dinged windsurfer

Question
My Mistral Prodigy was blown off of my car as I loaded it yesterday. The left rear corner was smashed. There is a crack about 6" long where the bottom of the board meets the rail. The polystyrene core is exposed through the crack. I am familiar with standard surfboard ding repair. How do I approach this windsurfer repair? Or am I out of luck...

Answer
Hey Larry,

Unfortunately, these things happen. Fortunately, they are fixable. Go online or to your local surf shop and get some 'Ding Stick'. A moldable two part epoxy that will harden to a white color and can be sanded and painted. If you feel that you can work quickly enough, (drying time is 10-15min, sand in about an hour), make enough to do the whole repair. Otherwise, make just enough to fill the crack being sure to press the epoxy into the gap enough to fill it thoroughly. Then place a thin coat over the fill and smooth it out. You can sand it to fairly close to original shape once the epoxy is hard. If you have a lot of excess, a file can be used to knock down the thicker areas. You can paint it when done and using appliance enamel is probably the best. I've made small repairs over the years and don't bother painting but a longer repair may need paint to make it look nicer. Main thing is sealing the crack and getting it smoothed out for water flow. Good luck with your repair.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover