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Author	Message Text
Arcola	06/15/2020 09:47PM   Where are you at? I've got a bucket of resin and would take about 30 minutes to fix in this summer heat. Being built with a skin coat sanding much will be dicey.
Beast388	06/15/2020 10:39PM   Since this is such a tiny area of damage, I would just use fingernail clippers to clip off the fibers above the surface. Then mix up some 5 minute, two part epoxy and fill the blemish. You could try to smooth out the wet epoxy before it cures if you wish. But being so small, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. The Wenonah Advantage that I recently refurbished had a dent in the hull which severed the Kevlar and left a void in the foam core. I just filled it with 5 minute epoxy and sanded.
nevsky	06/16/2020 09:51AM   Interesting - we have half of the responses indicating epoxy and the other half saying epoxy probably isn't ideal. I like simple. What is the down side of trimming up the tiny bit of cloth and using epoxy? Will it not last as long? Or ? Thanks for the help, everyone!
jhb8426	06/16/2020 02:45PM   nevsky: "Interesting - we have half of the responses indicating epoxy and the other half saying epoxy probably isn't ideal. I like simple. What is the down side of trimming up the tiny bit of cloth and using epoxy? Will it not last as long? Or ? " The issue is that epoxy readily can be used over vinyl ester or polyester resin, while neither of those can effectively be used over epoxy resin. So it comes down to if future repairs are needed in the same location you will need to use epoxy if that's what you use now. In some cases in the future vinly ester or polyester may be the right choice for repairs. You can pick up a small can of surfacing resin and catalyst at the auto parts store.
fraxinus	06/16/2020 03:58PM   Something like this, just slice off a bit, knead it with your fingers and smear it into the ding. Sets up fast. I trip with a tube of it in my emergency kit. just in case. Very small doesn't weigh "diddly". this
jhb8426	06/16/2020 08:13PM   this Sorta funny... The directions say to knead in your fingers as fraxinus says, yet the same package cautions you as it is a skin irritant/sensitizer...
sns	06/17/2020 11:24AM   jhb8426: "nevsky: "Interesting - we have half of the responses indicating epoxy and the other half saying epoxy probably isn't ideal. I like simple. What is the down side of trimming up the tiny bit of cloth and using epoxy? Will it not last as long? Or ? " The issue is that epoxy readily can be used over vinyl ester or polyester resin, while neither of those can effectively be used over epoxy resin. So it comes down to if future repairs are needed in the same location you will need to use epoxy if that's what you use now. In some cases in the future vinly ester or polyester may be the right choice for repairs. You can pick up a small can of surfacing resin and catalyst at the auto parts store." This is my understanding. Say you use epoxy now. A few years down the road, you want to recoat the boat. If you've repaired in epoxy, the vinylester recoat will not adhere in that spot. Repair in Vinylester now so you are not limiting yourself in the future.
Bradv	06/25/2020 11:26PM   Like others have said, on a Northstar use vinylester. Make sure you mix your resin above 75 degrees and get the ratios mixed correctly. Cut the fibers down and use an art brush and do a thin coat. If you need to fill it more do a a few thin coats. Thin is better than thick. That spot is so small, ignore it and keep paddling. The structural integrity is sound.
nevsky	06/15/2020 05:15PM   I recently gave my ultralite Northstar a cleaning and noticed two very small nicks in the skin coat. The one pictured here is the worse of the two though tiny. Although it is small, fibers from the cloth are visible. From inside, I don't see any evidence of the nick. What if anything should I do to make sure this doesn't become a problem down the road? Best, nev
Blatz	06/15/2020 05:47PM   Northstar has that epoxy repair kit. It's basically the same stuff you attach the foot brace with. I had some fabric showing on my North Wind. I would touch it up if the fabric is out
justpaddlin	06/15/2020 07:23PM   And in the future don't clean your boat as often.
sns	06/15/2020 07:42PM   Ask Arcola, who is active here...you should be able to find his profile or a post of his and email him. Short of Ted Bell or Bear Paulsen, he's probably your best resource. What I've learned - don't think epoxy is what you want to use...you should use the same product as they use to infuse the hull: vinylester. maybe a tiny bit of fiberglass cloth since you have some feathering kevlar to deal with.