After shaping a pu/pe board with the help of you all I have a problem.
The board had glassed on quad fins but after the second surf i noticed a crack along one of the fin bases. I repaired it but after the next surf i noticed another crack on another fin base. So i had a closer look and the pressure of flexing the fin is delaminating the cloth underneath it and this is what is causing the problem.
I think the only way to solve this is to do it right and strip the glass completely off the whole fin area and redo a 6oz repair and then a 6oz fin patch to stiffen the whole area up then reglass on the fins.
So I striped it off but peeling of the glass has left me with a few craters and a rough surface. The area directly under each fin has really pulled away a chunk so I am wondering how to go about filling these spots as its far too deep for spackle and i want it stronger. Cutting out and splicing in new foam is a possibility but will be very hard. Could i use an epoxy and microballons mix in a thick paste?
Hi Soda,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. A picture of the situation would probably get you more feedback. Is this the orange board?
How much glass was under and around the bases of the fins the first time?
Yea the orange one. Ill post a pic when i get home. I used just one layer of 6oz on the bottom of the board but the glass ons were done with very healthy laps down onto the flat around 6 inches on the insides and obviously less on the rail sides.
single 6oz is fine on the bottom. but you should always do a 6-4oz “fin” patch. You do it under the lamination all at once. this is easy to see on boards with tints. its usually a diamond shaped patch of glass that is darker around the fin area. This will make the area much stronger for glass ons, and even boxes.
So i have spliced in some new foam in the deep sections and now just need a skim coat of something over the lot to take out the small tears and give a nice surface for glassing.
Obviously needs to be slightly sandable but maximum strength is the key based on what happened before so would rather use a resin and filler mix rather than spackle.
Any suggestions? Is a thin layer of poly resin and micro ballons over the whole area a bad idea?
That actually serves as a pretty good demonstration of how ‘major surgery’ can get you in a mess. If you’ve already spliced some foam but still have minor divots, yes… use resin bog and/or some glass patches to get it more or less flush with the rest of the bottom. I have always advocated using more rather than less glass fabric cut on the bias when attaching glass-on fins. It always seems to hold up better than glass rope strands. After losing a fin on a bottom turn, I began glassing in my fins with a lot more reinforcement. Some fins I see on professionally built boards have: 1. Way too skimpy of a bead around the wood (on plywood fins) and 2. Way too skimpy of a build up at the bases… 2 bummers just waiting to happen.
