I have this carbon prone board from a leading brand. It’s 1.5y old. I noticed delamination exactly where my front leg and back leg heels are, clearly from pumping. Meaning, it looks like it’s a bit swollen and when you press with your thumb it goes up and down.
Its water tight, no cracks, simply delamination and only there. Board didn’t absorb water in the past.
I don’t jump, ride strapless, don’t wing it, don’t dock start it and I weigh 74 kg. I just pump to connect waves with it.
It was probably there for months as it’s hard to notice it under the deck pad.
Do you think this is something the board maker is responsible for in a certain level or it’s just something that happens over time?
Should I fix it or ignore it?
To be honest, most boards are built just single skin with no sandwich on light eps. So it’s not surprising to get a delam after 1.5yrs with a lot of use. And unfortunately that’s probably out of warranty. That being said it’s not your fault, and it SHOULD be built better. If you’re keen to repair, I can give some tips.
A quick&dirty repair is to drill some holes, whip up gorilla glue + a drop of water, then inject it with a syringe. It will expand (a lot!) and harden as a waterproof ~4lb density foam that doesn’t exotherm (ie won’t melt your core) while it cures. That will fill some voids and rebond it a bit. Then glass patch over the holes. It’s NOT a full proper fix, but it’s something.
A proper fix, cut away the deck. Pour foam. Sand. Re laminate carbon, or add a proper sandwich. Honestly the hardest part of this is peeling back the pad.
IMO it started not long after the 1y warranty or who knows, maybe earlier. It’s not so noticeable under the deck pad.
Sounds like an expensive fix for both front and back leg area. How much a professional proper fix cost?
I prefer not to out them. I will reply to them and allow them to make it right. But eventually it might be my duty to out them so others will know that those boards might have a problem that’s not easy to fix and won’t be addressed by the manufacturer.
Also, their website tells you how their process is very good resulting their boards not delaminating.
Glad this thread popped up because I need some help from my foil brothers and sisters. Just got a custom order Spitfire from Amos and 5 sessions in I had significant heel dents and toe dents on the deck. Reached out to them and they said this was normal and that different riders where more heavy footed then others. Funny because im maybe 155lbs. I was pretty bummed but believed them and thought this was normal? They never gave me options for glassing strength and I definitely didn’t think the deck would collapse almost immediately. Have broken lots of foil gear from the top manufactures and I’m starting to think that foils aren’t actually made to be ridden in a high performance manor like advertised. Most frustrating part is that I can’t afford for this stuff to break. Any advise my friends?
Did the drill holes and expanding PU foam on several old windsurf boards, lasted a couple of years. Done proper repairs you describe and last for ever.
Heel dents after 5 sessions is not normal. Toe dents at 155lbs is crazy. And i imagine those boards are not cheap. I’d be pissed too.
I think there’s an over emphasis on light weight boards at the expense of durability. We mostly ride with mast forward in the box which balances board weight over the foil so the extra weight of a solidly built deck is not noticeable when pumping.
It’s not lightweight either, they ended up shipping a board 20% heavier than advertised. Notice that I don’t have dents, I have delamination. Yeah, not a cheap board, leading brand.
Helps consumers more if you just say the maker, regardless of whether they make it right or wrong in the end. No reason to have any loyalty. Just good data points to have in general.
I didnt, they said it was normal. Im curious if the epoxy needed some more time to cure becuase its way harder now and the dents havent gotten worse. Its a little dished out around my feet but I dont mind at this point.