Hello all,

Could use some advice on my damaged board. My Allwave has a thin crack that starts on the tip of nose and runs 10-12 inches up the rail.  In various spots along the crack the paint has chipped.   The crack was half the size until a wipe out this past weekend caused it to grow.  It only looks like the top layer of glass is affected but it's hard to tell.  As a quick fix, I've filled it with fast setting surfboard epoxy.  Is this something I should have professionally repaired, or is it just cosmetic and nothing to worry about.  Sorry, the picture is little blurry from reducing the file size.  Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Emo

One way to tell if it's a leaker is to suck on the crack.  You'll know right away if it's cracked through or just a surface crack.

I get this fairly often especially with fanatic's. It is basically a poor bond between the top and bottom lam and they start to come apart. The paint on the fanatic hrs is also very poor and chips very easily. I had a particularly bad one this time last year and it was quite clearly a manufacturing fault but was shocked when fanatic did not consider it a warrantee fault.

If not a leaker, sand approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch on both sides and along the crack then apply (brush on) epoxy.  Once dried, wet sand and you are done.  I used West System 105/206 epoxy.  Don't forget to use blue tape.

If you have a crack that is growing it almost certainly means your board is failing. If it's not leaking water now, it probably soon will be. It could be reinforced and perhaps stopped, though if it's a recent purchase I'd take it back to the shop and see what they'll do. If there's no warranty replacement possible then find a good pro and see what they recommend. Make sure you explain that the crack is growing and isn't just a scrape. I'd sand along the crack and see what's going on. If it's what I suspect--a failure across an insufficiently lapped or poorly bonded edge--then I'd grind off the paint a couple of inches wide, and four inches past the end of the crack, get down to bare glass, and lay on two layers of 4oz. if you're not fussy about the finish, or three layers with one being a sacrificial sanding layer. Sand, hotcoat, paint. But that's me.

Keep an eye on the other side too.