Hi to everyone here. This si my first post. My name is Matt and I am a Rhode Island surfer. Here is my question; gratitude in advance to any replies. My wife let a friend borrow her Christenson fish yesterday, and it came back with a split at the point of the glassed on wooden foiled fins. I am wondering what the best technique is to fix this small yet heartbreaking ding. The glass is split to about one half inch on either side, and there is minor cruching of a small area of wood. Thanks.
Hey MK,
It seems to me that you can grind into the bead along the base of the fin until the crack is gone. Then clean up the fin a little where it’s marred. Then take some fiber glass roving and saturate it with resin and work it into the cavity along the fin base. After that put a few layers of cloth over the fin where is scared and reshape once the material goes off. I won’t look new but it’ll be close and it’ll surf just as well as it ever did.
Dings are part of surfing. Not to worry ~
Mahalo, Rich
Aloha, Sounds like Rich ( Halcon ) gives good advice on fixing a crack at the base of the fin, however if your fin is split at the tip you can work some resin or epoxy in the split and then clamp untill hardened, then sand out the fracture, sometimes the fracture is only on the surface and can be taken out without chaging the shape. either way sand out fracture and fill with aerosil or best in your case would be to cup one side at a time and fill with clear resin and a little milled fiber. sand into shape thru 320 and go surfing ! there are ways of taking care of you boards and making them last a long time? some boards are for loning and some aren’t ! Keep the bottoms clean, bag your board and believe it or not rinse with fresh water and dry as often as possiable! and most important keep out of direct sunlight …
Sounds like a nice board, Aloha ! Clyde Rodgers @ Edge Fins !
Read about my recent experience…