Nose repair...the non handymans guide please!

The 140L Funride that we bought for the LHI aquatic Club has already fallen victim to the catapulters. It has a 10 cm crack along the side of the nose. Someone has said that i should sand it and then put some fibreglass over it and soak the glass in 2pac epoxy, then sand it back.
is that the go?
any help for the handy underachiever that I am would be appreciated.

Tim, is the board a plastic one or an epoxy one? If it has a vent plug then it is more than likely epoxy. I have never repaired a plastic one, but epoxy should be easy to repair.

Without knowing which way the crack goes, but assuming it matches the ones I put in the nose of some of my boards with the mast, I would use some coarse sandpaper to clean up the crack first and give the glass something to bond with. You can then cut a few pieces of fibreglass to use as a patch over the top, with an overlap of at least a few cms either side of the crack.

Mix up some epoxy and using a paintbrush you don't want anymore, dab some epoxy over the crack and around it. Put the first layer of glass on top and wet it through using the paintbrush and more epoxy until the glass has gone clear. If it is still white it hasn't got enough epoxy in it.

Add more layers of fibreglass as you think fit. I think 3 is pretty much strong enough for most jobs.

You can either let it set like that or put a piece of plastic like a freezer bag over the top. Add a sandbag on top to add a bit of pressure and leave it to set for a day.

Once it is set, you can leave it like that or sand it back and use a filler over the top to make it smooth and paint it.

The usual tips are don't use normal 'fibreglass' (the polyester resin and catalyst - the cloth is okay though) or acetone anywhere near a polystyrene board as it will melt it really easily! Another good tip is that wasting masking tape is more fun than cleaning up or sanding extra epoxy.

Hi dale,
yep it's an epoxy. Thanks heaps for the tips, i reckon even i should be able to handle that. The board lady site is pretty good too thanks Mineral.

lordhowe,

I've got an old issue of Boards mag with a very comprehensive article on sailboard nose repairs, can scan pages and email if required.