How not to repair a modern windsurfer.

Here's my most frequently used board, a 2001 JP Freeride 275. It's obviously 275 cm long, 129 liters and 64 cm at its widest point. It's not perfect for me, it's really more of "big dude's" freeride board. The reason I say this is because it has a lot of volume for it's size, yet a pretty narrow tail. I think if I were to own another 130l board, it would have a wider tail for early planing purposes rather than the narrowish tail this board has. I say it's for big guys because it's really thick and floaty for it's shape...I weigh about 170 lbs (77 kilos) and I can easily slog a much less voluminous board.













But like my mom once said: "This is why you can't have nice things!"

I did not create the moniker "The Human Catapult" for nothing. It seems like my gear is broken just as much as it is fixed. I don't know of any good board repair places around here, so I've just been patching it up with a ding stick when I get a hole. I'm considering buying some new gear this year, but it would be more of a shame to break nice stuff, so I guess I'm still on the fence.



Below is a short tutorial on how to use the epoxy stick to patch holes.







1. tear off a chunk of the stick and smush it up in your fingers for a couple minutes. Please note "smush" is the technically correct description for this.

2. smash the putty onto the crack or hole. Make sure there is no space for water to leak through. Fill in the hole as much as possible.


3. (Most important) Entertain and impress your friends with the left over putty by making figurines of your favorite surfers.