Hi All,
I am about to start my summer break where I like to sail a lot. I went for a sail yesterday afternoon and realised my board (Old 2013 Isonic 97) has developed a soft deck and crack in front of the right front footstrap. Basically about 10cm X 5cm. I can push on on it and see water come out of the crack. I am just after a quick fix to sail over the next few weeks. I can redo the repair at a later date properly. Can anyone point me in the direction of a guide to do such a repair?
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Adrian
It's a big kind of repair. The first thing needed is to properly, completely dry it. That alone will take a while. Possibly weeks. By just patching over doing a quick fix will spread the water inside and do more damage. Unfortunately, what you're hoping for is not a good idea. Those boards are notorious for getting soft there. Ideally the whole area in front of the straps to the mast base should be replaced. Probably about the same cost as a solid second-hand board of similar age. The quick and easy repair would be to inject a slow curing resin under the soft spot but needs to be perfectly dry. This will take a long time if you don't remove the dodgy area. And that's not a proper fix because that whole area is probably dying. I think you deserve a new secondhand board for Xmas if you want to go sailing now.
Select to expand quoteImax1 said..
It's a big kind of repair. The first thing needed is to properly, completely dry it. That alone will take a while. Possibly weeks. By just patching over doing a quick fix will spread the water inside and do more damage. Unfortunately, what you're hoping for is not a good idea. Those boards are notorious for getting soft there. Ideally the whole area in front of the straps to the mast base should be replaced. Probably about the same cost as a solid second-hand board of similar age. The quick and easy repair would be to inject a slow curing resin under the soft spot but needs to be perfectly dry. This will take a long time if you don't remove the dodgy area. And that's not a proper fix because that whole area is probably dying. I think you deserve a new secondhand board for Xmas if you want to go sailing now.
Thanks for that. I was thinking similar regarding getting a board to use until this is sorted. I started a thread in NSW section trying to see if anyone has one. All the good board options in the buy and sell seem to be interstate.
I have the board in the sun (vent removed) and water is coming out of the crack.... and I discovered similar but less advanced in front of the other footstrap... so it seems the whole area need to be addressed and will take time to repair properly. Also there is water coming out of the vent which is unfortunate as I hoped the water was limited to the one area.
So first prioirty is locate a board to use quickly. If not, I may just continue to sail this board and ride it into the ground so to speak as it sounds like repairing may not be economical unless I do it myself. The board in current condition cannot be worth much. I think it is 2012/13-ish model and I got second hand in 2014. Probably not worth much even if it was in good condition.
Its a hot day today and drying in the sun. Am I better off to attempt to inject epoxy or just keep using it as is? Will some attempt at a quick repair be better than none?
If you seal up the board with water still inside it may delaminate if it gets hot. Take the vent out when not sailing.
this is a flexing point, that's why it's cracked.
Exactly the same will keep happening with "temporary" repairs.
I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.
I don't think Imax is 100% correct, there are epoxy resins that set under water. I don't know anything about them. But injection them could be a "quick" fix, that has a chance of lasting a few weeks.
I may have located a board to use in the meantime, so I can focus on drying this board out for a repair. Funny that in general handling of the board I had not noticed it feeling particularly heavy. But in the few hours today in the sun it seems a fair bit of water has come out from the areas in front of the both front straps and the vent hole. Being a grey board, it gets pretty hot in the sun. Hopefully it will be OK. I assume I will just put it outside with a paper towel in the vent hole on a sunny day. Should I open up the cracked areas in front of the straps... either with some small drill holes or cut the outer shell off where it is soft?
I am not experienced with board repair but generally I am pretty handy with my hands. Is it worth me getting a quote from a repairer in Sydney (anyone to recommend??) or should I just have a go myself? This may also me an oportunity to put some new front strap positions which I have been wanting for years.
I would suggest you stop leaving the board in the sun as the UV will be further weakening your already softened board.
Having said that, I would also suggest you consider cutting your losses and putting your time, money and effort towards a replacement. An inexperienced diy repair will likely be a **** show and a pro repair is probably not worth the money on a 13 yo board that has already gone soft and been water logged. Get a professional quote and assessment then decide if it's worth it.
If it's going to be fixed well, the deck should come off and damaged foam removed.
If that's the way you're going, removing the deck will allow the foam to dry out quicker.
Other wise gravity is your friend. put a wick in the lowest opening and leave in the sun.
Remove the wick after sun goes down. When wick come out dry, it should be close enough.
So for board drying, is it better out in the direct sun or covered. Obviously the direct has UV that may break down the outer shell. It is heat we are after. I can leave it in a cover or under a blanket. Probably want some air flow to dry the water coming out.
I have done some things with carbon and epoxy resins, but not as much with the foams. If I do it myself I have little to lose except materials. Anyone got a rough figure on a professional repair like this... like $200/$500/$1000?
I guess a lot depends what you find when you pull the deck off.
I've seen the underneath foam destroyed for a few centimeter down, with bits floating around. This would have to be taken down to a flat surface and new foam glued in.
Other times the foam is fairly intact and the the sandwich has just detached, in that case with any luck the sandwich can just be stuck back on.
However this was bottoms blown off. your problem looks like insufficient reinforcement in front of the straps. and the foam has been depressed allowing the sandwich to flex. I doubt the foam will be in good shape.
As it's the deck, and shape isn't that important, injecting expanding foam maybe an option. but you'd need to judge quantities well.
Too little would leave a void, and too much could do more damage.
Open it up and check it out.
Otherwise, just grab any used board around the same specs because wet foam is a pain especially if wet for a while, delaminated etc.
