Damaged Daggerboard on Topper

[richmarsh]

Hi,
I'm looking for some advice please. I dropped my sons Topper daggerboard and have broken a chunk off of the top corner and I would like to repair it (photos attached). Thankfully the leading edge is undamaged. I believe the daggerboard is made from Polypropylene (PP) but I seem to be going round in Google searches trying to find a strong Epoxy glue suitable for PP that is waterproof. A lot that initially look promising aren't suitable for PP when you read the data sheets. I would appreciate any guidance and advice please. Many thanks.

 

[richmarsh]

Photos attached...

 

[VicS]

Polypropylene , like polyethylene , is almost impossible to glue.

But it does not look like polypropylene to me. I don't think it would have broken like that just by being dropped,. It looks like a harder more brittle plastic.

Two solvents I would try In an inconspicuous place to see if either would dissolve it. MEK and trichloroethylene, but you won't have the latter.

Otherwise I'd be hopeful that an epoxy such as Araldite would glue it ( slow setting not the fast setting rubbish).
A white polyurethane adhesive such as Sikaflex 292 or Puraflex 40 or hybrid such as Stixall or CT1 might make a less visible repair.

 

[dunedin]

According to the Topper Sailing website yes the daggerboard is moulded in polypropylene.

The challenge may be that the front corner is important for strength, particularly if run aground.

 

[B27]

I think I'd consider a metal fastener of some sort.
And plastic welding.

 

[jwilson]

Virtually nothing gives a strong bond to polypropylene and absolutely nothing glues polyethylene. If had to fix this I'd probably buy another daggerboard. Otherwise drill long tapered holes to put in very long thin S/S screws, and maybe try melting the crack edges together.

 

[VicS]

According to the Topper Sailing website yes the daggerboard is moulded in polypropylene.

The challenge may be that the front corner is important for strength, particularly if run aground.

In which case the only satisfactory solution will be a new one.

 

[Gsailor]

I would drill and attempt to fit dowels and if there is space fabricate and fit stainless side plates too - assuming a second hand board cannot be bought for less than the price and time required to repair.

 

[ashtead]

I would have thought a Topper owners assoc might have adverts for secondhand boards or indeed tired old toppers once used by seascouts say with mast issues where you can buy a non sailing version for parts with a trolley and sell on what you don’t need for spares?

 

[oldbloke]

In the authentic PBO tradition, glueing and screwing followed by keeping an eye out for a cheap second hander would be the way to go. However the photos seem to show a clean unscratched board sticking out of a very smart kit bag. In which case I suspect that buying a new one is the only sensible option, not least because no-one is going to buy a smart racing Topper with a bodged board or one that is too knackered even for the scouts.
Fortunately, by racing dinghy standards, they are not too outrageously expensive

 

[DanTribe]

I have often been asked to repair grand kids RS Teras and Fevas, both polypropylene.
I've had some success for small repairs with West G-Flex. It seems to bond a bit better than standard epoxy and remains slightly flexible. It's a bit worrying when the instructions tell you to prepare the surface with a blowlamp!
No good for larger repairs, replacement seems to be the only way.

 

[Boathook]

The only way to repair is to heat glue it together which is easier said than done.
I would try to align up well and drill some small holes through both sections so that they can be doweled together. Whether a superglue would do the gluing or some other thing like a clear flexible adhesive would have to be tested. The broken edge does seem uneven which helps in my view. Once glued the dowels (stainless steel pins) can be driven into the drilled holes.
Its a 'bodge' but should work. @VicS in post 3 has mentioned some suitable adhesives.
If your son is into serious racing, I suspect that he will be looking for an undamaged one, such as new ....

 

[ylop]

Hi,
I'm looking for some advice please. I dropped my sons Topper daggerboard and have broken a chunk off of the top corner and I would like to repair it (photos attached). Thankfully the leading edge is undamaged. I believe the daggerboard is made from Polypropylene (PP) but I seem to be going round in Google searches trying to find a strong Epoxy glue suitable for PP that is waterproof. A lot that initially look promising aren't suitable for PP when you read the data sheets. I would appreciate any guidance and advice please. Many thanks.

You won’t find a reliable method with glues. There are some products that claim to work or PP but I’m sure for such a large structural part it would fail after not too long.

Plastic welding is possible but that is a big old chunk of plastic so will not be easy to get a good weld. I think the suggestion of long stainless screws from the top is your best structural solution and then I would go round the joint with a dremmel and grind out 5 mm on a 45deg chamfer from both parts (it may be easier to do that with a knife or plane before fixing the two parts together as sanding soft plastics is a pain). Then plastic weld the two halves together - if you can get the sort of corrugated staples they use for car bumper welding you could insert them with heat too. Before you do the final weld. Then you would want to trim and sand back to shape. It will take way longer than you think. You will watch people do it with a soldering iron on YouTube and think it’s simple but quickly discover that it’s tricky even with a proper tool and overheating your white plastic will leave you with permanently scorch marks. Even if you have good tools, as a beginner it will look rough. I’d maybe see if you can find someone who repairs kayaks etc who already has the tools.

 

[richmarsh]

Thank you so much everyone for all of the advice. What a nightmare. I will see if I can get hold of the glues suggested and brill and pin, but ultimately I will have buy a new one. Expensive mistake for Dad!

 

[Refueler]

OK ... stupid idea - but what about making a replacement in marine ply ?

OK - maybe Class Assoc racing may prevent such - calling for original.

Actually thinking about it ... its probably too heavy in ply ....

 

[oldbloke]

OK ... stupid idea - but what about making a replacement in marine ply ?

OK - maybe Class Assoc racing may prevent such - calling for original.

Actually thinking about it ... its probably too heavy in ply ....

Actually plywood would be lighter, Topper daggerboards sink

 

[VicS]

Actually plywood would be lighter, Topper daggerboards sink

If it is polypropylene it should float.

I still dont believe it is PP but that it is a hard plastic which it is possible to glue ... the question is what plastic ?

 

[B27]

If it is polypropylene it should float.

I still dont believe it is PP and that it is a hard plastic which it is possible to glue ... the question is what plastic ?

It may be like a Laser Daggerboard, which has steel wires embedded to reinforce it?

I imagine a pure 'plastic' centreboard might bend too much when you stand on it to right the boat.

BTW there is a Topper centreboard on ebay right now
Topper Dinghy, Rudder and Centre board. | eBay

 

[Skysail]

It may be like a Laser Daggerboard, which has steel wires embedded to reinforce it?

I imagine a pure 'plastic' centreboard might bend too much when you stand on it to right the boat.

BTW there is a Topper centreboard on ebay right now
Topper Dinghy, Rudder and Centre board. | eBay

On the Topper website it says the rudder and daggerboard are polypropylene.

There may of course be added fillers… with an SG of 0.97 it would not take much to make it sink. I remember them as being much heavier than a wood equivalent.

 

[Neeves]

Your son will forever suspect his loss of first over the line, by 2 secs, was the bodged centreboard. You want to encourage him.

Go and buy a new centre board.

But use it as a lesson for you son, underline in the nicest possible way - competitive sailing is not cheap.

Good Luck

Jonathan