I have a 7'2\\\" kechele pug performer I got in pr a couple years back to ride when it was a little smaller there. I think it's a pug performer, but not sure. I bought it off the rack at surf zone in pr. Anyway, It has ended up being my go to as I got older and fatter, and have ridden it in 3ft slop to 8ft drainers and it always felt perfect. Unfortunately, I buckled it in Cristobal toward the end of last summer. Trying to replace it without sending it down to Matt to put in the machine and pop a new one out. If somebody has one that is good shape and wants to sell it, pls hit me.<br />
if you like yours give a look at the firewire AADVANCE..... not for the juice but pretty much everything else...
Why not just get your ding guy to dig out the crease and get her back in service? Would be the least expensive way to go. By the way, is that a corpse in the kayak?
1. fix it and let the kids ride it. that board is pretty much dead now. 2. get a quiet flight sting fish. quiet flight makes a similar board.
I have found shapes and sizes like that to be tremendous fun. Good luck on the replacement. Not sure where you are located but check out WRV, I've got a fish much like that shaped by Marty Keesecker and it has been a truly "magic" board.
find a LOCAL shaper and have them make you another one just like the Kechele. support your LOCAL shaper. Kechele like didn't even touch that board. some 10 year old slave in Thailand did. MURICA!
I would say this is great advice. But why is it that I don't follow it myself?? I always end up ordering custom boards from California.
Mine is PU. I haven't really had much experience with EPS, but as a PU board she's such a treat to ride. This was the first board I bought with my own cash after moving to the South.
Thanks for the replies, as far as fixing it.. I have done a lot of repairs. This has a crease that runs from rail to rail. The glass didn't crack, not even at the rails, but the integrity is shot. I will definitely sand and lay some cloth, but it's just a matter of time. I did the same thing with a 6'2" wrv many moons ago. When it did snap it almost cut my foot off. The kingfish does look sweet. Not a big fan of wings tho. The key is getting the rocker right so fat dudes like me don't get gassed, then when we do get into something sweet, we don't pearl. As far as kechele never touching my board, yeah, sad but true. I am for technology, 3d printers will be able to spit out clone boards in your basement soon, but I have plenty of local custom boards too and I love knowing they are one of a kind (for now). And yes it is a dead body in the kayak, started watching Dexter and I am way into it. Pray for surf.
You're right. Usually when a board is creased it's buckled to the point where the stringer has been stressed and compromised. You can resurrect it if you remove the glass that's creased and delammed, plus a few inches of glass on either side of the creased area, lay in some heavy cloth, and put a few patches over it that overlap onto the good glass. Make sure you lap the rails, too. It won't ever feel exactly the same again (the flex will have changed... maybe the rocker, too) but at least you'll get a few more sessions out of it.
