Return to Hobie.com
Hobie Forums
It is currently Tue Mar 19, 2024 1:32 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2011 7:07 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:07 pm
Posts: 1041
Location: Ontario, Canada
I pulled a bonehead move and ended up putting the mast of my Mirage Drive through the side of the Turbo fin. I had some marine goop sitting around, and used it to make a repair.

Here's what I did:
Took the fin off, cleaned the mast, and the fin, put the fin back on, put the marine goop on.

It looks really rough in the picture, but it's not that bad.

Should this repair hold up for a bit? I don't mind repairing it again, but I'm hoping that the fin won't tear any more on normal use. I just don't want to be out on the water and have the fin fall apart on me while I'm kayaking (or sailing).

Will this keep me from having to buy a new fin immediately?

Here are a couple of pictures of the repair:

Image

Image

Image

_________________
Image


Last edited by augaug on Sat May 28, 2011 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2011 6:35 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 11:59 am
Posts: 606
I saw a post somewhere about using "gorilla tape" with the fin. The report was a good repair and easy to replace the tape when it was worn out and needed replacing... The reporter said to place a roll in your yak as a back repair on the water...

You could place the tape over the goop and improve the ruffness of the finish of the goop... Smooth is good for the glide of the fin in the water....


Good luck


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2011 8:19 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:41 am
Posts: 72
Location: Stamford, CT
That looks pretty good to me. Order some new fins (plus pins and rings) and keep them in your boat, but keep using these fins. I'd put some tape on there as well as others suggest.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2011 1:02 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:07 pm
Posts: 1041
Location: Ontario, Canada
Thanks,

I'd seen the post about using Gorilla tape, but didn't like the idea of sticking, essentially, duct tape on my fin.

I also saw that someone soldered the fin to basically weld it back together. The marine goop dries to a flexible rubbery feel, so I figured that this was the closest thing to the fin that I could find. I'm going to run with it and see how it works for now. My wife has a Revolution with Turbo fins, so in a pinch, I could steal her mirage drive if I was at all concerned.

I'll try to update the forum as I use the fins and let people know how it works. This morning, after everything is dry, I have to admit that it looks pretty good. As I said earlier, it's not nearly as rough as the pictures make it look, and it's a very fast and simple repair, so if it buys me a month at a time, it'll be worth it.

_________________
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2011 2:42 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 5:17 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Auckland NZ
I have posted on my method of repairing fins in other threads. I repaired two fins more than a year ago; one got a line cut, the other the mast poked a hole through. Both repairs have stood up perfectly over many more sea miles so much so that I have never had to use either of the two spare fins I bought before I lighted on the repair method.

The method is to slice a bit of fin material from another part of the fin (I took it from the very top right where the chain goes through - which incidentally made the chain slot a better fit) then, using a soldering iron, melt the patch into the bit you want to repair.

You will need to melt the fin a bit too to make the patch and the fin fuse into each other but it isn't too hard to do because the material melts beautifully into something like the consistency of peanut butter, staying workable for a long time and it appears to stick like the proverbial. Just melt it down, spread it about carefully and then leave it to set.

I would advise that you leave the fin masts inside the fin while you undertake this kind of repair.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2011 7:23 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Here is a repair Stringy did years ago and as far as I know is still in working order, but possibly now a spare.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=12497&hilit=fin+repair

_________________
Image

Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2011 9:40 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:07 pm
Posts: 1041
Location: Ontario, Canada
Hmmm, sounds like no one has tried a repair similar to mine. Guess that makes me an innovator!! :)

I was hoping someone else had used marine goop on their fin so that I could get an idea of how long it might last under regular use. I'll try this for now. I'm interested in the soldering technique because I have a couple of standard fins that are spares since we upgraded the Revo. If it's a real problem, I'm just going to buy new fins, but I'm hoping that this marine goop will hold up. I have no reason to think that it wouldn't hold for at least a while.

If it works, I'm going to patent and trademark the idea! Yup, everyone who tries it in the future will have to refer to it as the augaug method. :)

_________________
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2011 8:15 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
I can see all those royalties flooding in now. You may as well quit work today. Get a bigger letter box to handle the increased throughput and sit back and wait.

I can see your face now :lol: :D :) :roll: :( :oops: :cry: :evil: :twisted:

_________________
Image

Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 7:11 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:07 pm
Posts: 1041
Location: Ontario, Canada
I was out sailing today, not thinking at all about my mirage drive, and that's when I realized.... I'm not thinking about my mirage drive. Why? Because the repair has held up great. I fixed it on the 8th of May, and it's the 28th of May now. I've been out plenty of times since then, and the repair looks the exact same as the day I fixed it, and the fin works like a new fin.

Not bad for a 2 minute fix!

_________________
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2011 8:12 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 10:34 am
Posts: 134
Location: Portland, Texas
OK Augaug, that does it. I'm on my way to West Marine for a tube of Marine Goop. That seems like the easiest fix yet. Thanks!! - Roger

_________________
Roger
2010 Oasis
Lucie Belle


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2011 6:23 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:07 pm
Posts: 1041
Location: Ontario, Canada
One thing that I think may have helped was that I wrapped the goop around the leading edge of the fin, instead of just putting it on top of the hole. It think that if I had put the goop only on the one side, that it would have been peeled back by the water pressure.

Either way, it's held up well now, and it's really easy to do again. Hopefully others will have the same luck!

_________________
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2011 6:10 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:52 am
Posts: 28
I have use marine goop to patch a very similar rip in my fin from the mast, about 4 years ago. It held for the rest of that season and the entire next season, then was replace, and is now a spare.

And yes, I think having it wrap around the leading edge does help.

_________________
LeBron


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
cron
© Hobie Cat Company. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group