Finbox damage - repair suggestions?

[mortontoemike]

My finbox is "lightly" damaged (see photo). One side is "crinkled" and the other has a chip out of it. Can someone suggest the best repair strategy?

Thanks.

Mike

[KUS]

THIS is precisely why I despise A-boxes.....this happens to heavyweights pushing on the fin causing surface compression cracks, then sloppy fin boxes and fin/box stress fractures and failures.....basically this system sucks hard lightweights would probably never see this happen to them All of mine are like this and I seal the surface with epoxy and paint either the inside of the box or the fins with a coat as well when things get worse....and they will
My EVO is going in to Rob Mulder for similar repairs when the wind goes away in September. If there is sufficient thickness I hope to have the first EVO with a powerbox

[voodmon]

is that a kombat box ?????....i have two kombats....2005..did you run into something..?????...trying to fix something like this is probably out of your league...find a pro to fix it for you.....you would need a router and other tools...besides the epoxy is toxic.....me thinks there are people here on the island.....who do such things.......geoff who makes kayaks etc...i believe he is in sidney..beware doing it yourself....pearls..tim..aka voodmon....

[mortontoemike]

Yeah it's a Kombat box. I snapped a fin off on the long weekend. I think most of the damage is cosmetic so I am not too afraid to do an epoxy repair. I've repaired a puncture in a Carve 121 in the past pretty successfully. Also, I'm a chemist so the chemical toxicity isn't really an issue since I am used to working in an environment where there are toxic fumes. Besides, I already have 3 eyes! Thanks for your suggestions.

[Russian Dood]

Call Roberts Boards they do make repairs, I think they also do warranty repairs on behalf of Starboard.

[Beach Support]

MTM - if the glass and resin is still intact, I would sand, use some resin mixed with micro-balloons, sand flus and toouch up with spray balm. If the fin box is wiggling, the repair is a bit more complex, as you must cut it out, rout out some 1/4" tracks about 2-3" each end longer and slightly deeper than the existing fin box.

Then if you can salvage the existing finbox, fine, otherwise, buy a new Chinook box, and get some sitka spruce ribbins to match the slits and get some resin expanding foam, and the previously mentioned micro balloons and resin, place the box and the spruce ribbins alongside, fill with foam, shape to suit, sand, fill with the resin and Micro ballon mix and paint.

Otherwise dingstick or epoxy filler might work. Beware the chemistry, though.

ast though - take it to Rob Mulder at ROBERTS for a repair job.

Chris and Christie.

[mortontoemike]

Thanks. The fin box is intact. It's just cosmetic damage. I'll try an epoxy repair first. I appreciate the advice. Mike

[PhatBuddhA]

I have done a lot of repairs in the past on windsurfing and surf boards. When you have damaged to the fin box it is very important that you take a close look to categorize it as “Cosmetic”. The Fin Box of a windsurfing board is simply a reinforced high density foam block glassed into the board. The fin box must be able to withstand extreme energy transfer from many different inputs (jumping, carving, ect…). Once you have weakened the area around the fin box it is very important to fix or replace it properly/professionally. Simply adding epoxy with some micro balloons will NOT do the trick. If you have damaged the glass around the fin box then you must repair it with more glass. The Fiberglass is what gives the internal strength and the ability to absorbed and transfer high impact energy that is placed on the fin box. Another major issue is to make sure there is no moisture in the damaged area. If you repair something and have not taken to the time to make sure there is no moisture or foreign material (salt particles) in the damaged area, then you will run the risk of your repair not mechanically bonding and setting appropriately. This will ultimately lead to delamination of the repaired area. Fin Box repair is a lot of work, and I suggest that you get it professionally repaired. IT will save you time and money.

[Windsurfish]

Hey morty! I have some west system epoxy - I could have brought it over today.... Having seen the damage first hand, I would clean it up a bit, then seal with epoxy / paint as suggested by KUS. I found the best match for Starboard blue circa 2004 at Canadian tire in the automotive touch up cans (Ocean Blue for anyone fixing a Carve....). I bet that nice metallic Kombat can be matched as well? Kus' suggestion for a powerbox is a good one, but it will be pricey, and may not be dooable in a Kombat. It eludes me that a board such as the Kombat would have an A box, given its intended uses (they suck as finboxes in windsurfers- we have a semi-trashed one in Janetfishes board). It was rather gnarly the day of the damage , and possibly the price to pay for the windiest day at Nitinaht in a good long time? Let me know if I should bring the nasty epoxy chemicals, microballoons, high strength filler or fire & brimstone to the lake, maybe we'll cook something up over the campfire? ;)
I'll bring two sets of those three eyed safety goggles along....

[mortontoemike]

I think KUS is right regarding "big guys" and A-boxes. I really didn't do anything. Kombats come with two stock fins but I have been using a bigger bump and jump fin with the board because I have been sailing it quite a bit with a 6.2 which is at the upper end of it's sail range. I think the fin pressure and flexing caused this damage. There is no damage to the fin-box itself and it is still seated firmly in the board. I'll put some epoxy on it and see what happens next. It seems to me that the tail of the board is too thin to seat a Tuttle or PB which is why there is an A-box I guess.