2009 composite daggerboard helpful hint

sunstorm87

New Member
Hey all, just got a 09 sunfish this year. The daggerboards are now composite and not wood as i'm sure you all know. For some reason, these new daggerboards are very easy to chip. A small rock became stuck in the bottom of my daggerboard well and when i put the thing in, it took a small chunk out of it without any effort. It would seem the inside of the tip is nothing but body filler, according to a friend of mine who has been building composite aircraft for quite some time now and is building his own airplane. So an easy fix is to reinforce the tip with fiberglass, to help against abrasion and nicks. When it is dried, just sand it down to the shape of the board with 80 grit. Could even go a step further and add a layer of micro (ground up fiberglass), epoxy, and resin mixed together to re finish the surface.
 
It's certainly true that the 'plastic fantastic' boards chip easily. They are made of polyurethane (foam) and the board is reinforced with metal rods that run top to bottom (well, not all the way to the bottom).

There have been several articles in the Windward Leg regarding the repair of these boards. Advice is also available on this Forum and the Internet. Here is one link:
http://www.schrothfiberglass.com/centerboard_and_rudder_repairs.htm
 
thanks for the tip! That would explain why it was so easy to sand down. The consistency did remind me of the foam we used to reshape the nose on my friend's airplane.

BC
 
There have been several articles in the Windward Leg regarding the repair of these boards. Advice is also available on this Forum and the Internet. Here is one link:
http://www.schrothfiberglass.com/centerboard_and_rudder_repairs.htm

Thanks for the link ... good one.

I'd heard MarineTex, I used some WEST on mine, I wonder how the new G-Flex works..., or if it's even necessary to go that route for better hold. I can see the core is foam like surfboard foam, any word on the shell..., ABS ?? Laser Performance points out it's NOT fiberglass, but they don't say what it IS.
 
I can see the core is foam like surfboard foam, any word on the shell..., ABS ?? Laser Performance points out it's NOT fiberglass, but they don't say what it IS.


...ABS is is very possible or it might just be a marine paint, if i had to take a guess. It comes off too easily if the daggerboard is brushed up against anything.
 
I can see the core is foam like surfboard foam, any word on the shell..., ABS ?? Laser Performance points out it's NOT fiberglass, but they don't say what it IS.


...ABS is is very possible or it might just be a marine paint, if i had to take a guess. It comes off too easily if the daggerboard is brushed up against anything.

Just paint, AFAIK; which does facilitate repairing the :)() board.

PS: I ran into an underwater tree trunk this past Monday, planing; so I know the pain....

 

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