Fin Plug sinking??

All surfing hardware topics here. Boards, leashes, racks, wetsuits, boardies, surfgear, ding repair, wetsuit repair, surf wax...... you get the idea

Fin Plug sinking??

Postby Jc » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:38 pm

Hey, I was taking out my old plastic fins for some replacements when I noticed there right fin plug was sinking into the board at the back which had caused the fin to make a small cut behind the plug. I tried pushing the plug but it doesn't move which is hopefully good news.

Image

So i was wondering whether I need to do something about it, or just repair the cut and pop in the new fins.

Oh and for the cut, should I fill it in and over with "ding all" resin like my other reapir jobs? It's about 1cm deep.

There's no shaper's or surf repair shops for miles so I hope it's not too hard

If you look closely you can see a dead fly in the fin plug hole thing, haven't surfed since october!
Jc
Local Hero
 
Posts: 135
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:35 am
Location: Norwich

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby Sillysausage » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:15 pm

yea, looks like it needs repairing. are they fin solution fins? if so, not surprised the box it fooked, they're pretty weak and a pain in the arse.

never done fin plugs before as they're pretty difficult to do. you'll need a shapers (or someone with more repair knowledge) advice on this.

you can buy the fcs plug repair kits and take the plug out, fill it in and re-cut the board fitted with fcs plugs as the fin solutions accommodate the fcs anyway
Sillysausage
SW Pro
 
Posts: 1185
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:56 pm
Location: East Coast, uk

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby Jc » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:26 pm

Yeah spot on they are Fin solution Plugs (just checked)

I'm down in Norwich and there isn't anywhere nearby to get it repaired since East Coast shut down :/

And i have no real knowledge other than smaller ding repair stuff
Jc
Local Hero
 
Posts: 135
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:35 am
Location: Norwich

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby Sillysausage » Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:15 pm

i might be wrong (correct if i am), but for some reason they reckon they can get away with lighter glassing using these fin solution plugs but in reality theyre a pile of shite and always seem to break pretty easily compared to even fcs fins which are also known as a weaker fin. had one board with this fin system and never again...
Sillysausage
SW Pro
 
Posts: 1185
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:56 pm
Location: East Coast, uk

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby Jc » Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:31 pm

It takes less resin to fit it. I found out replacing the fin plugs would cost around 70 pounds!! But i'm looking at the damage and it seems to just be the connection betwen the board and the fin plug is broken not the actual fin plug, so possibly it could be solved by a simple resin repair between the finplug and the board??
Jc
Local Hero
 
Posts: 135
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:35 am
Location: Norwich

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby trifish » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:03 pm

I just fixed my fin plug a week ago and its holding fine. i was going to cut the plug out the proper way but couldnt get my hands onto a router with hole saw, so this is what I did.

I took out the plug by cutting around the plug with a really sharp blade. ( since I didnt have a router)
Sanded it a bit in the hole/edges and mixed up some Q cell and resin to dump in the hole
Put the plug into the board and let that dry
Sanded it down some after it dried then put some resin/cloth patches around the hole
Waited for it to dry then sanded it some to blend the patched area into the board.

so far so good. Water tight and you cant tell its been patched unless you really search for it. Im not sure this is the way a pro might would do it, but oh well it works and got me back on the water.
trifish
Local Hero
 
Posts: 139
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:49 pm
Location: Nor Cal

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby Jc » Thu Mar 12, 2009 5:23 pm

Do you think there is anyway to pull the plug up at the back without having to cut the whole thing free since it's only damaged at the back and it's made up of effectively 3 fcs plug's joined together
Jc
Local Hero
 
Posts: 135
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:35 am
Location: Norwich

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby trifish » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:49 pm

From the looks of your picture its cracked all around the plug. Even if its not moving I would be more concerned about water getting into the board there. Plus if its weak just a matter of time before that area will give. Seems your best bet will be to pull the plug and reset it. The plug is pretty much stuck in its position, noway really to pull it out without cracking the glass more. You could try fixing the cut and patching around the plug without removing it, but that will do nothing for your sucken plug and most likely wont last long.
trifish
Local Hero
 
Posts: 139
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:49 pm
Location: Nor Cal

Re: Fin Plug sinking??

Postby Jc » Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:20 pm

I'm gonna get it repaired proffesionally

£50 but shi- happens I guess :)

Cheers for all the advice, I'd of probably of tried to do it myself if it wasn't my only board
Jc
Local Hero
 
Posts: 135
Likes: 0 post
Liked in: 0 post
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:35 am
Location: Norwich


Similar topics

Return to Surfing Hardware