My Moses surf foil mast recently started to feel a little less stiff in yaw response than I previously recalled. Then yesterday someone noticed water slowly dripping out of my mast while my board was sitting upside down. Under closer inspection, there appears to be a crack along the centerline of the leading edge that is about 18” long. I was able to gently push some thin blades into the crack and there is some depth to it. I would like to try and repair this mast. My thought is to flush out the crack with fresh water to remove residual salt. Then allow it to dry thoroughly and next inject epoxy with a syringe into the crack. Finally remove the blades propping the crack open and use clamps to keep it closed while the epoxy cures. Per the SABfoil web site, it sounds like these masts have some type of 'high-density wood core' inside them. Does anyone know how close the core is to the leading edge or possibly have a picture of a broken or cut open Moses/SABfoil mast that shows the geometry of the core so I can get a better idea of what I am dealing with? Thanks Dave
I would say that repair by simply working on the crack with epoxy has a very low chance of success. A crack like that deserves a comment or input from Moses/SABFoil in terms of root cause and warranty. But... the leading edge seems (incredibly) worn and the laminate on the sides looks strange with what appears to be low resin saturation all over? Perhaps it is just a re-paint of lesser quality but definitely looks like it has something of a history to it?
There is something wrong with the M82?I have already read about some problems with this mast.
I wanted to buy a second hand one but maybe I'm looking for a 91 instead.
My idea is to use it for kitefoiling and to start with wingfoiling, I would only need a front wing since I don't jump and the 710 fuselage that I already have.
Well after what I believe was reasonable effort reaching out to different entities of SABfoil, I think there is slim chance of me getting any kind of warrant replacement. The most technical response I received back is that the mast is ‘thrashed’.
My own take on this failure is that it is a shear failure along the glue line where the two halves of mold come together. The shear loads along the center of the mast typically occur during roll and yaw. Fatigue may have been a factor as I ride my gear more than most and the mast had probably a good 18 months of me riding it. Also higher loads from using larger wings such as the 1100 and 945 may have contributed.
I have decided to continue with repairing this ‘Old Cracken’ mast. The first step was to prop the crack open and flush it out with fresh water, then let it dry for several days. I used some straight pins to prop the crack open.
The outside of the mast was covered with cling film and tape to protect it. I mixed up some Resin Research epoxy and put that into a syringe. Then I used the syringe to inject the epoxy into the crack with the mast oriented so the crack was facing upward for gravity assist. I did this all along the crack and repeated until it stayed full. I then removed the straight pins from the crack to allow it to close up. Next I applied clamps all along the length of the crack.
I plan to let the epoxy cure and then sand the outside of the mast to remove the failing clear coat. I am thinking about applying an overlay lamination schedule of high modulus carbon to strengthen and stiffen it.
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