DIY - Heel Crack & Dent Repair

Heel dents or cracks are much less common these days with the advent of foot pads on all boards. In the old days(before pads were standard) it was obvious if a crack had started. These days you may not even know you have them until you see water dripping from the bottom edge of the pad. On slalom boards they usually only occur on the back foot heel area.

The last board I made had some cracks appear. It was not because the layup was too light, it was just sailed a lot in chop. I have lots of offcuts of the materials used in board manufacture so I could keep the repair light. If you dont have access to these you could fill the foam region with polyurethane foam but some have a lower than required density and can crush more easily than the eps core.

I use the West Systems 105 epoxy. You can buy a pump pack that dispenses the exact ratio of resin and hardener to take the guess work out of mixing the correct ratio.

Here is how I went about repairing the damage.

Step 1

Remove the pads with minimum damage. This can usually be started from a curved or pointed corner. If the pad starts to tear you may need to slice the area that is not peeling with a sharp blade to help it along. If the dent or crack only affects a small area under the pad you may only need to peel the local area of pad away.

Now that you have cleared the pad away from the affected are proceed the press the deck around the crack or dent to identify where it has softened. Mark with a pencil the border of the affected area. This is the area you wil be removing as the material is damaged and needs replacing. With a sharp chisel you should be able to carefully shave the laminate away. Work from the pencil line in and try to angle the cuts so that the laminate on the edge will have a large bonding area.

The pvc sandwich foam should now be exposed. I then use a dremel tool to grind away all of the damaged pvc and eps core foam in a smooth concave shape.

Step 2

With some tracing paper copy the outline of the pvc foam and transfer the shape on to a cardboard template. Cutout the template and copy it in pvc foam.

Do the same again only this time copy the eps foam outline onto a piece of eps foam.

Cut out each of the pieces of foam to the outline with a snap off knife. Now you need to sand the eps foam so that it neatly fills the void in the eps. It is not a problem if you go too far, it is a problem if it sits high though as this will be reducing the amount of pvc foam you can apply. Now with the eps sitting in place do the same with the pvc foam and fill the void. You do not need to get the top of the foam sitting below the skin as we will sand this down after the foams are cast into place. Use 6mm foam as you will have to sand it down to blend with the board. If you use 3mm you don't have as much freedom and the fit of the foam cutouts needs to be more exact.

Use the pvc foam template to cut out 2 layers of 6oz glass cloth.

Step 3

Mix up some resing with microbaloons to a cream consistency, that is with minimum sag. Butter up the polystyrene block and the hole it is going to fill. Place the block in the hole and push it in so that it is level or just below the line of the existing eps foam. Now spread the excess filler (that is squeezing out around the block) over the top of the block and the edge of the pvc foam.

Pre-wet the glass patches with pure resin and place them on the block making sure that the edges of the glass finish on the pvc.

Now butter up the back of the pvc blocks and push them into place just enough so that filler is squeezed out evenly beneath the block. Tape the block into place starting from the center and working out with vertical strips. Leave the resin to cure overnight.

Step 4

Once the resin has cured remove the tape and fair the foam with the body of the board. Work with a block and coarse paper of about 40 grit until nearly flush and then go down to 80 grit. A surform is the best tool to use if you can get your hands on one.

With the foam flushed off cut out a glass patch slightly bigger in size than the outline of the pvc foam. Cut out about 6 patches or so for heal repairs with each patch slightly larger than the last to feather the edge of the final laminate. Mask of the area outside of the largest patch to stop resin running over the board.

Mix up some resin and a small amount of microbaloons to butter up the pvc before laying up the patches. Allow to cure and then sand back smooth in preperation for a final primer and topcoat. If the layup has low points that wont be filled by paint fill them with microbaloons and sand flush.
Paint the repair with primer and then top coat to match the colour of the board. Polish to blend the top coat and re-apply the pads(and non-skid if required) using contact adhesive such as selly's quik grip.

JP Slalom VI 92

After much anticipation my new "real world" speed board has arrived - the JP Slalom VI 92. I previously had the Slalom V 92 which was a good board that planed early and gybed like a dream but I just felt that is didn't have quite the top end off the wind that I was looking for.

Design
The new board is 1 cm narrower than the V at 59 so this was a good start. There is a nice double convave that runs until 50cm from the tail and washes out into a panel vee. What suprised me is that there is 1.5mm of tail kick, this combined with the overall width might reduce the early planing capability a bit but the wider 41cm tail probably negates it. Once up and planing though the board feels looser and softer over harsh chop than the V. First time into the straps the wedge under the toes is really noticible and care needs to be taken not to over-commit to an upright stance. I found that it was easier to hook in when traveling a little faster and when the body was more out-board rather than hooking in too early when the body is more upright. This is because the toes have to point a little more upward when placing them in the strap and is only a problem on lazy hooked in starts. The ride is also softer with 5mm pads, I think the old ones were about 3mm.

Sailing
I have only had 1 session so far on the board but will add to this section when I have more TOW. Initial feel is that the board will need a little more than the 31 cm fin I was using with a 7m when conditions are choppy. I found that the board got a little rolly and even though the nose didn't really lift a little more tail lift would help the ride. I am getting a 34 Venom and hope this will suit the 7m EvoII when well powered up. I have a JP Sallom III 36 for gustier days and to also try out the 7.8 RS Slalom on lighter days. I feel that the board will take the 7.8 slalom easily as it is quite a light yet powerful sail.

Construction
The 59 has a timber deck and hull which gives it a more robust and slightly heavier feel. Last years 92 had a timber hull and carbon deck and even then you could feel the veneer dampening the ride and softening the feel of the board through chop compared to the full carbon slalom IV's. The veneer is just visible through the silver paint and is well sealed from drying out, a problem that some of the more "visible" veneered boards have. It does feel heavier than the V but I think the robust feel is more of an advantage. I have heard that the bigger boards are still full carbon but am unsure of when the transition in construction occurs.

Video

Reconditioned HMR S66

I have finally finished repairing the last board I made, a 66cm slalom board in timber veneer with CF tail cutouts. There was some water in the board from heel cracks caused by sailing 1000's of km in Boggy Lake chop. I wanted the core to dry out as much as possible and have had it sitting in the roof of my shed for a year ( I also had a JP68 to sail as well...). Here is the finished result.

I wanted to hide a bit more of the timber veneer on the deck and went for the primer with the timber just peeking through. Non skid is always a problem to source, I can't get hold of the re-dek system that I have used in the past. I tried a spray on non-skid product that some guys are using on SUP boards but is just too fine and is really meant for tiles on steps and slippery areas. In the end I went for the old sugar deck on epoxy which will yellow a bit with age but provides extreme non skid grip.

DIY Enclosed Trailer

After years of loading and unloading station wagons enough was enough. I needed an enclosed trailer so that I could simply hitch up and head of for some TOW. I looked at what was available on the market and nothing really suited my needs which were...

• Take all of my gear each time I go sailing.
• Fit everything inside rather than the boards being on top racks.
• Allow the possibility to sleep inside.
• Have a low drag body for minimal fuel consumption.
• Have the same track as my sedan.
• Not sit too high above the roof line of my sedan.
• Have a long drawbar for towing stability and ease of reversing.
• Transport building materials when doing jobs around the house.

Here are some shots of construction and the finished product.

I have a lot of experience in composites and have made 10 or so boards so building a trailer was the way to go. After looking at several different fabrication type construction methods such as steel and aluminium I decided I would use a similar contruction to that used in wooden boats. This method was also different to anything I have seen(in trailers) so I wanted to give it a try. An outer shell would be glued to a wooden framework that was to form a self supporting structure that would be bolted to a welded steel chassis. This was going to be more labour intensive but would give me the seamless result I was after.

I started sketching and modelling forms that were aerodynamic, utilised the materials strong points and maximised internal storage volume. I also added a few features such as "frenching" the tail lights and pumping the guards. I will post each stage of the build process seperately. The stages are...

1. Design
2. Chassis
3. Body Frame
4. Skin
5. Finishing

Gear for Sale - 10-11-09

1 X5 Boom Head $50 (new)$30 (used)
2 Hydrodynamix Boom Head $50 (new)
3 North Pro Comp Boom Head $50 (used)
4 NP carbon boom tail 2002 $125 (pinless, new)
5 X6 Carbon Tail $70 (new)
6 North Pro Comp Tail $40 (used)
7 Pryde Harness Lines 24" $15 (used)
8 Maui Sails Harness Lines:18", 20", 22" $20 ea (all new)
9 20-24" Adjustables $30 (new)

10 HPL Tail Pins $15 (new)

11 X5 Boom Tail Pins $15 ea (new)

12 Z mast cups $5 (both sizes - new)

13 NP Roof Rack Pads $25/pair, 2 for $40 (new, rrp$50)

14 NP Deck Plates $5 (new)

15 Mast Base Pins $5 ea (new, have lots)
16 RDM/SDM 30cm extension $50 (new)

17 NP uxt extension 48cm $30 (used)

18 Sunshine extension 48cm $15 (used - needs twin pin base)

JP Slalom VI

The JP Slalom VI range has just been made public after lots of leaks in forums around the world!

Check it out here on the JP website:

http://www.jp-australia.com/2010/index.php?id=462

The range has increased from 5 to 6 boards with an innovative rider weight/height based sizing system:

Smaller sailors:56 - 65 - 76 wide boards

Bigger sailors:59 - 68 - 82 wide boards

There is mention of the bigger boards having a vee hull up front and the smaller designs having double concaves up front but it is unclear whether the range for bigger sailors all have vee and the smaller sailors all have double concave.

If the ranges are designed differently it may make it harder for the go fast weekend sailor who wants a 2 board combo to choose! I was considering the 82-65 combo but think I will go the 59 and keep my Slalom IV84.

Some changes of note are:

• The small slalom in the range is a little bigger - from 54cm/72L up to 56cm/81L
• The 92L slalom in the range is a little narrower - from 60cm down to 59cm but with a wider tail. I would have thought that it could still take a 7.8 but now only the ideal sail sizes are shown in the board data. The ideal sail range has gone from 6.2-7m on the slalom V to 5.5 to 7.0m on the slalom VI.
• Toe wedges are included as part of the board. This will be great when maxed but I hope it doesn't cause problems banking the front foot in the gybe and then removing the foot from the strap in the transition.
• All tail widths are wider increasing their fin carrying capacity and directional stability.

DIY - Batten Repair

Here is a simple Do-It-Yourself repair of a glass or carbon tube / rod batten.

The most common area(I have found) for batten damage & breakage is the join between the middle and tail tube rods on the cross batten. This joint is under enormous load when sailing & when rotating the sail(on water or land). Another common cause of damage is when carrying the sail and you happen to catch the end of the cross batten overhanging the clew on something solid.

A break in the batten is easy to spot with the sail rigged. There will be a kink in the batten that is usually a smooth transition (with a small step) between the batten tubes. The degree of the break can vary from a crack in the batten which appears as only a small kink in the sail profile right up to a full break where the batten halves flex easily and a sharp kink in the profile can be seen. It is possible to sail with a cracked batten but more damage can possibly occur by doing so and the draft will move around more than usual.


Batten Construction

Tube rod battens are usually constructed in 3 parts:

1. The first part of the batten is a solid pultruded fibreglass rod that is about 8.4mm in diameter. The sides(windward and leeward) are tapered towards the tip that is inserted into the camber inducer. This allows the leading edge of the sail to have a nice progressive curve towards the tip.
2. The second part of the batten is the middle tube rod. This is a pultruded fibreglass tube that is lighter and stiffer than a fibreglass rod of the same geometry. It has an outer diameter of 10.4mm(1mm wall) and fits neatly over the solid batten tip. This area of the foil still has some shape but is much stiffer than the tapered area of the batten tip.
3. The third part of the batten is the tail tube rod. This is also a pultruded fibreglass(or carbon) tube that is stiffer again than the middle tube as it is 12.75mm in diameter and a slightly thicker wall. This part of the batten forms the trailing edge of the profile and helps to lock the draft and deepest part of the profile forward in the sail.
   

Each of these batten section are glued and pinned together. The joint is then reinforced with fibreglass tape and covered with a head shrink plastic coating to smooth the layup while wet. The heat shrink also reduces the wearing on the inside of the batten pocket and protects hands from fibreglass splinters. It pays to remove your camber battens once in a while to check for cracking of the heat shrink as this is a sure sign that the fibreglass reinforcement has fractured beneath. If this has occured and the batten joint seems to be ok, remove the heatshrink and fibreglass tape with a chisel and re-apply some more glass tape with epoxy. See the final stages of the repair below for details on applying the tape.

Below is an exploded view of the standard tube rod joint(between the middle and tail tube)

Inspecting the Damage

To repair the batten we first need to inspect what type of damage has occured. As mentioned above if the heat shrink is cracked and you can see the fibreglass reinforcement has fractured(white furry looking cracks) then at the very least the glass will need to be re-applied. The batten might be completely broken and once removed from the pocket it may only be held together by a web of heatshrink. In either case the heatshrink needs to be removed and the batten prepaired for the repair.

1. Peel the heat shrink off after scoring it lightly with a sharp knife. Be sure not to damage the section of the batten that in not reinforced.
2. Remove the fibreglass with a chisel. With the batten placed genly in a vice(with a rag protecting the batten from the jaws) guide the chisel by placing the underside on the carbon tube and the cutting edge towards the glass reinforcement. Gently remove the glass in narrow strips being sure not to damage the end of the larger tube. The stainless steel joint pins will now be visible.
3. Flex the smaller rod lightly to see firstly if there is movement and the joint seperates from the large tail tube, and secondly if there are any cracks that open under load. If neither of these occur will not need to remove the pins in step 4 . Place some tape around the middle batten and butt it up to the edge of the tail batten to show how far the tube is sleeved. Place a ring of tape on the end of the tail batten(but not over the pins) and draw a line on both pieces of tape on the top along the centreline to show the way the rods should be aligned when the pins are removed.
4. Removed the joint pins by knocking them out with the point of a small nail or a pin punch. The pins will still need to be removed if the middle batten tip is broken and is sitting inside the tail tube because we need to place a rod down the centre that spans the joint.

Repairing the Joint
The cheapest and easiest way to repair the break is by placing a small piece of rod batten inside of the joint. Pryde wave sails use rod battens constructed from the same material as the tapered tip on the tube rod battens. This means they are great to use for the repair and your local shop may have one that they can spare, if not a piece of one.
Cut a piece of rod 70mm long and lightly sand the outside to remove any release agend that may be left from the manufacturing process. Add a 1mm chamfer to both ends to aid insertion and to allow glue stay on the contact surfaces. Check that the rod fits easily into the end of the middle tube rod. If the rod is too tight or doesn't fit keep sanding the outside in even strokes until it does.

With everything sanded to fit you can start gluing the components together in stages. Use 5 minute araldite(epoxy adhesive) and glue the rod inside the middle tube rod, leaving the ends flush. Once the adhesive has cured, drill out the pin holes through the inner rod using the outer rod holes to guide the drill. Check that the joint pins fit in the drilled holes.

Now glue the middle tube to the tail tube rod using the tape & markings to correctly align the pin holes. Re-fit the pins before the adhesive has cured and allow it to set.
Once the adhesive has cured it is time to reinforce the joint. The easiest and cleanest reinforcement to use is glass tape(20mm) or ribbon but if you have worked with composites before plain weave carbon or glass cloth will do. The advantage of the tape is the ease of which it can be wound and its thickness varied. It is also easier to get a high glass content as excess resin is forced out in the winding motion.
Lightly sand the rod 40mm either side of the joint and mix up a small batch of epoxy resin. You will need a small brush (or spatula if proficient) and some electrical tape. If possible leave the glass tape on the roll in case you need more during the wetting out process. If you don't have the glass on a roll you can wind it around a piece of dowel and have a handle making it easier to put tension on the tape. You will need 30cm or so per repair and it is handy to have some spare in case you have to repair another batten.
Start by wetting out the first 10cm of tape. Wind the tape onto the middle rod end of the join with the dowel or centre of the roll on the opposite side of the tape to the batten. This allows you to keep tension on the roll. Wind the tape onto itself until you feel it gripping and then proceed to wind towards the join wetting the tape out as you go. Overlap by about a half tape width so that you have 2 layers of glass minimum over the joint. You might want to wind the tape around the middle rod just as it meets the tail rod to reduce the step up to the larger rod. Continue winding over the join until you reach the other end of the sanded area. Cut the glass of at a point which is still dry and wrap it around the batten with the brush to wet out.
With the electrical tape(preferably black) attach it to the batten just before the area you started winding the tape and proceed to wrap it over the glass tape with a small amount of pressure to remove and trapped air and excess resin. Finish the tape past the wetout glass tape and allow it to cure for 24 hrs. Dont worry about the excess resin sitting on the tape as this will crack off when the tape is removed.

When the resin has cured remove the tape and if there are any lumps lightly sand them out. It is a good idea to wrap the join in electrical tape again to protect the batten pocket from damage due to wear over time. Your batten is repaired and you are good to go. You can use the above method to replace broken batten sections with new ones if you can get your hands on the right diameter glass or carbon pultrusion. This would maintain the exact batten curve but is obviously a more expensive option.