Hi guys,

we have just bought our very first SUP boards and am wondering what are your "must have / must do" to help care and protect for your board? We bought hardboards, not inflatables in case that makes any difference to board care.
I have heard a little about rail tape, nose guard / tape and paddle tape / guard.

We are both beginners so am looking at rail and paddle tape - any suggestions? but didn't think about the nose guard / tape until I saw it in a video about someone showing how to put the rail tape on. What about board care after use, cleaning and storage - so you guys take fresh water with you or wash down after you get back home, I presume you must dry it off before putting it bag in the board bag? do you zip up the bag or leave it open when its not being used?

Sorry for all the questions, we have just spent quite a bit (as you all know) and want to make sure we take good care and can make it last as long as possible etc

any tips would be greatly appreciated

cheers
Grant

Rail tape is a must RSPro is good, for the paddle just put electrical tape around the edge of the blade and nose tape if you feel the need but not as essential as rail tape. Wash your boards with fresh water at the beach or at home as long as you have a stand for them, Autobarn have good ones for $50-60. Dry them after washing and store in your bag or you can build a rack system on your wall and store them out of the bag.
Some say never store in a bag but I have been doing it for 3 years and nothing happens but it can also depend on what brand you have, some paint jobs are better than others.

- direct exposure to the sun is the main thing to avoid for all the gear because of the heat buildup and the destructive power of the UV. Of course you cannot avoid the UV while using it, but keep out of the sun otherwise.

- avoid any contact to hard surfaces: be careful around stairs, doors, fences...

- sand in the bag can act as .... sandpaper, do not put sand in the bag or remove it (brush, water)

- keeping the board in a hot and damp place can unglue the pad and for painted boards, create blisters in the paint. keep the bag open for 1' - 2' to let the board dry. I keep my boards in bags in the van all the time and did not have issues.

- rinsing the board is not needed, but if you do, you must dry it before putting in a bag, otherwise mildew will set in. Salt protects from it.

- always inspect for any crack before putting in the bag. Repairing a hard board is very easy, but water getting into a crack / dent will be very hard to get out, if not impossible, and will slowly destroy the board. Inspect the board on the water after each impact of your board to something (your body, rocks, other boards), and get out as soon as you see something suspect. This way, boards can be used for decades, even with some repairs from time to time.

fantastic info, thanks Dave and Colas really appreciate itI'm sold on the rail tape and will be getting the RSPro (I found an old post in here about rail tape and most people recommended RSPro)
The info about getting sand inside the board bag is really great, thank you ... its kind of obvious now once it gets pointed out to you but I didn't even think about that before.
Thanks also about the stand from Autobarn to help washing down the boards once home ... we will pop in and have a look at what they have

thanks for the tips, much appreciated

These are the stands available and they have rubber across the top.

For all my gear (boards, kites, paddles, foils etc) I use a damp chamois cloth. I wipe down wet boards or paddle then put them in their bags.

If there's any grime on a bag I wipe that too. It's not a super cleaning regime, just a bit of a wipe and into the bag. That's enough to keep the gear clean and to reduce the amount of gunk that gets on my car.

The chamois cloth gets rinsed out from time to time, if I notice it being grungy, or if it's in the tub when washing wetsuits or whatever.

For kite surfing I carry a little brush. If my gear is sandy then I broom the sand off before putting it into the bags. I can generally avoid sand because there is grass at most of the beaches I use.

if you have a vortex vent, check that its working now and then.
I checked mine after around 1 year -not working- replaced.

I actually just wipe down my boards and paddles with a towel after each paddle. Get a sock cover for your board if you payed over a 1000 dollars. Also your paddle will likely fail at the connection or handle, very rarely on the blade,
Wash and dry board before storing. Rail tape is also recommended.
Beware rocks. the most common board problems i see is when boards are stepped off of on rocks near the shore.
Enjoy.

I have stopped using full board bags long time ago. I only use a Victory top to protect the board when sunny. Once or twice a year, I use a mild cleaner to remove the grime from the bottom (whenever I paddle close to the city).

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lukemin said..
if you have a vortex vent, check that its working now and then.
I checked mine after around 1 year -not working- replaced.

How can you check ? I usually just wash

Gboots to check the gortex vent put the board out in the sun after it has been in a cooler place and put water in the vent area, you will see air bubbles as the board warms up

Thanks Lukemin . I will give it a go. I assume if you see air bubbles it means it's working ?

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Gboots said..
Thanks Lukemin . I will give it a go. I assume if you see air bubbles it means it's working ?

Yes you want to see bubbles.
It may be easier to see if there's bubbles by spraying the vent with soapy water ( dish washing liquid ) just as you check a gas bottle connection. Of course you still need to place the board in the sun

I'm new to sup too. The base of my board (Naih Nalu gtx) is like a mat plastic skin, so I gave it a coat of armorall, which it soaked in. The gloss on the board top and side I gave a coat of auto wax; I also did the paddle. I know it protects the paintwork on a car.

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urastus said..
I'm new to sup too. The base of my board (Naih Nalu gtx) is like a mat plastic skin, so I gave it a coat of armorall

mat is actually faster in the water, glossy finishes "stick" to the water.

Best care for a board is keep it out of sun as much as possible, nothing much else is necessary. Just get out on the water with it.

awesome thanks everyone .. great tips and advice to help us care for our boardsThanks for the pic Dave, we'll grab one over the weekendThanks very much for the tip about the vent Lukemin, much appreciated.Hope everyone gets some good conditions on the water over the weekend

From one who does repairs:

For god's sake don't use rail tape. If you smash it properly one day, it is a total pain to remove the tape and the repairer will charge a LOT more.
Just tape the paddle blade edge and last 4" or so of the shaft with electrical tape. There will be video's showing how (one by DavidJohn here... I think...?)

If you put a hole in it, do not delay, get it out of the water and hole side down immediately. Stryo core sucks water and those not used to it (like surfboard types) don't realise that. When home, dry it will well a wick of rolledup paper towel in the hole (hole side down again) in the baking hot sun for a few days at least.

Goretex vents are not maintenance free as they tell you. A board will pop if left in the sun with no venting ..... or implode if dropped into cold water with no venting.
I hate the Goretex ones, I'd rather go manual..... but if you have one, rinse it with fresh water very regularly so salt crystallisation does not block the membrane, and replace it every year before summer.
If you have water in the board from damage, it will never totally dry out and the the Goretex will no longer vent - so ask the repairer to install a normal Cobra style plug when fixing the board.

Interesting about the vent. New Starboards don't even have a vent

Anyone got advice on changing goretex vent plugs. On my board it required a special socket, plus i broke the new vent, they are stupid fragile and expensive. Best left alone unless it fails the vent test.

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Mark _australia said..
Goretex vents are not maintenance free as they tell you. A board will pop if left in the sun with no venting ..... or implode if dropped into cold water with no venting.
I hate the Goretex ones, I'd rather go manual..... but if you have one, rinse it with fresh water very regularly so salt crystallisation does not block the membrane, and replace it every year before summer.
If you have water in the board from damage, it will never totally dry out and the the Goretex will no longer vent - so ask the repairer to install a normal Cobra style plug when fixing the board.

Thats quite exaggerated (a polite way to say lots of bull).

Board renters leave the boards in the sun all day, and they do not explode. Nor they implode when put in the water. Of course you should avoid doing this, as it will definitively shorten the board lifespan, and there is always a risk of delamination, but come on...

Gong has been using Goretex vents for nearly 9 years now, and is selling thousands of boards each year. Defective vents are extremely rare. However, forgetting to re-screw a manual vent is nearly unavoidable (speaking from experience). Plus each time you use a manual screw you risk creating a leak through the joint.

Goretex vents will actually help dry boards (but a tiny amount), as the inside moisture will get out of the vent in vapor form. This is why goretex vents were designed for in the first place: getting moisture out of electronic enclosures.

The only documented issue I know of a non-defective goretex vent was race boards put in a plane, deck down. They had some water in them from previous dings, and the water pooled on the inside of the goretex, blocking it. Plus the boards were close to a heath source (an engine I think), so they delaminated.

Colas I am going off much experience as a repairer of older boards with much use...... of course it works when new and first couple of years. However there is a lot of failure when the vent is older. There was a lot of uptake when they first came out in USA, now a consensus amongst most custom manufacturers over there is they will not use them. Salt crystallisation on the membrane over time is a real thing and if left unchecked will ruin it. The membrane itself is fragile and many I have seen about 3-4 years old the membrane is fractured for no reason, its just old.
I also live where its routinely over 40deg C and in a car or on roof a board will hit 70C

Goretex themselves say they they will not vent if there is moisture on both sides of the membrane, and I have seen a test performed by a very knowledgeable windsurfer here that proved it. Your example above also proves it.

I did one repair where the board was now sealed well of course, and I told the customer to replace the vent as it was a few years old and may not be working. When he put in the water the board sucked in 2" deep concaves either side of the stringer. It certainly did not vent and there was no way at all to tell if it was venting.

All I am saying is they are not set-n-forget like they are marketed as, and beginners don't understand water inside, venting styro cores etc.
Often manual processes are the best as it always works. Its not hard to put the vent where it will be seen like right next to the handle.

But if you have Goretex wash it in fresh water often, replace the whole assembly now and then (which is annoying as the top cap is silly) to avoid issues. $20 for peace of mind.

I know that all my boards are venting perfectly right now. If you gave Goretex you have no idea if they are. Like the man with 2" concaves..... which was a terrible thing and I feel for him BTW

Mark how can Starboards get away without using vents at all ?

Of course you need to rinse the vent with clear water from time to tome (I'd say twice a year), as it is instructed by board makers anyways.

Note that a good trick is to store your boards on the side. The salt thus do not pool on all the surface, and you avoid having a film of water blocking the vent. Especially if you have the vent at the bottom of the handle!

A good property of the gore tex vents is that they balance the pressure. This way if you have a ding on the water, the board will not suck in immediately liters of water like a board with a screw-in vent in days where the water is colder than the beach, and thus the board is under negative pressure on the water.

Gboots, the skin of SUPs is much tougher than surfboards, so they can stand more pressure difference. And starboard kind of fuses the beads together close to the blank surface to make it mnore waterproof in case of dings, this may help.

The real drawback in my opinion of gore tex vents is that, in theory, they can bring water into the board in hot and humid climates (or inside as hot wet bag): the water vapor can go through the vent, so get inside and be trapped in the blank. But I did not notice it, and I weight my boards to the gram.