Is my board still Watertight?

[U2U2U2]

Test for water:

Vent screw in, tape a plastic baggie section, or similar , bread wrapper ,over the wound, enough to cover and tape.

Place board in the sun, a few hours at most. If water is there it will form condensation on the inside of the plastic. Normally shows up fairly quickly in time, for this test.

[mamero]

[mamero]

Thanks for the suggestions so far every one. As others have suggested I may just do a small temporary fix for now and, in the off season, do it properly.

I believe that if the ding was leaking (still unsure it ever was) it no longer is now. After the crazy glue set for a day or so it looks OK. Using the pump (mentioned earlier) yielded no signs of a leak. I'm going to give it one more session as-is and monitor very closely. Given it's size and location even if there is a tiny leak water intrusion will be negligible. If I see any suspicious signs after my next session I'll mix up a little two part epoxy, sand the area, and either do a temporary fix or, just simply fix it properly. We'll see how the next session goes.

[mamero]

Questions on Materials.

If/when I need to patch this up I would like to know what materials the Factory uses.

1. What is the closest epoxy? The two part epoxy I used for previous repairs has a slight yellow tinge due to the hardener. The factory uses an epoxy that is either clear and/or mixed with color. What epoxy is factory equivalent?
2. Is the color in the epoxy, below the epoxy, or is it paint? From what I understand the Futuras (along with other slalom and race boards) do no use paint, or use it sparingly. This is to save weight. If the color is IN the epoxy what do I need to do this up properly?
3. If the color is paint what type of paint does the FACTORY use? Is it an epoxy paint? Acrylic? Enamel? Automotive? I would like to get a couple custom color matched spray cans using the correct paint.
4. Sanding the deck would remove the "sandy" anti skid. I've read you can use salt, or sugar I highly doubt that's what the factory uses. What does the FACTORY use for the sandy surface?

If someone in the know could answer or point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

I contacted Starboard on the their forum and directly. Replies from Starboard are either hit and miss or extremely slow.

[NOVAAN]

Since you going to fix later anyway. After you check it one last time, sand a small areas around the crack smooth and apply duct tape or metal tape to seal the area...You must read repairs on the boadylady site...

[U2U2U2]

[ctuna]

http://boardlady.com/

To see if its leaking put in out in the sun and see if it bubbles
or also try putting a little soapy water or some kind of foaming
cleaner to make it easier to see the bubbles .

Sand down a little and use Marine Tex or Solarez Epoxy version
or actual epoxy maybe with some filler.

There are regrip products from Re Dek and Monster Grip

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EOXZOX2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00EOXZOX2&linkCode=as2&tag=sliverpaddle-20&linkId=ULSBS47TM6ETWBAG

[mamero]

I took the board out on the weekend. No bubbling that I can see. That's good news. Looks like the crack did not go deep.

DISCOVERY!
I am 99% sure I've discovered what caused the damage to my nice new board; and it is a strange one!

To keep the sail rolled up tight when not in use Sailworks uses a circular tab and elastic. This tab uses a little metal rivet to attach it to the sail. This rivet is more pronounced on one side of the sail. It is located near the foot of the sail just above the hex key retainer. I attached my sail to the board and experimented with different positions to see what might line up. This rivet corresponds almost perfectly in distance from the mast base. It also explains the relatively small and localized damage. There is nothing else on the rig apart from MAYBE the hex key that could cause this. The key however is slightly lower compared to the damage.

My boom is about 6-10 inches above the nose. I thought the culprit might be something to do with the boom clamp or the adjustable outhaul. However, it is not possible for the boom to contact the front of the board. The only boom contact is at the very tail of the board.

So, either the force of the catapult directly caused the rivet to strike and crack the board and/or I also landed on the sail in such an exact way to add additional force in that area. Hard to say either way because catapults happen in a blink of an eye.

So, I guess I will just sum this up to weird random luck. Not sure if I should mention it to Sailworks or not but maybe they should know.

I think moving forward I will remove those Hex keys that Sailworks Velcros to every sail. However unlikely, it is "possible" given the right circumstances they could cause damage to the sail, board, or rider in catapults.


In the image below it is the black dot directly above the "Rigging Handle with Hex Key Retainer".

[U2U2U2]

Did you check for aliens ?

[grantmac017]

FYI Resin Research epoxy has a sight blue tinge and drys transparent without yellowing. Mile ahead of West System. Their super fast hardener could rival ding stick.