Looks like I?ve got a leaky handle. I recently realised my board has felt heavier every time I use it, so put it on the scales just now and it is well over 13kg. I believe it should be under 9kg.
Do I have to assume the extra 4+kg weight is water?
When I pick it up with the handle I can hear air escaping. And now looking closely there seems to be cracks around it and moisture ? hard to tell because its all covered by the grip pad.
I have trouble understanding how that much water could possibly get into the board from the top?
Have I left it too long and is the board now beyond repair?
Its now just over 12 months old so I assume there would be no warranty cover but for what it cost me, I am now not very happy with Fanatic even though it is awesome in the surf.
Any advice from you experts would be much appreciated.

I had a leak in my handle... but it was limited to the handle cassette.

Sounds like you have slowly sucked in some water.... bummer.

Take it to a reliable SUP repair person. It will have to be dried out... which may take some time... but the repair itself should be very simple.

If it was me... I'd just take the handle out completely... leave it in a warm place to dry (may take a few weeks).... then I'd just install a new handle and patch the deck pad with some cool design around the handle.

You want to stop using it immediately... before it starts to delaminate with all that water in it. Keep out of the sun and heat till someone removes the handle.... you don't have a vent plug in that board.

I would also install a handle that includes a self venting plug... just in case there is some trace moisture left after the repair.

Good luck with it

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EToriginal said..
I have trouble understanding how that much water could possibly get into the board from the top?

Simple: Imagine the board in the car on on the beach, quite warm.
Put in in cold/cool water, the depression will be huge, it will be sucking air big time to compensate from the loss of pressure inside.
If there is a crack in contact with water at this time, the board will suck in huge amounts of water into far parts of the blank.

See: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Water-leaks-in-Starboard-boards/

Getting (most) of the water out is possible, but be prepared for weeks of drying time: See the reference: www.boardlady.com/water.htm
The sooner you act, the more water you will be able to get out.

Like supthecreek said, this is why you want to choose brands enclosing fin boxes and handles into waterproof closed-cell (e.g: PVC) foam cassettes.

Me, I now just reinforce preventively the boards with no such foam encasing of the handle. (I inject resin + microspheres on the side of the handle + 3 layers of carbon patches on the deck over the handle ledge: see www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=74921 ). I know that with my 100kg, most production handles with a stringer will crack, but it will seldom happen for a 70kg guy. (the stringer keeps the handle stiff while the skin at the side flexes under the feet ==> shearing forces that will crack the skin at the handle ledge)

Thanks so much colas & supthecreek. I guess I have to keep out of the water for a while then.
How does the water get out of it now? Should I be storing it upside down?
Should I bite the bullet and cut out the handle now? Don't like my chances of finding a professional repairer around here, but guess I'd better start asking around. Don't think I'm up to doing myself, but might have to

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EToriginal said..
How does the water get out of it now? Should I be storing it upside down?
Should I bite the bullet and cut out the handle now?

If the handle is anchored in a stringer, taking it out is not worth it IMHO. Just open the skin on the sides.

When there is a lot of liquid water in there, just let it drain with the hole down. Warming the board will help (in the sun, you may protect by a sheet from the direct sunlight to avoid overheating). Most of the water will come out this way if it was recent.

When, began the long wait: put bits of paper napkins in contact with the blank, fanning out the board. water will wet the tissue by capillarity and will evaporate on the "leaf" outside. It is slow but surprizingly efficient, given enough time. you can use a vacuum pump, but be ready for the noise for weeks...
In any case, optimal results are reached by keeping the board around 40C, where water molecules are more mobile.
I was thinking of encasing the ding in a taped plastic bag with some de-hydratizing salts to capture water more efficiently but I didnt test it. May be mandatory in wet climates.

Do not be too angry only towards Fanatic. Most brands suffer from this defect, but people do not realize it before it is too late. But try to shop wisely from now on and buy only brands advertising a proper handle reinforcements and waterproofing. Note that the care taken for these details is what makes good custom boards more durable than the mainstream production boards... and what can make SUPs made by surfboard shapers with with not a lot of SUP experience problematic.
What is strange however is to have these problems on Windsurfing brands (Fanatic, Naish, Starboard, ...) you'd think they would have mastered the art of reinforcements with their years of experience on mast, straps, & fin inserts.

Thanks for all your advice Colas.
I guess I just have to forget about the surf for a while now (it's damn hard when I can hear it all day)
It will be a long time before I can afford to buy a new board (unless I get a job!), but looks like I need to start saving.
I got the fanatic because it seemed to be very popular on this forum.
Now I think I need to get more specific advice from the real experts like yourself. What brand/s would you recommend yourself?
My fanatic allwave is 9'6 and I'm starting to think I can go smaller. My weight is 90-91kg
I do like the idea of the windsurfing ability of the fanatic (although I've only used it a couple of times in the 12 months I've had it)
I believe naish have this ability but they seem to be even dearer than fanatics.
But at the end of the day if a board lasts a lot longer then its worth the extra $$ I guess.

few quick things, i just weighed a new 9'5 HRS fanatic and it was 11.5kg so i would doubt yours was 9kg. Has it got a new ledge handle or one of the older types handles?

Some of the early ledge handles would leak water but they are a sealed box so it would just sit in side the handle but never get in to the board which is why i ask, other wise is there any sinking of the deck around the handle as i am wondering why it would have cracked to even let water in?

Jacko

Bit of topic, but if this happens often, does anyone have an easy way to check if it is leaking??

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RRK said..

Bit of topic, but if this happens often, does anyone have an easy way to check if it is leaking??

See: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Water-leaks-in-Starboard-boards/

soap water in the handle, 3 minutes in the sun: if it bubbles, time to repair!

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paul.j said..
few quick things, i just weighed a new 9'5 HRS fanatic and it was 11.5kg so i would doubt yours was 9kg.

Or... you may want to do a soap-bubbles-check on your board :-)

Note that for most brands the original weight varies a lot between boards. 10% more or less than advertised weight is common.

Paul J - I never actually weighed it when I bought it, but it was damn light, and I'm sure the advertised weight was 9kg at the time.
Don't know about type of handle - the board is supposed to be 2013 model?
It now weighs probably close to 13.5 kg, I don't need to do a soap bubble check - I can actually hear the air rushing out when I pick it up with the handle. And I now notice there is actually a hair-line crack showing where a bit of paint has chipped off in the gap between grip pads.
I emailed the retailer I bought it from today and at first they just stated that "fanatics never have this problem - they've only had the problem with a couple of naish's". Then this arvo I got email from owner of store who wants to discuss with me. So we'll see what he says.

Paul J - yep there is something strange about the area around the handle - seems to be a bit loose / delaminated? Whatever that means

Best thing to do is take it back to the shop where you got it from and they will be able to help you foresure in some way, even if it is just working out what to do!!
Does sound strange as i have sold alot of allwaves and never had a handle leak in to the board only one or 2 with the ledge handle which leaked into a sealed box.
On the weight Fanatic as far as i know have never advertised board weights and 9kg seems to light for a HRS allwave.

I just stood on the scales with my 9'6 2013 allwave and it came in at 11kg if that is of any help (btw scales are not what you call a precision instrument)

my 12'6 sunny king pro (27 wide) came in at 13kg

checked my 9'2 on bathroom scales out of curiosity last night too - round 10.5kg still in cover etc, so air80 you are probably on the mark.

i swear it is waaaaay heavier carrying it back to the car after a 3 hour paddle though

I was sure I saw the 9kg figure somewhere when originally researching it all. Anyway, I never did weigh it but it certainly felt like half the weight of the old clunker it replaced - that weighed nearly 16kg. At least I guess the "good news" then is that now it is 13.2 kg it's only got 2.2 litres of water in it instead of 4.2kg! It is dropping in weight now that I'm not surfing, very slowly. You're right mazdon, it does feel very heavy walking up that long track after 3 hours at Springs beach here.

Happy ending to this story - in case anyone was wondering ...
After a few weeks of emails, photos, phone calls, and missing out on some nice surf, I'm happy to say all is now good.
I have to commend the retailer (Ocean Addicts - Luke) and Fanatic for their understanding (eventually).
I now have a nice new 9'1 to attack the waves with - where are the surf gods now though?? - not at Agnes Water presently..

good to here gives others the confidence to go big brands and not skimp on cost... Happy Allwaving

ET..... glad it worked out... enjoy!

good case for a quiver.... keep surfing when 1 board is out of commission

Great news ET you must be stoked. So the big question... How much does your new one weigh?

I just re read the whole thread. Thanks to Colas and Supthe' for all the great info and advice.

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supthecreek said..

ET..... glad it worked out... enjoy!

good case for a quiver.... keep surfing when 1 board is out of commission

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Rory4053 said..

Great news ET you must be stoked. So the big question... How much does your new one weigh?

I just re read the whole thread. Thanks to Colas and Supthe' for all the great info and advice.

Gentlemen, If I may be so bold.
This is not ET. I am ET.
This person is an imposter.

ET

Sorry ET, (talking to myself again?)
I have been known as ET since my mid teens, 40+ years ago, but yes, I know, you were first?

Anyway, yes I did weigh the new baby, and it is 10.8kg.
So yeah, don't know where I got the 9kg figure from.

Have learnt a lot in the past 12 months since taking up this incredible pastime (thanks mostly to the helpful people on this forum)

I would love to get a "quiver" together, but probably need to get a paying job first.

In the meantime, I got my new baby yesterday arvo and have already done about 2 hours yesterday evening and again this morning for another couple.
I was a bit anxious dropping down from 9'6 to 9'1, but it was awesome. Probably could have dropped another 4'" ?

ET (the 2nd?)

Sorry chaps but Andrew Ettinghausen is ET no1...

...unless either of you crazy SUP'rs played footy or hosted your own fishing show?

Rory

Phone home.

Hi EToriginal,

We're just back from the Fanatic dealer meeting and we got to ride all of the new SUP's on offer. I ride the 9'1" mostly as it is the demo model we have in our store and have always wanted to surf the 8'11" thinking it would be a better size for my 92 pies. Whilst there I had to change my thinking of SUP sizing.

I always figured I'd never surf the really low volume boards but had the option to try the really small ones too. I managed to paddle out and catch waves on even the 7'11" x 31 Allwave at just 110 litres. I was really surprised and it surfed great even with only 18 litres in my favour. Trim was a lot more critical to staying upright but it was much easier than I thought. Rethinking my approach to sizing now .... Still love the 9'1" and 8'11", but have a more open mind to other smaller performance boards.

DM

Hey Colas
Just read the whole thread. Your advice re the leaking board was great. A very easy way to test if you have a leak around the Handel or anywhere else around the board.
Cheers oldboy.

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Oldboy52 said...
Hey Colas
Just read the whole thread. Your advice re the leaking board was great. A very easy way to test if you have a leak around the Handel or anywhere else around the board.
Cheers oldboy.

I second that :) My 9,10 feels a bit heavy and I will do the soap test on it, seems like the easiest and quickest solution. BTW have any of you guys tried this board with a sail? (My shop recommended to try with a 5-6 m2 sail). Thanks, Niels

Nielsklitsgaard, I haven't windsurfed for about 20 years, but I got a 5m sail kit for my 9'6 and have had a few goes on it.
only tried in small surf, but had a ball once I got the feel of it all again. I cannot even dream of water starts (only using uphaul) but my 9'6 was well and truly ok.
I did have to fit a big 10 inch (cheap) fin though - otherwise it literally goes sideways in any sort of decent wind (20+ knots)
Haven't tried the new 9'1 yet, but I feel it will be ok