Hello everyone,This is my first post on the forum.

Liss and I have recently started windsurfing and are keen to get into it. (ACT is butt freeze weather so we will be doing some coastal trips)

After looking around for some cheap starting gear we managed to get an almost complete setup for an OLD windsurfer.

Other than missing the dagger board.....(does anyone have one lying around? Maybe because its such a long board it doesn't really need it much? Though the rear fin is TINY).... there is a small crack (about 0.7mm wide and about 50mm on the underside of the board starting from a corner of the fin box to the front of the board.My concern is that water will get in. Part of me wonders if I could use some silicon/sikaflex.... the other part of me says that I should repair it properly with some kind of Epoxy kit? I know pictures might help but I don't have any on hand at the moment.

What would you guys recommend?

We wanted to shy away from buying new/expensive 2nd hand boards until we reach a more intermediate level and move up to gear that we will use for longer.

Cheers,

Luke

Hi LukeandLiss

If it is fibreglass board u can use Araldyte epoxy glue ( Bunnings )

Sand the crack area with rough sandpaper.

Try to pry the crack apart as much as possible ,( without making it bigger) and get as much glue inside behind the crack as you can .

Pile a bit more over the crack

Next day sand back.

A plastic ( polyethylene ) board is much harder. Not many glues , if any , like to stick to that. That's what they use for superglue lids so they don't stick to the bottle.

The best thing for that would be to get it plastic welded , but that's a hassle !

Last resort would be silicone , in a calking gun , as before try to get as much inside as possible.

Mabee someone knows a better way with plastic boards.

Good luck

Thanks Imax,

I think it is a plastic board. Mainly because of the softer feel of it (though the board is COMPLETELY stiff) and the grip on the top of the board appears to be molded, rather than added to the surface of the board as I assume most of the fiberglass boards are? Though I'm a newbie and could be completely wrong!

Polyethylene!! Epoxy or resin won't be great. Maybe silicone is the way to go for a quick fix.

Welcome to the forum, and great that you are getting into this awesome sport!!!

Agree, if it's polyethylene go for silicone and stay away from epoxies and polyurethane resins.

Another option is use a hot-melt gun with polyethylene sticks (which are the most common ones off-the-shelf at Bunnings). This option should me more durable (pretty much permanent if properly done), however i't s also more laborious.

On another note, try to get a dagger board before you go on the water, even if it's DYI, otherwise the board will constantly drift. This applies only for the old-long boards like this one you have acquired.

Good luck!

If the crack is not very wide, often a good ol melting with a soldering iron is enough
You can also use a stanley knife or scalpel to remove tiny slivers of plastic from the seams along the edges (there is plenty of material there) and melt that into the crack
Won't be pretty, but seals it.

I can lend you a centreboard; I want to be able to get it back because it's part of a collector's item, but it's yours until you can find another one. I'm in Ainslie - P.M. me.

By the way, I also have a "modern" Windsurfer One Design you can borrow.

I have a wod dagger board you can have. Post might be more than you paid for the board. Fm me if your keen

hi Luke,

if yours is the Windsurfer brand; there was a daggerboard at the green shed mugga a couple of days ago.

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Hi LukeandLiss,

I assume this is the Windsurfer one design. The following link contains instructions on how to repair.

http://www.surfboardbuilding.com/Repair/One_Design_Fix/one_design_fix.html

Regarding centreboards see you tube suggestion on easy way to make daggerboards on the cheap:
About 40-50 seconds in the commentator explains how to make fins and centreboards out of wood.

<div>craigslist windsurfers / 1980s sailboards

I hope this helps.

Awesome! Thanks for the information guys! :-)

Thank everyone.

fjdoug I went and had a look around, and had a look where the boards were and couldn't find any dagger boards. Were they somewhere ambiguous?

33frupus and Chris 249 pm's sent.

Cheers guys

I found the dagger board looks ok for its age, no visible cracking. I have an aftermarket sail your welcome to. I don't have a scale down here so I'll weight it on Monday. Maybe someone on here could get it to Canberra







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LukeandLiss said..
Thank everyone.

fjdoug I went and had a look around, and had a look where the boards were and couldn't find any dagger boards. Were they somewhere ambiguous?

33frupus and Chris 249 pm's sent.

Cheers guys

hi Luke and Liss,
i just had a look under the house and have found a daggerboard with your name on it.
i may have some other bits too, i am in Duffy.
Doug
0409 031 167