Daggerboard Trunk repair / issues

J

jsimmons248

Member
I recently launched my Sunfish for the first time that has been refurbished . Everything was fine until I noticed after the sail that the hull had taken on 1 or 2 cups of water. As there is no drain plug and no other thruhull devices, I am certain the water must be coming in through the daggerboard trunk, even though it has no obvious leaks. Another issue I had was that the daggerboard seemed very loose.

So: Has anyone repaired the daggerboard trunk in their Sunfish who can give me some advice on how to go about it? I have a 6" Inspection port which makes access reasonably easy.

What do I do about the loose daggerboard? Is this normal? There is a small brass spring device on the side of the daggerboard which looks like it is designed to help hold the board in place but it seems OK.

Thanks!
 
I have since found the leaks. Both are located in the front and back of the daggerboard trunk where is joins the hull on the bottom. This entire area has been reinforced with glass cloth but it leaks just the same in the front and back. (No visible cracks).

Looks to me like I need some type of sealant to put down, or maybe use epoxy resin, although I don't think I need to use any more glass cloth unless someone recommends it.

Comments please.
 
Jim,
Don't use any sealant, it will just mess things up :p . It seems like the repair did not have enough resin in it and the glass fabric was starved. I suggest you remove (if possible) the repair and start over. Sand the surface well, brush on some resin covering the sanded area well (do not be stingy) and using 2" wide strips, 8"-12" long, soak the strips in resin (epoxy), place half (4"-6") on the trunk and half (4"-6") on the hull over the wet resin. It will look like you are taping the trunk to the hull. The epoxy of choice seems to be West Epoxy, other brands (Raka, MAS, System 3) will work as well. Mix the epoxy in a cup and then pour into a disposable pie pan. This will slow down the curing rate and give you some time to work. If you use up the first batch, mix another and keep going.
For the loose dagger board, you can place carpet at the front and rear of the well and on the side (see Tuning Guide, sections I and II, under Tips and Tricks on SF Class Home page). Another method is to get a piece of 1/4" shock cord about 9' long. I placed an eye strap on the top front of the dagger board and a clip on the cord. The shock cord goes from the board around each side of the mast to the bow handle where the 2 ends are hooked together. This will cause the board to cock in the trunk and stay where you put it (up, half way, or down). The flat brass spring only helps hold the board fully down. Hope this helps.
 
Supercub:

Any ideas on how to remove the existing 'old' repair cloth that is leaking? As you can imagine it is well bonded. I might be able to get a grinder close to the front of the daggerboard trunk and partially down the sides but the rear area would be by feel only. The main leak is at the very front of the trunk with a smaller one a the very rear. The sides seem to be OK. (Probably caused when someone grounded and stressed the areas).

What do you think about mixing up some epoxy with glassflake and making a putty of sorts to spread around the leak areas? I would grind or sand the areas the best I can before applying.

I appreciate you comments.
 
Jim,
Your plan is good. Grind what you can to eliminate bumps and make the area smooth. Clean well with acetone (wear gloves). Precoat the area with plain resin (thin to the consistancy of water, a heat gun can help with the flow if you can get the heat gun inside, it should find its way into the cracks). Add your fiberglass strips if you can. If not, add some chopped up glass, colloidal silica, microfibers, high-density filler or other thickening agent to the plain resin to make a paste about like soft peanut butter or mayonnaise. Spread this paste over the precoated area and feather out (you are making a fillet between the trunk and hull). A plastic coffee can lid, cut to the radius you want, will make things easier to shape the fillet. Cured epoxy can be removed from your lid by flexing it.
West Systems epoxy has a user manual and product guide available for free from your local dealer or go online (http://www.westsystem.com/). The manual and guide can be found there also. Lots of good info for working with epoxy/fiberglass.
 
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