So we decide to go to the 'Bu last weekend. Dawn patrol. We get there in the dark. See white wash. Paddle out at very first light. Already 15 guys out. It’s crowded and gets more so but it’s fun, there’s a pretty good vibe and I get about a half a dozen waves all the way down the point, not to mention about a dozen that either section or I get dropped in on.
Then I tell my buddy, “I’m going ot get one more.” Never say that. I take off. Two guys behind me, two guys in front, everybody streaking along OK. Classic Malibu party wave. All’s fine until we meet up with a poor bewildered soul paddling out. In particular I have a choice of running the guy over or straightening out. I straighten out…and get rear ended by both the guys behind me. We come up up all tangled up and one guy starts taking the leash off my board and pushing it in, telling me I’m “clueless” ( if you happen to be reading this- F… you). I get my board and this is what I find-
My first ding in a compsand, balsa and cork rails. Any suggestions from the experts on how to fix it? I don’t think I can fit the piece back in, although I was thinking about trying to suck it on with the vacuum. Bad Move? Just pull out the chunk and fill it with resin? Try to shape in a stack of balsa/cork?
I will ride a bad day at Rat before I ride a good day, or even a bad day, at Maliboo-hoo. I cannot deal w/ crowds. If I’m the 13th one at the Cove and only the right is working, I’ll paddle in. I feel your pain. I have a 10 footer that’s now 9’6" because of crowded conditions. Not worth it.
Man, crowds suck. Sorry to see the blemish on your beautiful board.
I know you asked for input from the experts and though I’m no expert, I like repairs. It’s a sickness. I can’t tell the exact condition from the one pic, but I think this is what I’d do. I’m assuming you can’t fit it back in because of the irregular torn up surfaces. Using a dremel too with a small sanding drum on it deburr both surfaces so the sticky-outy parts aren’t interfering with putting it back where it belongs. Also deburr the torn glass edges. Take small bits at a time until you can get the piece back into place. Try to remove as little wood and cork as possible around the perimeter so you can minimize the gap around the piece once it’s replaced. Tint some resin to match the lighter color on the board. Lighter is better. Thicken it with some cabosil to about peanut butter consistency and back-fill the sanded space with enough so that it squishes out when you push the piece back. Push the piece in until just flush. Tape in to place until cured. You might want to use some flexible strips of wood across the repair on the deck and bottom to force the piece flush.
The tan fill material should minimize the scar around the piece if it is a close match to the lighter part of the woodgrain. Sand the overflow flush with the glass and carefully sand the glass over the piece and around it until you’re to the first layer of glass. Expand that sanded area out a few inches around the perimeter. At this point you can come in with some paints to replicate the darker cork stripes and balsa grain where it crosses the joint. Use your best faux wood technique. This is where your effort to minimize the gap pays off. The less you have to paint the better. You might only be touching up a millimeter seam.
One complication I think I see is that the broken piece looks like it has a crack in the middle. If that crack changed the outside shape you can still do the above and sand it back to normal shape after it’s back in or you can straighten the piece before you put it back in. If you want to straighten it before then I’d use the dremel to sand throught glass right over the crack until you can separate for flex the pieces. Deburr the inner parts of the piece until you can straighten it. Put some clear in there and fix it in position until set. Now you got a straight piece to put back in. Then follow the steps above.
Laminate in a glass patch that extends past the sanded area. Sand it flush, gloss and polish.
Okay, that’s my more than 2 cents. Admittedly, I’m only going on the one pic but that’s my best guess of what I’d do to repair it with minimal scarring.
I grew up in Zuma… I graduated from Topanga to Malibu as a grom. F the place, or I should say the people. The blue crush, SUP, yuppie phase in surfing has lowered the avg surfer talent, and made it so crowded, you get guys like me ranting about it. I hope it changes.
Plus the point has change. Kiddie bowl is gone. Once it returns so will I.
Atleast you got some bro, and good on you for trying…
It’s a sickness. I can’t tell the exact condition from the one pic, but I think this is what I’d do. I’m assuming you can’t fit it back in because of the irregular torn up surfaces. Using a dremel too with a small sanding drum on it deburr both surfaces so the sticky-outy parts aren’t interfering with putting it back where it belongs. Also deburr the torn glass edges. Take small bits at a time until you can get the piece back into place. Try to remove as little wood and cork as possible around the perimeter so you can minimize the gap around the piece once it’s replaced. Tint some resin to match the lighter color on the board. Lighter is better. Thicken it with some cabosil to about peanut butter consistency and back-fill the sanded space with enough so that it squishes out when you push the piece back. Push the piece in until just flush. Tape in to place until cured. You might want to use some flexible strips of wood across the repair on the deck and bottom to force the piece flush.