I've only just noticed but the deck is starting to go soft where I stand? I noticed it when board was on Roof Rack and I could see concaves where my feet go? I can push it down with my fingers. I brought second hand so out of warranty but I thought it would last better than this being a premium brand. I need to have a good look but once this starts its means the fibreglass has started to delaminate. Bugger!

I'll post some picture later but has this happened to anyone else?

Here is a shot of deck. Any comments would be appreciated
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I have had 3 Allwaves... all of them have slight depressions where I stand. I was a bit concerned at first.. but it has never worsened, leaked or any other bad out come.

I believe it is just an initial compression of the foam beneath your feet... not a delam or anything.
It seems to find a happy place and settles there.

I like to think of it as a slight lowering of my center of gravity.

I would say....No worries mate.

^^^Agree - I've got a custom that was built for (ahem) a 'heavy' SUPer. Initial 'settling' of the area where I normally stand, but over the past 6 months it hasn't worsened or created issues.

Same with mine. Some slight depressions initially, haven't got worse.

thanks for the posts. I guess its just what happens although I have not had any such issue with my Bark Dominator or my Fanatic Falcon which I have used heaps more (100+) times for flat water training but I guess it not as much stress when flat water training on the standing area.
I thought they normally put another layer of support under where you put your feet , I know they do with windsurfers.

I've got a 12'6" fly, the standing area on mine went soft after 18 months, I'm not a fat bastard, only 70kg, contacted the importer, he told me to contact the place where I got it and they could tell me how to fix it

All my allwaves have little,comfort bumps where my 106 kg stands. They dont appear to get any worse with time, and in all other respects the allwaves are super tough. My sly dog on the otherhand, has completely caved in on the deck making it impossible to surf properly. It started compressing then got worse with every surf. Was a magic board up untill the deck went.

My Allwave's perfect! I just sit at home and polish it every day so that when I sell it second hand I can still get big heaps of money for it. . If you don't use the board you won't have that problem guaranteed!!! Every board I have ever owned and surfed on has had the same issue. McTavish, PSH, NSP and SUPATX. Go figure if you use a board often, there will be some wear and tear. That's why I decided not to SUP surf my Allwave, so that it lasts forever without any damage!!!

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Leroy13 said..

My Allwave's perfect! I just sit at home and polish it every day so that when I sell it second hand I can still get big heaps of money for it. . If you don't use the board you won't have that problem guaranteed!!! Every board I have ever owned and surfed on has had the same issue. McTavish, PSH, NSP and SUPATX. Go figure if you use a board often, there will be some wear and tear. That's why I decided not to SUP surf my Allwave, so that it lasts forever without any damage!!!

I have holed my Allwave, Broken my paddle, etc so I understand ;-) but I feel that the deck should not start becoming soft. I have a 10 year old Fanatic Xray windsurfer and the deck is as good as the day I brought it. There is definitely something sub standard about the construction of the deck area on the Allwave I have.

My Fly did this after half a dozen uses. They don't seem to be getting worse but not the best quality boards IMHO.
I bought a JL M14 at around the same time as the Fly. The JL has had more use than the Fly and it is still rock solid with zero depression of the deck.

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brusier said..

Leroy13 said..

My Allwave's perfect! I just sit at home and polish it every day so that when I sell it second hand I can still get big heaps of money for it. . If you don't use the board you won't have that problem guaranteed!!! Every board I have ever owned and surfed on has had the same issue. McTavish, PSH, NSP and SUPATX. Go figure if you use a board often, there will be some wear and tear. That's why I decided not to SUP surf my Allwave, so that it lasts forever without any damage!!!

I have holed my Allwave, Broken my paddle, etc so I understand ;-) but I feel that the deck should not start becoming soft. I have a 10 year old Fanatic Xray windsurfer and the deck is as good as the day I brought it. There is definitely something sub standard about the construction of the deck area on the Allwave I have.

My apologies Brusier. I"ve had my cranky pants on since I found out I need a hip replacement at 55 after I've already had a laminectomy. I blame Rugby and especially Kiwi's (It's all your fault Tia and Todd, those surprise tackles at BBQ's and Hangi's , I think I mam have started that tradition, just they did it a lot better). Allwave SUPS-As long as their not leaking it's not a problem. Brusier It's life today, quality goes down prices go up. They pay about $200.00 to get them made OS and charge us $1500.00 Seems fair. Get a custom next time, at least you know your'e paying a dude in NZ or OZ. All the Team riders and agents will now get up on their high horses and talk R&D now. All of which was done 20 to 30 years ago on short boards (thrusters, Quads etc and is just now being applied to SUPs.) Difference is they're paying 12 year old Thai kids or 8 year old Chinese kids to do the work. They'll all say no that's not true and show photo's to prove it, but what about when they're not there?? In the end we are all guilty as we fuel the demand. I love my Allwave, but I'm either going to buy a custom wooden board from a guy in Coff's or a custom Simsup from the US. Not because I feel guilty about ripping off 3rd world countries but because I can be assured of the quality. You're boards from years ago were probably made in a country were they were'nt getting ripped off and the quality of materials was better because the bottom line wasn't only main priority. Judging by the cars that have SUPS on them there is a bit of money about for them. Can you blame the Baby Booming owners of the companies identifying a wealthy niche market and then exploiting it!!?? That's how they work My main whinge is that unfortunately they don't put much of the money back into the sport Heaps of excuses none of them verifiable. Brusier, the deck shouldn't be soft!!! Send an email to Sebastian Wenzel see if he responds!! Who knows?? He like all the big companies has people to deal with issues like that, quite often in a positive way! Let's face it as long as you can enjoy your property on Maui and travel the worls whenever you want who cares. It doesn't help when for some weird reason people think second hand SUPs should still be worth over a grand?? It's got me beat!! I gave my SupATX to a mate ( I can use it whenever I want) and I gave my 10'2" PSH paddler to my sister. Share the stoke, don't whinge, don't be avaricious. I'm just happy to be on the water doing what I love best!! thanks Huey. Karma will catch up with the moguls eventually. I just wish they would support the sport that is making them so much money. Not just the shop owners but the kids that are the future of the sport!!

Got a 10' Fly which I have had for 2 years and no problems with it so far. (He says touching wood).

Also have 8'10" Allwave since Xmas '12 and it is great as well. Solid build and nice board to surf.

Only weigh 72kgs. Daughter now rides Fly and she loves it. Can't speak highly enough of Fanatics.

Wow, lots of comments re board construction and general thoughts on the state of the industry! I think I will not get another Fanatic but try something else.

My short list is an Exocet Fish 8 11 by 32 at 145 litres it should give me plenty of floatation and last just as long as my allWave has! Next would be a C4 Mark Richards Pro model 9?2 x 29.5 x 4.0 19.8 lbs. 130L if I can handle it and then maybe a Coreban Fusion 9?0? x 29 1/2? x 4 1/2?.

depressions under the feet are not an issue in my opinion, as long as there is no delamination, i.e. it is OK as long as the skin stays attached to the foam. I even begin to like them, it helps keeping your feet on the board in heavy chop, and provide welcome positioning aids.

In a nutshell, if the deck is just recessed, but still firm, no worries...

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colas said..

depressions under the feet are not an issue in my opinion, as long as there is no delamination, i.e. it is OK as long as the skin stays attached to the foam. I even begin to like them, it helps keeping your feet on the board in heavy chop, and provide welcome positioning aids.

In a nutshell, if the deck is just recessed, but still firm, no worries...

How can it depress without delamination? It fundamentally implies some sort of delamination and It shouldn't happen if made properly IMHO. I will try another brand and see if I can get a better deal I think!

I know other guys that have had top brand boards that the deck has depressed on and the supplier has replaced the boards without much hassle at all, one even had a standard build board and they replaced it with a carbon,It could be that every so often they get a bad batch of blanks or because they produce so many boards you are going to get the odd dud that slips through, but it looks like it comes down to the distributor as to how they deal with it, some are better than others.

Problem is I brought second hand. I might mention it to importer to see what they say?

One issue it causes is that water pools in the depressions. It also feels a bit weird underfoot. An even deck feels better underfoot, especially when you move around. I've never even had a PU surfboard get such large depressions in the deck so fast as my Fly.

I might have to email Fanatic customer support and see what they can do although I am not sure what they could do to fix it! Watch this space

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brusier said..

How can it depress without delamination? It fundamentally implies some sort of delamination and It shouldn't happen if made properly IMHO. I will try another brand and see if I can get a better deal I think!

Delamination is when the skin separates from the blank. Depressions means the blank has shrunk and stay this way. As long as the skin stays attached to the blank in its new shape, there is no delamination. And in my experience, it can stabilize stay this way for years without issues. If the skin moves under the touch (I guess what the OP meant by"soft"), however, the board is delaminated and should be repaired / replaced.

Depressions happen normally on boards that have a very light blank and a flexible sink (i.e. thin, non-sandwich). The nice side of these boards is that they give some flex in the ride that avoid the corky, bumping in chop, feeling that surfers hated with the first epoxy surfboards. Note that the board as a whole is still very stiff (the skin does not stretch, especially is the skin is in carbon), so keep its shape in turns, but the skin flex provide a more pleasant ride.

Depressions on a PVC sandwich board are probably a factory defect, however.

Hey Colas, thanks for the details. I never considered it was depressions in the blank. However it is a standup paddle board, I would have thought that they would put something under the standing area.

I guess they anticipate a 2-5% defect rate and account for this. I just wish I hadn't got one of the 2-5% !

I was looking at these and thought I would check out the website for info. most manufacturers show the construction in detail but all they state is a 'High Resistant Skin', at least you wont get electrocuted

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brusier said..

Hey Colas, thanks for the details. I never considered it was depressions in the blank. However it is a standup paddle board, I would have thought that they would put something under the standing area.

I guess they anticipate a 2-5% defect rate and account for this. I just wish I hadn't got one of the 2-5% !

Nearly all SUP brands reinforce the standing area, but as always it is a compromise: make it perfectly stiff and you run the risk of being heavier, and maybe introduce a weak point at the junction of the reinforced area with the front zone. And the more complex the construction, the more expensive it comes... Most people (me included) will be attracted by cheaper and lighter boards rather than ones staying perfectly flat underfoot. My windsurfing boards never had depressions, but they cost nearly 3 times as much as my SUPs... I'd rather have 6 boards than 2 :-)

Also, building boards, even "production" ones is still a very manual process, with a lot of possible differences in boards. Some defect rate is unavoidable, thus the advice to buy your boards with a reputable brand / shaper / shop (which I guess Fanatic is) that will offer good support, not just any businessman that bought a container of generic shapes and may not anticipate the need to keep enough spares for warranty replacements.

@colas I would rather have one board made properly (like my 10 year old Fanatic X-ray) than a poorly made board like my Allwave. It sounds like you work for a board manufacturer or similar and have a good understanding of the process. The thing is the Fanatic Allwaves are supposed to be a "premium brand " but it appears that they use to be but are now just like all the others chasing the SUP $$$$

Shame on you Fanatic for letting the standards in your construction process drop so a 2012 board is delaminating only after 20 -30 uses.

brusier, does the skin moves under the touch, or is fixed in its new position? If fixed, there is no delamination and no durability issues.

If you really want your next board to not get depressions, try to get an explicit warranty on this point by the shop, because most brands will consider it "normal wear".

PS: depressions happened on none of my PVC sandwich boards, except the lightest one (7.3kg with pad + fins for a 7'10"), and on all my simple glass or bamboo + glass ones. But none have delaminated. On the other hand, people had delamination by just 15mn of exposure to the sun...

Bruiser - what have Fanatic said to you or the shop you bought it from?

feel free to bring it out to me bruiser i will look it over for you, its a easy one to determine if its a delam or not

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Slab said..

Bruiser - what have Fanatic said to you or the shop you bought it from?

I have not done anything yet as I brought it second hand? I cant be bothered with any stress.

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boarder paul said..

feel free to bring it out to me bruiser i will look it over for you, its a easy one to determine if its a delam or not

Cheers Paul.

Thats normal. you cant expect to stand on a foam based board for a length of time and not have them compress. all of my boards (from different manufacturers) have the same compressions. look at a surfboard...you only stand on it for say 5 minutes per session and they end up with heel and foot dents.