How to fit tracks for a foil on a brand new kiteboarding board...
Dust it in the Caribbeans
A friend of ours - he owns a great kiteboarding school - got a new convertible board (surf) for kiteboarding but it was missing the tracks to fit a hydrofoil. Instead of sending it back - a new "dust it yourself" project was born.
After some research we got a set of "tracks" to be retrofitted into the board. The idea was to "de-core" the area with the help of a jig to guarantee alignment, backfill it with structural epoxy resin. The next step was to put additional carbon layers over the top of the track to "strengthen" the board and spread the loads from the foil inserts.
The new "carbon" skins where cut to overlay one by one in a degressive way to have a smooth board surface and not to create turbulences.
Lots of sanding and layers of epoxy primer later, the board was smooth and the rails were perfectly aligned. The gray color of the epoxy primer actually fits the original color scheme and design of the board.
So far the board has been used a lot for foiling in light winds in St. Martin and no "complaint" - it's probably stronger than the original boards as the layer of fiberglass that was removed was quiet thin and has been replaced by carbon fiber and epoxy resin.
A great "dust it yourself project" in the sun, dusty but fun !!!
More pictures from "dusting" the project in almost chronological order...
Comments