Hey guys!
Hope everyone out there is having a great summer with lots of water time. Buying a good quality SUP paddle board and surfboard is an investment no doubt. So make sure your cherished board stays water worthy for years to come.
A couple things can take your beautiful shiny new paddle board and turn it into a garage ornament. First is the "ding." Now our N2 Adventure Series SUP Boards are built to withstand hard paddle strikes, the inadvertent oyster bar, log, concrete structures, and or rock. We reinforce these boards with a thermo-plastic shell making them extremely durable and ding resistant. But for traditional fiberglass epoxy paddle board and surfboard construction you need to be more mindful of how you transport, store, and play with these boards. Our beautiful real wood bamboo fiberglass epoxy carbon fiber constructed Cardiff & Sessions paddle boards for example are light weight durable and great performers in the water, but they need a bit more care then our Adventure Series.
If a ding goes unnoticed or unrepaired for a while the result can be the board taking on water into the eps foam core. We use high quality "closed cell" foam in all our boards to mitigate water absorption into the board if a ding does occur, but you still want to repair dings ASAP. If you can't get to the repair right away, at least put about three layers of packaging tape over the ding so you can keep playing and keep water out, but don't over do it! If water is absorbed into said board it can cause weight gain, soft spots in the board, and not to mention also possibly aiding to the board delaminating. Delaminating in paddleboards and surfboards is when the fiberglass layers become unattached to the inner foam core of the board causing a bubble to appear in the area that has delaminated. Delaminations can be repaired but is usually a more costly repair then your average ding. Left unrepaired delaminations can grow causing more damage to your board.
So make sure you check your paddle board and surfboard for dings after every outing and get them fixed right away!
The second biggest killer of paddleboards and surfboards is UV and or heat damage. When you leave your fiberglass epoxy board out in the sun when not using, the interior temperature of the board can soar. NEVER NEVER leave your board out in the hot sun when not using in the water. Now if you're at the beach all day with your board, that's ok but just temporarily dip the board in the water to cool it off. Also a good idea is the prop the board on it's side, SEE PIC BELOW. This way there is less surface area facing the direct sun. We like to do this by proping our SUP paddle into the board like seen below. Same goes for surfboards if at all possible. And remember never store your board outside in direct sunlight. If you have to leave outside find total shade at least for your board, trust me!
Lastly make sure you thourghly rise your paddleboard and surfboard off with fresh water if you have just used in salt water. Over time salt can deteriorate anything it comes into contact with if let to sit. I religiously rise my boards off after ever use in salt water, so it's a good idea for you to get into this habit too!
A great way to mitigate inadvertent storage related dings to your paddle board is with our high quality N2 SUP BOARD BAGS. They are also great for transporting your board on top of your car on long distance trips due to the top UV reflective coating. That brings up another good topic...DO NOT leave your epoxy fiberglass board on top of your car when you're not transporting to and from the water, this is a great way to cook your board in the hot sun. Overcast skies and cool weather it's ok to leave up on top for a couple hours max, but then watch out for board thieves, so make sure it's locked someway!
Ok guys just a couple tips for taking care of your new paddle board and surfboard, see you on the water!
