Monday, June 7, 2010

repair week

I have six board repairs to do this week. count em' six. I only own eight boards.

This spring has need very rough on gear. Last weekend I spent a good deal of time on my hands and knees taping tears in my sails. I bought two new universals... one last season, and one two weeks ago. all my Skinny masts are less than two years old. And while I did buy "used' a new boom this season: the rest are at least 5 years old.

I need to spend some bank on some new sails. They work; but have been showing signs of age.Especially my 5.0 and 6.0. I replaced my old 7.2 with a 6.9. And I already have a puncture in the 6.9.[BTW The Tape Fix worked on that repair.

In the old days, I would just go out and buy new gear. BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THESES PRICES!!!

so...

JP 109: cut open and re glass tail buckle. Then just cover it with Hydro waffle.
Syncro 90: Fill in nose chip small repair.
Sumo 125: open up and re-glass nose, before she starts looking like Ms pac man.
Power Glide 160: this is technically LL's board. I dropped it while loading the truck and split the tail. So some exploratory grinding is in order.

the next two are not as urgent...

Naish wave 85: major nose surgery
Seared Ahi fish: 3 semi repaired dings

I am usually pretty good about this kind of stuff, Not this year.

Oh and BTW windsurfed both days this weekend.

I just gotta' go when it blows. Summer will be here soon and I can work on my tan, and my gear. I'll make all my patch jobs look pretty when there is no wind. Right now my priority is to stabilize the dings, cracks, and chips: seal out the water, keep it light, not pretty, and retain the structural integrity of the boards.

That is get them back out on the water ASAP.

Sorry Segue; I know you need a fresh coat of wax and some sanding. you will just have to wait.

2 comments:

McPhilly said...

Frank, I've got to seal the rails of Ely's old 270 wave -- I'm thinking a strip of glass along both rails and resin -- probably will add a 1/2 lb but better than letting 4 lbs of water in.

What do you think.

Any resins and glass you would recommend for an old AHD?

drysuit2 said...

I use West System, because I have used it so long, I'm used to it.

I would try Mas Epoxy. Their product seems more versatile.

West system's weaknesses are...
Its hardness: it doesn't flex. So if you are repairing something that does, it can pop out. It can also make it a bitch to sand fair. Micro-balloons help, but silica is almost too hard.

Also it already has the amine blush, so it is not so good at laminating multiple layers with out sanding in between lay ups.
Mas, System Three, let's you add it or not; depending on what you are doing.

Lastly, it is NOT UV stable. I've tried to add pigment; but it is better to just paint over it. I like the flexible spray paint meant for plastic as my top coat.