I was routing the deck for my leash plug and managed to hit the cetner fin box. I should have stopped once I noticed some red plastic while routing but it was too late. I hit the “back” part of the fin box. Trying to think of the best way to fix this.
Try to tape off the hole in the finbox in the fin slot (this is a bad spot because it’s at the end, above that little notch to hold the fin)
Lay some fliberglass in the leash plug hole, up against the fin box
Pour some resin into the leash plug to saturate the fiberglass
Cut out a foam “cap” and place it on top of the fiberlgass and close up the leash plug
Tape the leash plug cap to seal it
Flip board onto deck and let the resin cure
This way the fiberglass will cure and basically “seal” the finbox and prevent water coming into the foam, right? I need to make sure resin doesn’t seep into the fin box but flipping the board on the deck and letting the resin cure this way will minimize this, right?
It’s at the aft end of the box and I wouldn’t consider it to be too significant structurally speaking.
Try some modeling clay and stuff it real good inside the fin slot paying attention to the damaged area. With a small dowel or chopstick(?) poke the clay on the leash cup side of things to make sure the hole is exposed to the repair. Mix up some resin with chopped fiberglass and install the leash cup. When the resin is cured, remove the clay. Just to be sure it’s sealed, put the board in the sun and add some soapy water to the area around the leash plug and the fin box - look for bubbles.
This really isn’t too far from a ‘through the box’ leash attachment method I often use on boards built with a center box.
An important lesson; This is why we measure/calculate placement of fin box/ leash plug. If you put a leash plug on the stringer, be sure to set it far enough back to miss the fin box. If the tail is too thin to place the leashplug behind the fin box; place the leash plug in foam off to one side and forward enough that the plug hole doesn’t show on the bottom. If you have ever wondered why boards that you see in shops have the leash plug off to one side; This is the reason.
