windsurf board repair

Question
I have a Mistral Stinger CGI and I did a jump and came down on the
water a little hard and felt something crack under my back foot. I can
stick a wooden wedge and separate the deck from slightly above the rail.
The wedge goes in about 4-5 inches, about the size of my foot is the
damage. They want $100 dollars plus to repair it.

I want to try to repair it myself. what would you advise?

Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hey Carole,

First, you need to prop the board up in such a way that any water that got into the board will drain out. Lean it against the house, fence, sawhorse, whatever, so that the open area (the damaged spot) is the low spot on the board. Preferably in the sun to help bake out the trapped water. Be sure to give it a few days to drain and dry. When you see no drips coming out, place a paper towel or napkin under the area for a while to see if any more drips are happening. After 4-5 days, pry the split open a bit and slide some paper towel or napkin in to see if it is absorbing any water. If it comes out dry, your interior should be dry enough for repair. You should do this regardless of whether you attempt to repair it yourself or have a shop do the repair.

The best stuff to get for repairs is Ding Stick. Just put it in a search engine and you will be able find it online for around $10-15. Then follow the directions on this link - http://www.boardlady.com/fieldrepairs.htm
It is fairly easy to work with once you have it all worked together. Try to gently pry open the split and force the epoxy into the interior until you have a uniform strip the length of the split. Then press the shell down, in, together, whatever makes it close to normal. Apply a layer on top of the split working it as the repair lady mentions. Let dry overnight and sand. You can use a little spray paint if you need to cover up the patch.

This type of repair may or may not hold up. It all depends on how well you do the repair and the abuse you apply to the area during sailing. If you continue jumping a lot, you may have the same problem all over or worse. Getting as much repair material under the damaged area as you can will strengthen that area and hopefully hold up under normal use. I can't guarantee what may happen if you are jumping and land hard on that area again. Even with a professional repair, it may always be a weak spot. But, it might just end up being the toughest spot on the board. Either way, you go, repairs are cheaper than a new board. It's worth a try fixing it yourself and if it goes again, then spring for the professional repair.

Hope this helps and best of luck with your repair.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover