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repair

Table of Contents

Repair & Maintenance

* Some marine boat repair companies may be willing to do repair work on larger boats such as an OC6. Yacht storage and service companies may also have capable fiberglass\carbon\kevlar repair personnel. If we have a wiki page for your locale, check there to see if any local repair businesses are listed for your area.

DIY Repair of Composites Carbon/Kevlar

Other Places To Look For Help (Search for Answers or Ask Your Questions There)

(You may need to register in order to access or be able to post questions)

Diagnosis

Corrosion

Rinse your boats after every use if you paddle in salt water. You may want to rinse after use in fresh water also, particularly if there is a local concern about spreading invasive species.

Surfski.info 2024 Comments About Aluminum/Stainless Corrosion Vulnerabilities


DavidW: “..Most of us,especially with older skis, use the footstrap as a leash attachment point. I stopped doing that recently after the rear footstrap in my double broke loose when I was pulling on it (not very hard) to adjust the leg length. The small stainless screws holding the strap to the slide car are short and anchored only into thin aluminium. And stainless and aluminium don't like each other so there's likely some corrosion there to weaken the attachment further.”

LaPerouseBay: “I agree, galvanic corrosion is worth looking after. I also had those tiny screws fail in a gen 1 boat - at the rail slider/strap attachment.I was glad to see Epic switch to plastic rail sliders. The other upgrade to the gen 2 slider is the strap attachment. It's now thru bolted to the footplate.In Epic boats, the tracks are aluminum, fastened to the hull with stainless screws. They anodize the aluminum to help prevent corrosion. If that anodized coating gets scratched where the screw head is, salt water will eventually start the reaction. I add anti seize paste to all the joints and screws in my boats. I've seen a few boats that have heavy corrosion at the rail attachment. Epic sells new tracks if anyone needs them. A gasket between any aluminum/stainless screw is best. Epic has one at the rear of the rail, but not at the front. That's the one i watch closely.”


DIY (do-it-yourself)

Please keep in mind that no sealer, epoxy, etc. lasts forever even if unopened. We have heard of some that dried up and were unusable before being sold (how long was that on the shelf?), in which case you should be able to get a refund. But be careful about buying excess quantities - that can be particularly expensive and wasteful. Shelf life will tend to be particularly short once your product has been opened.

Drains/Bailers/Leaks

Bailer Leaks/Problems

Body Leaks

If you have a hull/body leak that causes your surfski to take on water in the inner hull you very probably will start to notice handling problems while you are paddling. It doesn't take a lot of water inside your hull to make sitting upright in your surfski much more difficult. If you are paddling in waves with water in your hull, your surfski will tend to tilt forward or back for extended periods and throw your balance and paddling posture way off.

Finding and Fixing OC Leaks

  • Huki Recommendations from Jude Turczynski - several of these recommendations are relevant for surfskis - leaks in rudder tubes and drain hole areas. OC specific - iako receiver leaks. Huki OC specific - sliding seat racks.

Venturi Drains

Drying Interior

Wash & Polish

Surface Damage

Minor Repairs

Intermediate Repair

Impact damage, Soft spot

Major Repair

  • Major Surfski Rebuild
  • Sea Kayak Repair facebook group - lots of fiberglass/gel coat info that is useful for surfskis also
  • Large Hole Patch Video in French, not really a comprehensive how-to, but maybe shows some considerations to keep in mind, also includes the application of a vinyl skin.
  • Expanding Foam (Use ONLY if you have access to a forced air respirator - very, very nasty fumes)
    • This is what one surfboard repairman uses on some repairs for surfboards and surfskis.
      • Using expanding foam (ONE MAJOR POINT MISSING HERE - this kind of foam is very toxic and there is no passive air mask/filter that can protect you from it. One of the wiki admins worked with expanding foam used for insulation and he always used a forced air respirator that pumped clean air into his mask positively pressurizing it)
      • Repairing a crunched spec ski nose using expanding foam
  • Building Your Own Surfski
  • Restoration

Surface And More Extensive Repair Videos

Modifications

Paddles

​​​

We hope you find a paddle lock solution that is a little less hard edged than this one:

wingnut.jpg

photo: Jonathan Rincon Lopez video (click on photo to enlarge)

Pedals

Rudders

Rudders, Steering, Cables etc.

These guys do an amazing job staying upright and getting to a beach after losing their rudder:

Repair Professionals

Equipment Shops and Professionals should be listed under the locales that they serve. Example: Bellingham Area Shops

  • If you do not have anyone in your area who specifically works on your type of boat, yacht repair shops may be another option, particularly for straight forward patch and paint jobs.
  • If you want to increase the likelihood that everything gets done to your specifications, it is not a bad idea to provide a written list/description of your repair request(s) possibly with photos for the repair shop that you wind up hiring.

Drysuit

  • Local Dive Shops - can usually either repair or recommend a repair shop
  • Most Manufacturers offer repair services for their own gear
  • Generic Repair Services (repair multiple brands)
  • DIY - if you want to do it yourself. There are how-to videos on NRS and Youtube (lots of them). Replacement gaskets can be ordered from NRS and other sources.


From The Beverly Hillbillies

Cousin Pearl Bodine: “Jethro, I told you to get rid of them worn-out brakes.”

Jethro: “I did Ma. That's how come we ain't got none.”


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