Fanatic Ultra CAT Repair

My Fanatic Ultra Cat/FUC board was dying: {especially after a major catapult}





An initial attempt was made to "fill the hole":


Now i will use Mr Ed's comments - he is the one who continued the repair(S)...

"The gray stuff sanded well and I filled the gaps with an epoxy mix and applied a fiberglass patch."


"Once the glass patch's epoxy hardened at bit a layer of glass was epoxied over the bow.  Its easy to trim the excess when the epoxy is half set."


"Here a 'fill in the weave' coat of epoxy with a mix of graphite and white pigment has been painted on."

 
  "with a second fill coat.  I was not aiming for perfection here - just a usable board."


 "After taking off the foot straps it was apparent the the attachment points need some love."


 "Some of the attachments were easy to pry out..."


"The old attachment area was filled with epoxy, then with thickened epoxy and the hardware. The old battery is keeping thing flat.  There was quite a soft spot here so the hope is that the epoxy will fill some of the gaps and harden things up."


 "Here is what it looks like after the weight is removed"





 "This one was in really bad shape.  Not much was holding this on in."


 "Here I filled coated the inside of the hole and the insert with epoxy, then added lots of thicked epoxy into the hole, and applied weight."


 "After the repair before sanding."


 "Here I've added a fiberglass patch to make the area stronger and to help keep the attachment points in the board"


 "And a layer of fiberglass over the rear.  You can see the piece of patch over the rear repair through the second layer of glass."


 "I was using scraps from my boat building - here you can see where two pieces overlap."




 "With two fill coat applied things look okay and the board is in better shape."


All I can say is it looks AMAZING and water ready. It was a rotten old board before - that only survived because of its flotation - due to over 200 liter volume.

BIG THANKS to Mr. Ed and someone who wishes to remain nameless - who both helped IMMENSELY getting this project "afloat" !!!!

Got my baby CAT back home today. Mr. Ed suggested I wait another day or so before putting it back in the water. 

put the foot protector {from the carbon centre board} back on

then wrapped it like a baby in swaddling cloth {sound like an idiot trying to be cool :-) }





















For sure this means dew forms on the bag - we have foggy mornings ...




















When attaching the footstraps some went better than others - was obliged to MarineTex one set :-(


Here is the FIRST test run on the local river with a NorthSails Duke 6.9.
Ideally should have been 8.x, but i donut trust the flimsy mast base...





As I indicated earlier, the deck was slippery where the graphite was applied. Ed, the boat builder, says this is "normal". I was contemplating the application of Chinook ReDek, but was unsure how this would take. Since I also wanted to get a more uniform look... I decided to apply strips of anti-skid tape, which i use in the winter on the snow sleds as well. Here is the final look - just need to test with bare feet on the water now ...


The problem with this "traction paper" is - it is great for winter where there is ice n snow, but in the summer it stays like rough sandpaper for quite some time = danger ... Likes to eat skin - like here: {this photo was taken one week after the "incident"}


Board was sold in spring of 2016

2014 Quiver for various winds in Light Wind Location

Analysis of last year's sessions has shown that I used the long board quite often and the Free Formula not often enough.

I try not to go out unless 20 kph wind is announced and confirmed on at least two(2) sites. Like most obsessive windsurfers, I have too much equipment and yet always seem to be looking for more. When winds get over 20 knots I tend to stay close to shore for safety reasons ...

1) My longboard is a Mistral Equipe I LCS-XR which is NOT a full out race board like the Equipe II, Phantom 377, etc. More like a hybrid that glides VERY well. I call it it MEQ for short.This board will be the most difficult to replace and it is also hard to match modern sails with longboards now.


2) My Free Formula is a BIC Techno Formula/BTF which is 94 cm wide and as such is NOT a Formula board. If I ever need to replace this one, it will be a JP SLW 92 of 165 liters. This was done end of 2014 - sold the BTF in two(2) days and purchased the JP...


3) My large free-ride is an AHD FastForward 160 liter/79 cm. Many good boards in this category. As a replacement I would probably go for a Fanatic Shark 150. Since writing this ... Two people I know very well and work with have both purchased the SHARK 150 LTDs that I recommended to them !! from 2-rad


4) My mid-size free-ride is an older Fanatic BEE LTD of 124 liters, but only 63 cm wide. This range has plenty of great boards, but i look at the Rocket 125 as a potential replacement...


I numbered the boards to show that yes, i have and use four(4) different boards.

My sails (that I use) are also too numerous to count ... I run from fully cambered sails like MauiSails TR-4 10-oh, TR-6 8.4 and an old Gaastra Flow 3x 7-oh down to a non-cambered HotSailsMaui Fire 6.3 that goes on an RDM mast. Since 7.x and 8.x sails are my most used, I have a junker MS-2 8-oh where i removed the cambers + added layers of monofilm tape and a newly acquired North Sails Duke 6.9 that I also mount on the PX RDM 460. For bigger winds and choppy conditions I prefer lighter sails and am tending towards non-cambered now ...
...Time will tell....
(Since I stay under 25 knots, the 6.3 is the smallest sail I use - even in the winter on the ice)

Unfortunately, as a working family man, I don't get to go on windsurf vacations and must go locally when i can... Sometimes that means getting a quick session after work on the local river using the MEQ. And so, I built myself this table to ensure I will NOT get skunked. This year I will bring the MEQ longboard at all times...

announce if less right on if more sails masts fins
20 kph MEQ BTF MEQ 8.4 and 10-oh 490 & 520 trimm
20-40 kph MEQ AHD MEQ 8.4 & 7-oh 490 48 cm
30-50 kph MEQ MEQ BEE 8.4, 7-oh & 6.9 490 & 460 40 cm
40-60 kph MEQ BEE BEE 6.9 & 6.3 RDM 460 40 & 32 cm

btw..
The reason there are such LARGE boards AND sails is - i am NOT average weight,
but rather a heavyweight of over 105 kilos !!
So, it is NOT just due to the light winds !!!

Update: It is now June 2014 and there are some quiver adjustments ... The Fanatic Ultra CAT has been repaired and have new addition -- HSM SPF 8.5 aka HotSailsMaui SpeedFreak 8.5. The FUC board is left at the chalet as my go-to board there. The HSM SPF 8.5 is for the same winds as the TR-6 8.4 except for more choppy conditions since the sail is MUCH lighter... So, 20-40 kph and 30-50 kph will mean bringing BOTH 8.x sails... justin case ...