So I check the surf this AM, no waves, come home and go th put my 6'3 single fin away. Long story short I slammed the tip of my tru ames greenough 4A into my wheel well and smashed the tip of the fin slightly. My first thought was that I can just sand it. But I figured I'd post here since I never ran into this issue before. Basically I'm wondering Is sanding a good idea? If so do I need to do anything special to the fin after sanding? Will it affect the fins performance severly. Severely being the key word, Im sure some egg head like Roy could dribble some babble about it being 3% less efficient now. But will it really be noticeable? I have pictures that I'll post later tonight, there on my phone now. Unless there's a way to post pictures straight from your phone?
At very least I'd add some resin to the damaged area before sanding. That way you stabalize the fractured glass so you can minimize how much you have to sand off and reshape.
Yeah what CJ said, while you are at it you could try fixing the ghastly flat area in the foil at the base which these fins have, which does cause issues.
BM, hope the fin box repair works out for you bud. Tough break especially when you didn't get a session in. Crazy how 90% of board damage really does happen in transport. I use board bags more by the day.
Thanks CJ. You said "at the very least", iv repaired dings on boards but never a fin. If you got more suggestions, please tell. Thanks again for the advice Roy, no thank you. The fin works great just the way it is. I actually may just buy another if this didn't work out. Thanks for your opinion/advice any way though Emass thank you. Funny thing is, this board is in a bag. Found the bag on a bridge, jumped out and grabbed it. It just fits without the fin in, but with the fin in I can't completely close the bag. So basically the one spot that the bag couldn't protect is the spot I decided to smash into my truck. Story of my freaking life
This is very disappointing to read my friend. This morning was disappointing enough. Safe to say you probably didn't get extra sleep like I did after getting home.
Hey BassMon, don't worry -that little whammy won't affect your ripping even one little iota. In fact, it will ride even better. Please don't be OCD, just reshape the tip down beyond the shatter and ride on. Some old lady pulled up close to my Lambo at the Walmart and gave me a door ding. I cried. But after a couple of donuts in the parking lot I felt a lot better
If it were me, I would slightly thin some laminating resin with styrene (or acetone in a real pinch). Then I would work the resin into the crushed glass as best I could and let harden so it becomes a solid mass again. Glass fibers or a little cloth could be added to the mix but you want it to be thin enough to soak into the crushed glass. Give a hot coat and sand it back out. You could also do basically the same process with epoxy if you have access to the right epoxies for the job. Good luck.
I'd tape off the clean part of the fin, saturate the smashed bit with resin, clamp it, and reshape it when cured.
This^^^. Although cj has good advice, I'm guessing you can afford a new fin if you are thinking about buying a replacement anyway. That being the case, I would put minimal effort into fixing it (do it right- but don't go overboard), and if it's screwed to the point you can tell a difference, buy a new one.
Thanks guys, the advice is appreciated very much. I think I'm going to go the route LBCrew suggested. Sounds easy enough. Luckily I got plenty of spare fins and buying a new one isn't an issue. With Christmas coming up though of like to save if I can. This might be a stupid question but if I ride it as is would I damage the fin? Like if a board is dinged and dosn't get fixed water will get to it and cause issues. Does the same apply for fins? I'm thinking it wouldn't but I really have no idea
I was wondering the same thing, and came to the conclusion that it probably won't matter, especially if you sand it down. Water damages the foam in a ding, so if there is no foam to damage, then I imagine it wouldn't matter. Then again, what the hell do I know.
It won't damage the fin to ride it as is because it's a solid glass fin. Wood or foam core fins would be damaged by water. But it will create drag and possibly cavitation and/or vibration in the fin. Best to fix it for that reason.
