The mast (see pix below) arrived with a 2nd hand outfit I recently bought - again, the perils of buying from another state! I was kind of hoping that the cracked/delaminating bits might be able to be filled with epoxy and perhaps a thin carbon or glass layer be wrapped around the area. It's 4.6m 60% carbon Bic Techno 293 mast. The area in question is around where the boom attaches. I sure can't afford a new one and a Pryde X6 doesn't seem to rig the Techno's sail too well. I know zero about carbon/glass fibre repairs, but I do hear things about vacuum bags being used for some processes. A decent vacuum might be just the thing for getting epoxy penetration into the offending area.
Can it be done?
If so, who in WA would be the best to do the job?
Ive never seen a repaired mast.
I would throw it away and look for another second hand mast on seabreeze or in your local shop. You should be able to find a bargain somewhere.
While you are waiting for the epoxy to cure go and practice swimming, that will be the most useful thing you can do. In other words keep it as a flagpole and nothing else, its the one thing you cannot repair due to the loads it takes.
The epoxy or whatever you use to repair it will not have anywhere near the strength that the carbon fibre had.
All the epoxy does is act as a glue and filler between the strong stuff, that is the carbon or glass fibres.
So unless you can repair it with some sort of fibre overlay it will definitely be a weak point.
Only use it for as far as you can swim.
Mast's can be repaired and if done by the right guys you can often not know any difernt. if it is a right where your boom lands on the mast, then you could reapair it with a sleeve and re laminate with a carbon rap.
Vacum bagging this crack would not be worth trying.
If you want the best consolidation for your laminate/resin then you will need to use a "shrink" tape wound evenly over your laminate, use a heat gun to shrink the tape giving you a nice easy and even finish .
To be honest its probably not worth it unless you really love the mast. can probably buy a good second hand one for the same price?
if you have nothing to lose you could try this system yourself, wrapping more layers, just as an alternative to throwing it away:
www.peterman.dk/windsurf-anti-boom-slip01-1200.htm
^^^ He is showing adding 1 layer of very thin cloth with peel ply over it, to make a roughened area for the boom to grip.
Certainly not a "repair"
Dinsdale's mast has a 100% failure. Anything you do to that mast which is strong enough to use it, will make the bend curve all weird.
Even then, it will still be prone to failure at the boundaries of the repair as the mast is no longer homegenous along it's length.
When it fails totally, it will bugger the sail also.
Not worth fragging around with or else we'd all be repairing our $1000 masts the same as we repair $1000 boards.
I'm seriously into repairing broken stuff, but I have big doubts about that mast. I might give it a try to see how good I could get it, but I'd stay close to shore in the shallows until I'd given it a real good work out.
Much too complicated to say exactly how I'd go about the repair, but it would involve grinding out all the damaged stuff and replacing with new carbon. That way you've got more chance of getting close to the original curve, original strength is a different matter. The original laminate is all one, the repair is just a mechanical bond.
Looks to me as if it's been damaged in transit, if it had been rigged in that condition it would be in 2 halves.
I re-sleeved a Fiberspar carbon mast years ago and got many more years out of it, though somewhat different to your mast as it did originally have a sleeve in it (sleeve snapped right on the join with little damage to top or bottom section, then removed busted sleeve and epoxied new one in). Also different coz the damage on your mast is where the boom attaches, different stresses involved there. Agree with fuges that it may be possible to repair the mast pretty much the way he explained to a serviceable state (with a section of an old mast used as a sleeve inside with glass or carbon wrap on outside), though considering the likelihood of it failing and possibly wrecking the sail as well as forcing you to swim your kit to shore, is it really worth all the hassle?
I would suggest giving Steve Stratfold in Perth a call on 0421 477 001, he's definitely a specialist in all types of fibre composite repairs. He would likely know whether it is possible to satisfactorily repair the mast and would certainly tell you if he thought it would be a waste of his or your time repairing it!
Have u contacted the national T293 distributor or any of the retailers to check if anyone has a good used Techno mast for sale?
Try here: http://www.techno293australia.org/equipment/where-to-buy/
If you're not planning to compete in T293 class for a while then maybe it's worth finding out what other brands of masts have a compatible bend curve to the Bic masts, then search for a good s/hand one of these (from someone you think you can trust!).
Tis also a bugger living a long way from a windsurf shop and wanting some more kit. I have the same prob as I'm also in Albany, currently considering shipping a board from east coast windsurf shop but now have second thoughts. It's like this - Seabreeze ad says board is in 'perfect condition with no repairs or dings', then rang shop and told that same board has had a repair to the nose!
Am certain that some dodgy online retailers must be preying on distant suckers like us!
By attempting to repair it you're tempting fate and only putting off the inevitable... it will break and in doing so likely tear a hole in the luff sleeve in your sail.
Then you have the very real chance of further damaging your kit (sail, boom, board) as you attempt to either de-rig in the water or try and get the whole thing back to shore without pulling it apart.
Which makes a cheap repair very expensive
*Sub note
It is possible to MacGyver a broken mast so it can be rigged to sail back in - Take the snapped top piece and turn it upside down and jam it into the bottom piece.
When the sail is re-rigged the mast will not be long enough but it can be sailed in order to get back to shore (all be it a very long way downwind from where you launched)
Learned this one the hard way !
You will have to do all this re-rigging while in the water and attempting to keep all your gear together.
You will also put further rips in the top of your sail where the snapped sharp
edges of the upturned mast tip will lacerate the sail top
Oh one other piece of advice, grab an old length of down haul cord and wrap it around your spreader bar on your harness... will be very very handy in lashing your gear together if you need to paddle your kit back in or even tying your board to your harness so it doesn't float off while you de-rig and re-rig in the water !
Maybe this is an option for you
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Windsurfing/Accessories/~arl-s/2008-Hypersonic-460-C55-Sdm-Mast.aspx
. Btw, I used the X6 mast and a Da Kine 6.3 sail.
. Btw, I used the X6 mast and a Da Kine 6.3 sail.
Dinsdale,
Surf Sail Aust in Leederville sell the trimbox adaptor for Select fins:http://www.surfsailaustralia.com.au/showProduct/Windsurfing/Bits+and+Pieces/313601/Select+Fin+Box+Adaptor+Bic+%28Trim%29
From what I have seen, some of the Select fins have a multi-conic base that fits into the finbox head so you can interchange different heads. Just a matter of finding a suitable Select fin with the multi-conic base, remove the existing head, then fit the trimbox adaptor.
Surf Sail Aust also appear to have the Select Ride fins on special for around $130:
www.surfsailaustralia.com.au/showProduct/Windsurfing/Fins+Above+29.9cm/ride/Select+Ride+Freeride+%28On+Special%29
Dins:
BiC are usually a plastic (like ABS) over "normal" contruction so they are a pain in the arse to repair. I dunno if CTS = carbon total space age happiness contruction (sounds better in Euro) or actually = ABC or XYZ, but chances are that FormulaNova is correct and it is not worth contemplating a finbox replacement.
Do what GazMan says and look at the Select fins with changeable heads, ring Mark at SurfSailAust in Leederville.
Yeah, it is plastic construction, based on the URL you gave. A finbox conversion would be a bit more difficult than on an epoxy board, and wouldn't look as good.
It sounds like you are trying to keep the costs down, but I think you might be better off following Gazman's suggestion and getting a Select fin with a trimbox adapter from SSA.
They also seem to have some trimbox fins, but it would be good to call them. It appears that they have these in trimbox:http://www.surfsailaustralia.com.au/showProduct/Windsurfing/Fins+Above+29.9cm/Eliminatorweed/Select+Weed+Elimator+Freerace+Fin
At least with the select fins, you can change the head later on if you want to use them with a different box.
@dinsdale shame you are not in Sydney. I'd be more than happy to give you one of my old Neil Pryde X5 masts as a replacement. Even if it was just to prevent you from going out sailing with a repaired mast.
Kev,
Another option, Stuart Bell Sails in Nedlands are the Aust importer of Select fins and they appear to be selling all models for $80 ea incl GST:http://www.stubell.com.au/shopping-cart/specials/select-fins/
No weed fins listed but maybe ask John if he has any. Also, he imports the trimbox adaptors and sells direct to the public so find out how much he sells them for.
Have just realized that the mast damage isn't where the boom connects, but where the bottom cam bears on the mast.
Much and varied advice, so now some feedback. Been doing a little phoning around.
The Bic boards do have a plastic outer layer to make them more knock and bash resistant, but under that they're typical glass/carbon/epoxy over low density foam. Hence they're just as repairable as any other board. Steve Stratfold can fit a new fin box (Deep Tuttle or Powerbox) for $150. Either of those will give me a huge selection of reasonably priced 2nd hand or new fins - especially when compared with the Trimbox offerings.
The Select fins with the replaceable heads are only available for the smaller ranges of fins, like up to about 24cm, so no joy there for me.
Steve can replace fin heads for (iirc) $80 each, but with so many good 2nd hand and new fins (yep, that's right, new fins) around for $80 it'd have to be a real special fin.
Steve is also quite positive about the repairability of my mast. He's done plenty of them in past without problems. It turns out that the repair on my X6 is one of his, and that was done >4yrs ago, using kevlar and epoxy.
So, there you have it. Both board and mast will up to Perth to Steve as soon as I can. Many thanx for all the input.
