The wind was strong...the waves were big...and the water was shallow...
Immediately after launch, daggers and rudders were up but...one dagger slipped down unnoticed.
Big rock at a good clip combined with a wave trough...



Can this be repaired?

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Marty R.
Nacra 5.8
SE Michigan
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Certainly. Sounds like the bungie on your dagger stop control is needing change. I have some unidirectional carbon fiber $10/yd (see my ad in classifieds). Get some West epoxy (with pumps). Pete

Fairly easy fix, if you don't care about re-doing the gel-cote.
Use a dremel, & pretend you're a dentist...clean out the loose material near the bottom & eat away at the cracks down near the bottom corner.
I'm assuming the other side of the board is good?
Next use a palm sander & 60 grit to rough everything up, & fair the edge of the broken gel-cote back an inch or so, along with the light brown material,(foam?). Depending on the other side damage, I would be very tempted to sand around the leading edge, so your final 3 layers of fabric wrap around the board & blend into the other side. Wax,(use any boat or auto wax) the good gel-cote, it will prevent any spilled or dripped epoxy from sticking. Then wipe the repair area with acetone.
buy a pack of dollar store brushes, usually 6 ranging from 3/4" - 2" & some disposable gloves, I use the mechanics nitrile gloves, because I have them. If you wipe thoroughly with paper towel, you can use each pair 3-4 times.
Pick up a can of 403,(microfiber) filler, & slow hardener along with your resin, it will work wonders for filling in the damage at the bottom corner. Don't thicken to peanut butter, you want it to run fully into the crevices. Make it more like Catsup, then starting out with small pieces of cloth, working up to larger ones start filling the damage, working from that bottom corner up & out to the gel-cote.
If you have never played with these repairs, do yourself a huge favour & mix up a small batch of resin & practise wetting out some 3"x3" pieces of cloth. Wrap a piece of Styrofoam SM or scrap of plywood with thick plastic,(vapour barrier or similar) & use that as a work surface. Lay down a bit of cloth, paint a WEE bit of resin, then add another layer of cloth, changing the orientation of each layer of fabric.
For your first practise batch of resin, divide it into 3 small containers, & see how much micro fibre you need to achieve runny, slightly runny, & catsup. It is not like mixing concrete, where a little can ruin the whole batch.
Use this resin & cloth & wrap it around a scrap of 3/8" plywood, simulating how you will wrap around the leading edge of the dagger. Use a sheet of thick plastic & tape to hold the fabric tight against the leading edge, you will quickly learn the pitfalls of not having everything ready beforehand.
You will waste $10 worth of material, but this is the best $10 you ever spent...if you've never done repairs before.
I find it better to paint the resin on top of first layer, & 3rd layer. Lay 2nd & 4th layer, then wet it out by gently painting & "tapping" with fingers or end of paintbrush. Work from center out to edges. If you see any "white spots", that is air(dry cloth), work it out, once wetted it will be obvious,(transparent). A fibreglass roller works best, but is overkill for this small job.
The idea of this practise session is to teach you what fully wetted looks like, & to show how little resin you need. You want MIN resin, for the most layers of cloth. If you are resin heavy you can add another layer or two of cloth & use it to absorb the extra resin, though ideally you only want 4 layers at a time.
Once confident go for it...precut all the cloth pieces you'll need, then lay up 4 layers as described above, using your plastic covered board. Paint some resin onto the daggerboard , then lay down the 4 layers you made up. It looks like 4-5 layers should go into the damaged corner, & another 3 to fair the large area back to the gel-cote. Try to make your last layers conform closely to the finished shape, sanding down is a pain.
The West System, with slow Hardener gives you good working time, I use the 207 Hardener,(Clear), it doesn't "blush" if you have to leave it between layups, so there is no sanding between coats, & it doesn't yellow with age.
After your last layup,sanding with 80 to knock off the high spots, then something like 220 to get the fine finished shape. You will undoubtedly sand into the cloth in some spots, just mix a wee bit of resin & paint a very thin coat as a finish layer. Go sailing.
The damaged layers will show through, buy a spray bomb of that "plastic paint" if it bugs you.
Post some photos of your repair.



Edited by Edchris177 on Aug 15, 2014 - 08:03 AM.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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Quote

Can this be repaired?

looks like a very "good" and repairable break

Thanks Edchris!
I had performed a small hull repair at the beginning of the season.
Almost looking forward to this project (rather be on the water).
I will post pix as I make progress.

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Marty R.
Nacra 5.8
SE Michigan
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One last item, make sure you have a fairly heavy gauge plastic sheet. Epoxy on its own does not stick very well to plastic, & it's easy to peel off.
When you add the thickening agent, it also acts as an adhesive. If you let the repair fully cure it can be a PITA to remove the plastic sheet. If it is thin, it will tear & you will be pulling it off bit by bit. A thicker sheet will allow you to peel. the trick is not to early,(you may lift the layers of cloth) but not so late that it is cured.
The West with slow hardener will give you an hour working time in the thin layers, maybe less if it is really hot outside.
Pieces cut form a juice jug, or large water bottle will not adhere, but they won't be big enough, or flexible enough to wrap around the leading edge.
Also don't be tempted to lay plastic sheet on the large part of that repair, then "smooth" it out with your hand.
It will look/feel good, but once you peel he sheet you will realize the extent of the ridges & valleys you created, resulting in a lot of sanding.
For this job I recommend the microfibres, they make for darn good adhesion, strength, yet sandable. Do not use colloidal silica for this, it is a bear to sand fair. The other end of the spectrum are the fillers used for fairing. They do not have as much adhesion/strength, you need that for a board.
Have a look at this site, lots of good info;
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/the-105-system/
If you want to save some money don't get the pumps,(they are handy if you do lots of rep[airs) as long as you have a way to accurately measure. Generally, depending on which hardener you use, the mix will be 3:1 or 5:1. I use veterinary syringes, with the hole drilled out slightly, they only cost 1$ each & last for ages. You could use small (30ml, 1 oz) cups for dispensing cough medicine or herbicides.
Check closely to see if the other side of the board delaminated in the crash. If it did, drill some holes & inject with syringe. If it's loose at the leading/trailing edge, pry it open a bit, then pour a few ounces of fairly runny mixture in, let gravity work it into the far recesses, then lay a sheet of Styrofoam on top & add enough weight to compress the outer skin back into shape. Leave it for a full day to cure, then trim & sand. It will be as good as new.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--