A wingfoil board has to withstand quite a bit – hard landings, pressure, and so on. Most boards are built tough enough for that, but still, it can happen: you get a ding – meaning, damage to the board. And sometimes, you don’t even notice it right away.
That’s what happened to me.
To this day, I still don’t know exactly how it happened – but once I got home, I saw that my board was “crying”: little drops of water were dripping out. Looking closer, I found two cracks on the underside, big enough that water had seeped into the board.
Of course, it had to be repaired. Here’s how I went about getting my board back into shape.
Quick disclaimer: I’m not a professional shaper or boatbuilder. I’m simply sharing my personal experience of successfully fixing my damaged wingfoil board. One year and plenty of sessions later, the repair is still holding up – solid and reliable.
Here are the repair steps:
1. Assessing the Damage
First, I checked how bad the damage was. To make the cracks easier to see and access, I gently sanded the area. To avoid accidentally sanding beyond the damaged zone, I masked off the surrounding surface with painter’s tape – easy to remove later.
Safety tip: Always wear a proper dust mask when sanding. Many wingfoil boards are made of epoxy, carbon, and EPS foam – and you definitely don’t want to breathe in that dust.
2. Preparing the Damaged Area: Removing Loose Material
Using a utility knife and sandpaper, I removed the loose fragments along the crack. The hole got a bit larger in the process, but I was able to create solid edges – important to prevent further tearing on the next landing. I also took out a few small loose pieces of the EPS core – luckily, there weren’t many.
I then lightly sanded the area around the hole, cleaned it thoroughly, and let it dry completely so the repair material would bond well with the board.
3. Draining the Board
Working on the damaged area also helped with draining the board. I stored it in a room with the heater turned up all the way. The warmth and the open crack slowly pushed the water out.
⚠️ Warning: Don’t leave the board out in direct sunlight for hours – that can cause bulging.
I left the board in the warm room for several days, with the damaged area facing down, until no more water came out. That was enough in my case. Depending on the damage and construction, this process can take significantly longer or require other steps.
4. Rebuilding the Area
To rebuild the section, I used epoxy, filler, and fiberglass cloth. The board’s original construction includes a bamboo layer, carbon fiber, and epoxy.
For the filler and shaping, I used a mix of epoxy resin, hardener, and filler. That worked because the area wasn’t too large. If a bigger part of the EPS core had been damaged, it probably would’ve been better to glue in an extra piece of EPS foam.
Caution: Don’t use glue that reacts with EPS, such as solvent-based adhesives. They can eat into the foam – and destroy your board core.
I cut two equally sized pieces from the fiberglass cloth – shaped like the prepped hole, but just slightly bigger. I glued the layers together to keep them from shifting during placement.
5. Mixing the Epoxy and Soaking the Fiberglass
I prepared two separate mixtures:
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Epoxy + hardener + microballoons (filler): for filling and shaping
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Epoxy + hardener: for soaking the fiberglass cloth
Important: Measure the mixing ratio exactly as specified by the manufacturer – I use a precision scale for that. Gloves (like vinyl ones) protect your skin when working with epoxy resin.
In my case, the mixing ratio of resin to hardener was 2:1. For the filler mixture, I added about 4 parts filler to 1 part resin-hardener mix, until I had a creamy consistency.
Microballoons are tiny, air-filled spheres. They make the mix lightweight, easy to shape, and help prevent the resin from running. Plus, once cured, it’s easier to sand.
6. Filling and Applying the Fiberglass
I applied the filler mixture right up to the edge of the hole, then gently pressed the epoxy-soaked fiberglass cloth just under the edge and added another layer of filler mixture on top.
Everything was covered with plastic foil, shaped, and smoothed out – then left to cure for 24 hours (depending on the manufacturer’s instructions).
7. Sanding and Applying the Second Fiberglass Layer
After the first layer had cured, I sanded the area to match the shape of the board – just slightly below the original surface level. After cleaning and drying it, I applied a second layer of fiberglass using the epoxy-hardener mixture, smoothed it out again with foil, and removed any air bubbles.
8. Final Epoxy-Filler Layer and Sealing
After curing, I leveled the edges by sanding, cleaned everything again, and applied another layer of epoxy filler to even out small imperfections. I used foil again to smooth it out and let it cure.
Then I applied a thin layer of epoxy and hardener (without any fiberglass) to seal the tiny air bubbles in the epoxy-hardener mix.
9. Fine-tuning and finishing
9. Final Sanding and Finish
After another curing phase (about 24 hours), I did the final sanding – shaping, smoothing, and polishing. I skipped the paint. The spot now kind of looks like an eye and I’ve got a “DuoToe” board now :D
"Huh? Wait... what?" – here's a short overview:
- Analyze damage: Did the board take in water?
- Remove loose materials: Create a stable edge.
- Drain if necessary: In a warm room, not in direct sunlight.
- If necessary, add EPS: To restore the board core.
- Prepare fiberglass fabric: For more stability.
- Prepare epoxy mixtures:
- Epoxy + Hardener + Microballs (Filler): Filling & Modeling
- Epoxy + hardener: soak fabric
- Reconstruction: Apply layers.
- Cover with foil: Shape, smooth and allow to harden.
- Sanding, cleaning, drying:
- Apply second layer of fabric: Cover again and allow to harden.
- Fine-tuning: Adjust shape & smooth.
- Level out unevenness: With filler & sealing.
- If necessary, spray on paint: for visual effect or as UV protection.
- Get out on the water: test whether everything holds up and have fun!
