I am about to pack three boards for international travel. They will be traveling as unaccompanied baggage along with six sails, two booms and three masts (yikes!) It's going to be expensive as it is so I'm keen to minimise board damage.
All the boards have bags so I was going to remove the footstraps (to make more room in the bags), wrap the boards in a few layers of bubble wrap and place them inside the bags. I'm not sure whether this will be enough to protect the rails from damage however.
Has anyone got any tips on packing boards so as to prevent damage?
What I have done in the past is to get some 3mm MDF and cut into the shape of the board then section it and attach the "sections" with webbing. This enables it to be folded up when not in use. I then lay this over the bottom of the board and tape to board and use that pool noodle closed cell foam on the rails.
I also have some sheets of those aerobic matts folded in half and cabled tied together and slip over the nose and tail,it's the same materil as the noodles.
Downside is it add's weight.
when we receive boards at Windforce and Auswind they are wrapped in 1 or 2 layers of bubble wrap then a piece of cardboard runs around the entire rails and last of all they a placed in a very snug fitting cardboard box
thats all and there are very few that are damaged, but i don't know exactly every step of the boards journey so no guarantee's
I ship a few boards country and I normally add some bubble and rail protection in addition to the bag. it does depend on the quality of the bag.
Wrap two layers of bubble around the board. Then get some double wall carboard and cut it into long strips 15-20cm wide. Score the strips down the middle with a phillips screwdriver, bend the strips along the score. Then tape the strips to the bubble along the rails. You may need to cut some slits in the carboard for a snug fit around the curve of the rail. if the bag is thin you can add sheets of carboard to top and bottom.
if the bag is tight you may need to add the packing around the bag as it may not fit inside.
The other option is to double bag the board if you have a larger board bag as well.
You can buy PVC plastic right angle strips from the hardware store. They are about an inch in width, and 2.4m long. You then use tape to tape it against the rails for the whole length of the board.
If you can be bothered, you can cut notches in it to let it curve around the rails better, or use a heat gun to soften it up while you bend it.
If you don't cut the notches or heat it, it will take up more room, and near the nose and tail, it provides a bit more protection this way.
One year I didn't do this, and got a huge crack in the rail...
I always protect the rails on the largest board (in a double board board bag combo), using some closed cell foam that I got that is shapped to fit around the rails). The larger board provides some protection for the smaller wave board, it all comes to 20kg, in a custome double bag, Done about 10 + trips this way without problems.
I once forgot the rail protection and got a ding!
Man you rock! I am leaving Bermuda in few months and I will bring my gears with me and I was struggling too on how to pack my 145. Now I have clear view!
Just remember that the luggage handlers are more likely to rest the board on its nose or tail, so make sure there is enough padding there.
Have you left the rails unprotected around the footstrap area?
I have had one board damaged on the tail, and another damaged on the rail just behind the rear footstraps.
It's two layers of bubble wrap all over with single layer of cardboard or the rails amidships. Had trouble squeezing this all into a pretty tight board bag. If there was more room in the bag I would had added more. Protection on the nose and tail is six layers or more (very thick).
NeilPryde heavy duty board bags...I've broken enough NP gear to know most of it is worth avoiding but their board bags are the business. Just got back from a trip to WA, took 2 boards didn't even wrap them at all apart from a towel/wetty around etc around the nose of each...sweet as. They also have square sides as opposed to just sewn together so if you wanted you could fit a HEAP of stuff in them. I know this probably doesn't help you now but worth considering for the future.
RE what you've done, looks good but i'd make sure the cardboard covers the entire rail if your bag is at all suspect.
I reckon its most important to protect the planing area of the board, and the rails from about midway back. The rest of the board if it gets dinged ain't a big deal. Bubblewrap+cardboard sandwiches work well. I reckon those plastic corners someone suggested would work too, but you would still want something like bubblewrap. I usually cover the bottom with one of those really cheap 10mm foam camping mats for good measure.
Definately cardboard rails from nose to tail, decent strong cardboard like a fridge box, in hawaii i watched all boards being thrown from the plane onto the tarmac , some were landing flat (mine luckily) some on the tails and rails
, plus make your own nose and tail cone from something good!!
I recieved a board couple of years back and it had 2 fork lift fork holes in it, best way to send board is in a box with styrene spacers on rails, bottom ,top so the board doesn't contact the cardboard at all.
What i reslise while traveling, the heavier the bag, the heavier they will drop it. So if it's light enough for one person but heavy, if they take it from the tol of the shelf they will drop it on nose or tail, if they can carry it on their heads they will drop it from there. Check if it cost to ship more by 3 bags or just one big bag, i would prefer seperate lighter bag.