a rubber gasket sealer for the dagger, to keep water from spraying up into the sail at planing speeds.
If it doesn’t, you can get weatherstripping rubber pices, cut to fit, glue on.
Don’t think a weight savings of more than 2 lbs. total if you remove ABS parts and don’t glass it back up.
Sorry i had a question and didn’t want to start a new thread… i just got a old 80’s windsurfing board i wanted to convert into a SUP but its the plastic kind does anyone know what kinda glue or resin would stick to the plastic to repair it? i think “the board lady” used the mighty puddy stick but i would need a lot of stick and i was gonna cut the board open to modify it
I don’t get what you guys mean by converting it into a SUP?
It looks like you do not want to change the shape? Why not just paddle it?
I also doubt that a 10ft + old school raceboard will be of any value in the waves.
If you want to change the rocker of a polyethylene board, you can wrap black plastic around the area to change, put it in the sun an pull the nose/tail down with some ropes. When tension is gone, remove the plastic and let it cool down.
I’ve seen that in an old windsurfing handbook to turn boards into waveboards 
I’ll look for that article when I’m at home and if I do not forget it. (I’m home by thursday)
sorry, what i meant to say was i took it out yesterday and it seemed to be way to rocky… the board is 10’6 by i think 24. i wanted to make it wider, i was thinking about spliting the board down the middle then adding foam to get it up to about 30", then patching it with fiberglass/epoxy but i dont it would stick to the plastic. i dunno its just a cheapo project so i can say i have a SUP without shelling out the serious $$$. i’m open for any other ideas…
btw Swaylock is the best thing ever!! i’ve been reading posts here for years
sorry, what i meant to say was i took it out yesterday and it seemed to be way to rocky… the board is 10’6 by i think 24. i wanted to make it wider, i was thinking about spliting the board down the middle then adding foam to get it up to about 30", then patching it with fiberglass/epoxy but i dont it would stick to the plastic. i dunno its just a cheapo project so i can say i have a SUP without shelling out the serious $$$. i’m open for any other ideas…
btw Swaylock is the best thing ever!! i’ve been reading posts here for years
The best way to attach polyethylene is by welding (like with metals). I’ll explain how I would do it.
It’s sure that you’ll need a long strip of polyethylene to attach the skins.
The foam you insert can be glued with PU-glue (ex. the famous gorilla glue). After that I would glass over with epoxy and glassfibres (over the new foam and an inch or so overlapping the old foam (cut of an inch of the old skin). while the epoxy is wet, lay on the strip of polyethylene (wich you roughed on the inside with some 60grid sandpaper so you get a little mechanical bond, make sure it overlaps the original PE skin). This will stick to it but not very strong. When the epoxy is cured, use an old iron (for ironing clothes) to weld the sides of the strip in the skin (use some ironing paper so the PE won’t stick to your iron). Do the other side and you’re done.
I’ve repaire some PE boards in the past and I strongly recommend to use epoxy, this sticks more to PE than polyester. Welding a piece of PE is a must! This method will give you an ugly board, there is no way to make the
welding line flat, so don’t try it. Don’t try to sand PE at the
outside, it will collect dust and get even uglier over time!
If nobody else suggest a better way I hope you try it, because I’m interested in the result. But be aware of my disclaimer 
DISCLAIMER: I’ve never done this, so don’t blame me if it goes wrong! I’ve only done some small PE repairs. The user of this method assumes all responsibility for damages resulting from the use
of this method, including, but not limited to, frustration, disgust, disk head-crashes, general malfeasance, floods, fires,
shark attack, locust infestation, cyclones, hurricanes, tsunamis, local
electromagnetic disruptions, hydraulic brake system failure, invasion,
hashing collisions, normal wear and tear of friction surfaces, cosmic
radiation, inadvertent destruction of sensitive electronic components,
windstorms, the riders of nazgul, infuriated chickens, premature
activation of a distant early warning system, peasant uprisings,
halitosis, artillery bombardment, explosions, cave-ins,
borg-assimilation, america bringing democracy to your country and/or
frogs falling from the sky. (The last part of the disclaimer is copied from the chakra project, this is released by the GPL-license, I quote it because it’s fantastic )
the water toys section of the big discount box store of your choice
get some of those big ethafoam noodles …
tape em on the rails 8’’ wider!
adjust for technique
paddling 100 miles in flat water,
thats 20 gos at 5mi per session
then take off trainers
and paddle like a demon on fire
with the stock F2.
if you wanna get scary sophisticated
shape etha foam with hot wire…
before attaching and duct taping.
you will make a real board eventually
paddling an F2 that looks like an abortion
will hasten your pursuit of making a ‘‘better board’’
you will be able to paddle the F2
after aquiring a lil’ tecknik
…ambrose…
flat water …flat water…
FLAT WATER
concentrate on paddling
cleanly…and indeed upright
save your back…
Wind surf boards are great paddlers and fish boards, a lighter one is gold, my 11-6 is 26 lbs, not bad, not great. Stuff neoprene or any closed cell foam in the deck cavities cover with duct tape, allow access for draining, the center board slot might already have the rubber flaps to keep the bottom flow ok, good enouph or use tape, let it drain out the bottom. I mount straps and bungie everwhere possible for tie downs. My biggest issue now is finding a tiny anchor for fishing/diving.
Let common sense be your guide because, good boards ain’t cheap and cheap boards ain’t good.
ya im starting to think this project is not worth it… i might just wanna play around with it till its beat up and then salvage the foam to make a whole new creation… who would want to F- around with a polyethylene deck anyway, the thing is already heavy as sin.
so after eating the brown little pellets for a couple moons
the seeker of wisdom and truth returned to the wise old sage
he was seated next to a small fire by a gurgling creek
it was still dawn’s early lighting , the sky pink and purple
the promise of a beautiful day secure…as he approached
the quiet figure and then sat our guide came to life
and turned full attention to the forthcoming statement.
“You know ,those smart pills look a lot like rabbit shite”
the sage old crone nodded knowingly and then spoke
" now,you are gettin’ smart."
do not salvage any thing from the f-2
you have gleend the greatest gift
the old board has to offer.
its heavy.
like all boards from the production atmosphere,
it was a promotional based design flawed from concept
to implementation because of it’s specialized use parameters
the derived finer tuned and greater
sailboards and yes paddleboards ,laydown and stand up,
are everywhere.
now that you have invested the time and effort cleaning and
physicly charged this artifact with love and hope
go forth into your own future
throw the rabbit shit away
beg borrow and build a board
with your megar investment funds
you are not the brokest man in the universe
but you do have a destiny to fulfill
now that you are part way there
the board you make will easily be better than
your fondest dream…
let the light flow from within you.
and any way any thing
that big will easily reshape …
…ambrose…
new foam is always better than salvage.
and not that much more expensive.
unless you under value your time.
I believe your time worthy of a respectfull
estimate and appraisal…
so poetic the way you say “rabbit sh*t” 
ok so heres the latest idea i have a 10'6 windsurfboard and a 9' something wind surfboard with a broken nose.... if i rig one so slid right on to the other and have a like 17 ft by 24 by 5 would that be enough to balance on or would it still have to be wider to support a 200lb man?