I'm a new, but enthusiastic SUPer and after renting SUPs a few times just purchased my first board, a 10' Evoke Bamboo, from The Surfboard Warehouse. Through no fault of theirs, the board arrived slightly damaged with two minor chips / dents on the underside. I was really keen to go SUPing this weekend so I'm now torn... TSBW will send a replacement board one I return the damaged one, but that may mean being boardless through 2 more weekends! I'm interested in feedback: is minor damage inevitable in the long run and should I just keep the board, see if they'll offer a discount of something and tape / repair the board or is it better to summon some patience and get a perfect board from the get go?

A second part of this I guess is whether or not I should be concerned about the water proofing / structural integrity of the board.