I'm looking for some advice about how to tackle a bit of damage to my trusty 2015 92L Starboard Kode wave.
There is an area on the deck of some small cracks just in front of the left foot strap - about 5 in total (can be seen entirely within the photos). Initially I thought they were just superficial, but the other day noticed a salty residue suggesting that water had run out of a crack - this seems to be limited to only one of the cracks (most forward one). The deck in slightly soft when pressed firmly in the area of some cracks, and slightly soft also over the darkened area in places too. However, the softness is very very slight for the most part, and definitely no crunching sounds that board lady refers to. I would not have noticed any softness if it were not for the darkening - presumably water related.
So, what I'm wonder which repair option should this be:
1) A case of cutting away the cracked sections, filling and glassing etc - I'm currently thinking this will not address the deck softness, so will likely crack again; or
2) Do some injection of two part foam to address the slight softness, along the lines of this (boardlady.com/injection.htm), then proceed to repair the cracks by cutting, filling, glassing etc; or
3) Get the board to a repairer for more extensive repairs of the damaged deck section - I currently think this is not necessary as the softness is still very slight. Also, the board is in great condition otherwise, so open surgery wouldn't be ideal; or
4) Something else?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
May thanks,
Mark
The discolouration is due to water ingress and you never quite know how much or how far.
Plus, slight softness could just mean a styro core crack that is located deeper rather than just under the divinycell layer and so it feels better but is still bad. Any delam or crack has a habit of spreading through use. I am doing a board now that appeared fine but would have snapped next session.
For those reasons I recommend full surgery.......
But if you don't jump it crazy and want to use it, I'd go a simple fill with a single pack polyurethane GLUE as it absorbs moisture whilst setting, is cheap and easy (albeit dodgy) - then have a pro repair at end of season.
I'm new to this kind of construction , is there glass over the wood lam ?
Is it just resin soaked wood and that's it , ?
If it is. , I see it a hard to fix construction.
I have a wood veneer bottom formula board that I don't get , I can scratch with my finger nail thru to the wood !
^^^ That Kode has approx 2oz over the wood
Some slalom / race boards did just have wood/resin as a top layer and they degrade pretty bad if the paint wears (thereby letting UV do its damage) eG: the Starboard Carve / Futura iSonics had stickers on bottom saying keep it out of the sun
I have an older *board Freeformula with this construction. Half the board is exposed wood, the other painted and the board had spent some time in the sun before my purchase (I had to replace deck padding that had turned to powder). The durability of the painted side is so much better than the visible wood. fwiw, I wasn't having deck softness, etc, but water was seeping through to smaller cracks in the resin so I used acrylic clear coat to reseal the board. The advantage is that it doesn't significantly reduce the effectiveness of the non-skid.
A shame that starboard never came up with a more durable coating or just had painted the board instead of preferring aesthetics.
Thanks for the advice - much appreciated.
Having a closer look, the softness near the cracks seems shallow, as it falls into the crack. It is also quite variable over the area, which to me also suggests it is more of a shallow damage (maybe wishful thinking here!). The board has copped a lot of abuse, and has landed its fair share of knee jerking flat landed jumps. Saying that, there is no damage or creasing on the rails. My best guess is heel impact damage when going through surf before stepping into the footstraps - would that make sense?
For the polyurethane glue temporary fix, would this be achieved by local routering along the crack/wood, filling with poly glue, drying, sanding and glassing over the top, then sanding again? Or are you just suggesting a more simple trim with a knife and cover with glue just to get it watertight and back on the water?
For this wood construction, is the board relying on the wood for strength in bending, or is it just used as an outer shell for impact resistance?
Is there anyway the board can be repaired in a way that will not destroy it aesthetically? Not that I mind when I use it, but obviously a board that has a massive white patch on the deck will probably be good for the free boards thread by the time an upgrade is due.
Thanks,
Mark
That wood can be replaced, it is just pine veneer. It will of course have a seam visible, but I've also kinda sorta painted it also so its not obvious unless u really look. Its possible to replace that and not really see it.
As for the glue - it is a dodgy temp only fix for sure. I will post a pic of the product tonight if you want to do it. Was just thinking a few small holes, inject and block them up so it sets nice and dense. Holes can then have a bit of glass and resin over the top. Only as it absorbs some moisture and will glue up any styro cracks, but I still think full repair.
If you tend to flat land you need to get it fixed.
I had a small soft area in roughly the same spot and this happened. 80L nuevo
You can see where the soft spot was by the dark area on the wood on the right of the picture.
If anyone wants the board as a project let me know!
Thanks Mark. Like your idea. A link / photo of the glue product would be great. Will doing a quick fix and look to repair properly at end of season. Thanks.
I just can't find a pic online.
Tarzan's Grip "High Strength Glue" is what I use for foam etc. NOT the "mega bond" one that contains solvents.
It is a honey coloured liquid with no smell so u will know it when you have a look inside the bottle...... it won't melt styro but lots of other glues will so I stick to that one.
If you inject about 30-50ml of that in a few holes, block them up a little with plasticine etc, cover with really tight plastic masking tape then leave it upside down overnight you should have a nice hard fill. Then redrill holes to about 3mm deep and fill with resin. Resin mixed with a bit of pine sawdust will match the colour if you want to be flash. Still only a temp fix though...
Hi. Great thread. Just wandering, to inject the 2-part polyurethane foam, how deep should i screw the holes?
