My surf partner found a crack near the tail of his Naish Mana so I took a close look at my Rant and sure enough I had a 3 inch crack near the nose on my Rant. Then my Brother looked at his Laird and sure enough he had a crack near his tail on the rail. None of us remember hitting anything. And all were easily repaired but am curious if this is common with standup surf boards.
Think of it as a kind of "normal" caring of boards. Regularly inspecting them for cracks, and not stressing about them, just repairing them regularily.
With time, it will feel just like oiling the chain and changing brake pads and tyres on bikes.
Dings are nothing unless they gobble water for long undetected. So a quick check after each session is a good discipline. Pay special attention to cracks around the handle.
Some boards are (much) more ding-resistant than others (PVC sandwich ones, kevlar rails, ...), and dings are often just bad luck, but... that's life!
It is very important to weight precisely your board while still undamaded, so you have a weight reference to check against if you suspect water entry later. Each board has different weights, you cannot rely on the manufacturer published weight (if any) for this.
Could those cracks be where your tie down straps are?
I've seen many cracks in rails caused by too tight tie down straps.
For the crack on my Mana rail, its in the back corner right under the writing 8' 10". No strap ever put around there, or pressure on tip/tail from strapping. This is my second crack. First one developed up on the nose where Todds Rant just got one.
But, i have also put this board through a lot, so i have NO complaints and am very happy with the durability and performance. Like Colas said, just repairing and getting back out for some abuse.
Yeah that makes sense. Who knows what kind of stress the board gets when it gets caught in a closeout. I always wondered when I strapped my board to another board with different rocker how much stress is applied during long drives to the coast.
Sounds like it might be a either paddle damage or leash?
Get a bit of ding stick onit to seal it up and then get it repaired properly once you have a few more.
Good point re the tie downs. That may have affected my board. So how do you seal them up. Is there a prev thread I can check?
A good way to prevent damage from tie downs is to have some padding on your racks, this helps secure the board better without having to tighten the straps too much.
Also maybe consider the straps you use, the wider the better to spread the load.
I find Puka patches a great quick fix to keep you on the water. As soon as you notice a crack or chip just stick one on. They go on wet or dry and are instant. Worry about a permanent repair at a later date.
Check out the Puka Patches here - www.briskites.com.au/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1255
Thanks for that. I have a temp fix already bu the Puka patch looks great!
I was hoping that someone had some advice on how to fix without going to a repairer.
I found that Solar Cure fixes almost anything quick. Always have some in my gear.
Best to get it professionally repaired though. I paid $80 for a rail crack repair (after dropping it)
Worth it though to get a proper finish
Yep Solarez works wonder, if you are careful:
- sand all the parts that will be in contact with the resin, otherwise it wont stick.
- apply just enough Solarez, no excess, protected from UV (glass stops UVs)
- apply a flexible PVC tape on the repair, so that it shapes perfectly the repair, wipe off the excess resin. This is mandatory as if Solarez is in contact with oxygen when curing, it will stay sticky. Push well on the tape to make the resin penetrate the ding.
- put in solar light for 3 minutes
- peel back the tape... perfect repair!
Ok great thanks SY and Colas.
I'll def get a quote before trying to fix myself. Cheers for the product tips.
Rory
Oops forgot to mention that it must be CLEAR PVC tape, for the UV to reach the Solarez.
