Foil Troubles

[Betes176218]

I am an avid lake sailor and have a 2 1/2 year old laser. I don't get to handle much breeze except for every now and again so my boat dosn't get too much wear except for average stuff. My problem is that about a month ago my daggerboard developed this little "curl" on the bottom corner of the trailing edge. 2 weeks later while de-rigging, the corner broke off. The broken piece is about 2cm square and when I fit the piece back together with the board, I can still see a slight bend. My two questions are: first, how in the world would my board get bent? Did I store it in a funny position? That is my only guess. The second question is: How do I fix the broken corner and get the shape to "sailable" condition? I know that the break is my fault but I want to be sailing with my board as soon as possible. Any tips? Thanks.

P.S. There should be a few pictures of my problem posted as well.

 

[macwas16]

Clint, bending of the board is very common. Because of the material that it is made of, when the board spends too much time lying in the sun or is exposed to heat for any respectable amount of time, the material softens and sags forming that curve.

Since the broken piece is so small, I wouldn't recommend trying to put it back on. Instead, use clear packaging tape to create a dam and fill the area with thickened epoxy. When it is dried, sand smooth untill it is reshaped.

 

[Betes176218]

Since the broken piece is so small, I wouldn't recommend trying to put it back on. Instead, use clear packaging tape to create a dam and fill the area with thickened epoxy. When it is dried, sand smooth untill it is reshaped.

Thank you so much for the answers, but I still have one. So your just saying to use the clear tape to act as a kind of cast. How should I go about it, put the epoxy on and tape to the general shape and sand later? What general type of epoxy should I use? One more thing, what should I do about a finish? I don't care if it's white or not but is the epoxy alone good or should I seal it with somthing? Thanks a ton though.

Clint

 

[49208]

You put the tape on first, then fill in the area with the thickened epoxy (Marine Tex is great also, it's pre-made thickened epoxy) If you mix your own, West Marine epoxy is usually the one that is available in most marine stores, along with their brand of thickening agents.

You'll find once it hardens and you sand it down that you will have a finish about as nice as the board itself. Epoxy does not have to be sealed, but if you want to paint the area to "make it look pretty", pick up some white Krylon spray paint (sold in most hardware stores, about $3-4 a can)