so i was a bit keen to get in the surf yesterday & left the vent plug out of my hokua x32....i was in the waves for about 30 minutes before i realised

do i leave the board in the sun for a few days, or is there a better way to dry her out?

thanks

I would drill a tiny hole in the end of the tail, stand the board up for a couple of days to let the water drain and for the core to dry out - then epoxy the hole...

The water should be still close to the vent.

Try to alternate sun / shadow, to make the board breath and create as much air movement as possible.
If possible keep the board at 40C (waters moves around easier), but be wary to go over 50C to weaken the board.
insert a wick of paper tissue fanning out the vent to catch the water by capillarity and dry out in the fan portion.

Using a vacuum pump can help a lot: either a true one or a fishtank one (search for info on this here or on standup zone). With a vacuum pump at the vent, drilling holes then may be useful to create a steady air current.

thanks for that, fellas

+1 for Colas

just add - board upside down in the sun of course
and you need to really poke your papertowel wick right in to contact the styro to speed things up. I roll it really tight around a bit off stiff wire to insert, then withdraw the wire. Then use the wire again, or like a bamboo kebab stick , to really stuff it in the hole so the paper is smashed into the stryo. You can't damage things by making the vent hole deeper- but obviously not going as far as the bottom skin of the board!!! Then a nice fan of paper wafting around in the breeze.

Take a while for water to move in stryo so hole in nose or tail is not the go.... = drain where the water got it.