Any ideas on repairing minor damage to a Mirage Drive Turbo Fin?

About every four months, I seems I inflict minor damage to my front fin by nicking it on something solid while cruising or beaching (despite having my peddles mostly split and using small flutter strokes in every occurrence.)  I’ve never abused them to the point of bending a rod, just flexed the tip of the fin enough that the rod punctures through the side, leaving it sticking out (see pic).  I’ve tried to reinstall the fin without repairing the hole, but under normal peddle loads the tip of the fin flexes enough that the rod will poke through the holes, leaving you with a deformed fin the rest of the day.

So, has anyone ever tried to patch the small hole that is created by this type of minor incident?  If I could buy just a replacement fin, I might not worry about repairing a damaged one.  However, you have to buy the rods with the fins and it not a good value for money for equipment that I’ve been able to make fail so easily.

Thanks.

You can try to use a flexible epoxy to fill then tear. I had something similar happen to mine (not quite as bad as yours) and I filled it with Marine Goop. It's held up well.

Also, there are places that still sell just the turbo fins by themselves, but you may have to dig a little.

Granted this is the red/black version, but you can buy individual fins at kayak shed. Call and talk to Langston (Langcod) and see if he can get you some standard color turbo fins without the mast.

http://www.kayakshed.com/hobie-kayak-gear/ST-turbo-fin-single-replacement-red-black

what works really good is a quality bike tube patch kit.

I was cruising down the river a few days after I got my Outback and hit bottom. The rod punched a hole through the mirage drive turbo fin.  I repaired it with marine goop. The repair seemed to hold up well.

Single fin, no rod:

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/816/Hobie-Mirage-Turbo-Fin-Replacement.html

Thanks gents. I'd never seen single fins for purchase before.  I'm going to try the bicycle patch method to salvage my old fins and buy a couple new ones to pair up with the extra new rods I have sitting around.

I use a six by 1 1/2 inch piece of gorilla tape and run it down the front edge of the fin. It absorbs the damage and can be replaced when needed. I have not found any degradation in fin performance. 

I think a dose of AquaSeal urethane repair adhesive would do it.  Maybe paint a layer or two of AquaSeal onto a really smooth glass surface and allow to completely dry.  Then peel it away from the glass giving you an AquaSeal patch.  Now, lightly scuff up the area around the damaged part of the fin.  Clean off the area really well with rubbing alcohol and allow it to dry.   Paint some AquaSeal onto the scuffed area of the fin and allow it to dry to tacky, do the same on your premade patch. 

Once both are tacky, stick the patch over the hole and press firmly to get solid contact between the two parts.  You could also then make a larger patch out of bike tubing and do the same paint/tacky/apply with it to your already done fix. 

AquaSeal is some tough stuff, yet flexible

I use a soldering iron and basically plastic weld it back together. Works great. If it's really bad I will add some material using the rubber off the top of the strap on the pedals.

I do the same as Noah - melt the hole back together. I've used this method more than once and it works well.

Noah, sherminator…what an easy solution, thanks!  Took me 30 seconds to weld them; the stuff melts and fuses easily; see ‘after’ photo below. 

I use every bit of my foot straps for my bulky winter neoprene boots, so I got some extra material by taking a thin shaving from the end of each fin with a carpet knife blade. Didn’t change the profile of the fins, don’t think it’s even detectable in the photo.   Thought about harvesting material from the original non-turbo fins that came with the boat, but they’re not made of the same plastic.  Again, nice solution, thanks!

I use a six by 1 1/2 inch piece of gorilla tape and run it down the front edge of the fin. It absorbs the damage and can be replaced when needed. I have not found any degradation in fin performance.

Do you fold it around the leading edge giving 3/4" on each side of the fin?

I use a six by 1 1/2 inch piece of gorilla tape and run it down the front edge of the fin. It absorbs the damage and can be replaced when needed. I have not found any degradation in fin performance.

Do you fold it around the leading edge giving 3/4" on each side of the fin?

Yes, it works great. I haven't torn a fin since.

Wobbler

I use a six by 1 1/2 inch piece of gorilla tape and run it down the front edge of the fin. It absorbs the damage and can be replaced when needed. I have not found any degradation in fin performance. 

That is a great idea Steve!. Cheap preventative measure, will be doing that.