Advice on board damage

[NMPaddler]

My new board (Jimmy Lewis U-Boat) was damaged during shipping and I need to discuss with the shop what is reasonable compensation for the damage.  The board was insured and I noted the damage on the Bill of Laden when I accepted delivery so any reasonable cost to repair it should be covered. What I need is some insight into the extent of the damage and what would reasonable compensation.   The big question in my mind is whether it needs to be repaired or if it's really just cosmetic. And if it needs repairing, what's the best way to go about it.
 
Here’s some pictures of the board. Any insight and suggestions on how best to repair it would be great.

[SupSimcoe]

Based on experience with a JL rail carbon. I can almost guarantee that the impact point is cracked through the carbon outer layer and may be through the inner layer as well but that would have to be figured out during the repair. The longer dents are still most likely damaged carbon as well.

The best fox would be to sand down the outer carbon the repair the outer layer with proper carbon and epoxy and then sand level, May need some filler, and paint.

In my area in Canada I would estimate that this is $200 to have a repair with an OK paint match and $300 plus to find a body shop to do a full paint match as this is metalic.

Most likely you will ding the board but it sucks that you did not even get to enjoy it first.

[surfcowboy]

Get it repaired, don’t bother with paint.  Just put matching pieces of traction over it and the other side. No one will know.

[TallDude]

Matching the paint and finish is the hard part. Blending a metallic takes an expert. The repair is to cut out all the glass and CF along the undamaged edge.  The juncture at which the original curvature stops and the crease starts. Sand the paint off at least a half inch around the perimeter of the damaged area. Then fill the damaged area with Gorilla glue and sand it down to the original curved surface. Epoxy down some small patches of (1 layer) 3 to 5oz CF and (2 layers) 4 or 6oz E-glass lapping 1/2" on all sides. Sand smooth...

Cover it with a cool sticker. 

[NMPaddler]

Okay, I’ll let the insurance folks know it’s about $500 to repair the damage and match the metallic paint.

If I can get it repaired professionally in my area, I'll probably do that but I doubt that's going to be an option because there aren’t any SUP or surf shops in my area. Possibly a bike or marine shop can do it but doubtful.

Alternatively, the options for fixing it myself are:
  1) Repair the impact point and the scratches using Gorilla glue, epoxy/CF cloth, etc.. And then slap a cool stick over it. 
  2) Do a PonoBill type fix and just slap aluminum tape on it as a temporary fix. Since it isn’t structural damage this should work, right? And this would still give me the option to remove the tape and a proper repair in the future. Maybe at the end of the paddling season when it's still warm enough to work with epoxy in my garage. I'll probably acquire another ding or scratch by then anyway. 

[PonoBill]

Step one--suck on it to see if it's a leaker. If it is your repair is no different, but the penalty for screwing up is worse. It looks like the crease extends a little under the pad, which makes things more complicated.

Step two--The crack is hard-edged and looks like it's flaked a little. even if you're going to just do a tape repair, I'd get a block and some 120 grit and smooth things out a bit.

Step three-- slap on some aluminum tape and burnish it smooth with a credit card. I often do three layers just to build up a little confidence.

Go play, then get it properly done when you find the right people to do it. That's a nice looking board.

[NMPaddler]

Thanks for the detailed explanation PonoBill. I felt better about approaching the job after reading it.

But happily I won't need to repair it myself. After calling about a half a dozen marine and bike shops I finally found somebody who repairs carbon fiber bikes - and on rare occasion, paddle boards. The trick was talking to the bike shops (many high end bicycles are built with carbon fiber). Most of the bike shops don't do carbon fiber repairs - but one of them did.  The original estimate by SupSimcoe for the repair work was pretty close to what they independently quoted me for the repair, so good job SupSimcoe.

I'll be able to get it repaired professionally and be able to hit the water with confidence as soon as it gets warm enough to paddle. Very happy about the way that turned out!

I would like to say think you for everybody who provided me with advice. I was pretty sure I was not going to find somebody local who could do this work and I didn't really have a clue what it would have cost. With the advice I was given here, I was feeling pretty good about the damage assessment and how to go about fixing it myself. Without this forum, I wouldn't have had either. So thank you.

[sflinux]

That sucks, good luck with the repair.  I would be suspect of hidden leaks under the deck pad.  I would weigh the board before the repair.  I would weigh it again after the repair.  I would weigh it again after it has been out in the water.  After I take my board out in salt water, I like to store my board in the sun on my roof rack.  Any leaks usually show up as drips on the car, and salt residue can usually be seen where the leak is on the board.

[NMPaddler]

Thanks sflinux. Weighing it occasionally to see if it's taking on water is a good idea. You can't really tell from the pictures in my initial post but the second scratch doesn't go below the pad. I've included a close-up picture of that area since that's come up a couple of times.