Standup Zone Forum

The Foil Zone => Windfoiling, Windsurf Foiling => Topic started by: blueplanetsurf on October 10, 2020, 07:58:33 PM

Title: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: blueplanetsurf on October 10, 2020, 07:58:33 PM
Jeff Chang is sharing his wing bladder repair secrets in this video:
https://youtu.be/RYBy7MfLtAo
Title: Re: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: Dwight (DW) on October 11, 2020, 03:59:01 AM
Years ago, bladder nipples were falling off old kites a lot. Heat and age.

I thought those issues were gone forever. I had not had any kite nipples fall off in over 10 years.

Now winging, I had one separate from my bladder.

Anyone else have one separate and start leaking? I sure hope mine was a fluke.
Title: Re: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: PonoBill on October 11, 2020, 07:47:55 PM
One of the handy things in the Gorge is that everyone that makes stuff for wind and water is here. Airtime is an easy walk from my house. So is NSI and North, and Duotone and Naish are right across the river. Chinook is a 15 minute drive. Kind of like so many board makers are a short drive from San Clemente or Santa Cruz.  Hood River is a town of 7200 people and eight major league wind sports shops, three high-end bicycle shops, innumerable restaurants, breweries, and wineries. I went to Airtime to buy a replacement bladder for my 4.2 M F-one and they insisted on installing it for me--no charge. If NSI doesn't have something I want in stock they'll make it for me--that day. Pro tip: If you walk into any of the shops or manufacturers in a wetsuit you get instant service while you wait. Otherwise, take a number. Most of them are doing biz worldwide.

Last time I went to Chinook to get some tracks for a foil they were in the middle of a production run. The owner went to the back of the shop and got me four off the line instead of taking some from stock. He said "we just beefed these up a little because you guys are using them for foils". Hell, they were bulletproof before, but now they're a little chunkier. You might notice that your T-nuts are a little harder to get into the slots. And there you go. The tracks with the middle feed for the slots are extra beefy and a little tighter for foils. They recommend those instead of the end feed ones because with the length of a foil plate there's no way to get a nut to slide into the exit slot when it's bolted up, with an end entry its possible to pop one end out.
Title: Re: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: blueplanetsurf on October 12, 2020, 06:45:52 PM
Thanks for the feedback Dwight.  The most commen issue seems to be the center strut getting folded and popping on some models.
Bill, you are lucky to have all those manufacturers close by!
Title: Re: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: Surfside on October 13, 2020, 04:01:12 AM
Robert, thanks for another great video!
Title: Re: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: burchas on October 13, 2020, 05:27:56 AM
Thanks Robert! Very informative video.
Title: Re: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: PonoBill on October 13, 2020, 07:49:02 AM
I like the way Jeff keeps the bladder flat and oriented properly, I wouldn't have though of that folding method. It's easy to get a twist after the bend.
Title: Re: Wing foil bladder repair
Post by: Solent Foiler on October 13, 2020, 01:26:01 PM
I'm no expert, but have repaired a handful of burst bladders using Dr Tuba hot melt patches. My repairs have been much larger than the ones Jeff demonstrated.

As Jeff points out, getting a flat area around the repair is crucial in not getting any crinkles or folds underneath the patch, which can be really awkward when the bladder has expanded a lot before bursting. If you apply heat by quickly pressing and iron around the area through some paper, it makes the area shrink which takes out the stretch and gives you a fighting chance at getting a flat area to fix. It can make the inside of the bladder stick a bit, but you can pull the sides apart gently before making the repair.

If you do get a crinkle, you can use Aquasure urethane glue or similar to plug the gap.
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