Hi! I'm not actually a surfer, but don't let that dissuade you I still very much need help. I am a claims adjuster with a freight company and have a client with a SUP board. Now, this is a company so we have to make money. Naturally, I try not to buy people brand new custom-made paddle boards. That just isn't a good business model.

So my question(s) is/are: is this type of damage from simple wear and tear of the board or does it look like there was mishandling of the board in a move? I've never used a paddle board so I do not really know how susceptible they are to scratching from being used in the water vs being in a lift van and transported several hundred miles. My second question is: how easily can this be repaired? If I can give her a repair allowance so she can keep her custom-made board and just give it some TLC that would be preferable to buying her a whole new board.

Sorry if this seems a little out of place on this forum. I did not really know where else to go. Being as I am in a landlocked state and her move put her in the same boat, there is really no surf repair shop to contact. Plus, you gotta think outside the box a little.

Below are a few of the pictures she sent to me:

That board is definitely a write off. You really need to buy your customer a new board.
In my totally unbiased opinion you know it's just the right thing to do.

More seriously, it is a damage due to a hit on something hard during transport, not normal wear and tear.

It is very easy to repair as new by somebody with some experience. She can do it herself by following tutorials on the web, but it will end up being more expensive as she will have to buy equipement (surf grade resins, glass, various tools) and the result will be visible and lower the resale value of the board. On the actual repair allowance I guess people on this forum can give you a quote (here in France it could be in the 100/200 euros range), but the problem is that she does not want to have to send the board for repairs, as every transport of a board has a risk of adding damage.

I'd be gutted if you only offered to repair the board. Yes it can be repaired but it'll never look as it was and resale will drop dramatically.

I had two surfboards and some fishing rods damaged in a move a few years back. Received new for old on all items.

Replace her board.

Thats a custom made board here in shop that use to be here in hawaii. That definitely got hit hard, not normal wear and tear.

Do the right thing. Replace the board. Your company severely damaged her board. The purchaser did nothing wrong. Doing the right thing IS a good business model. The company that sold the board should be fully supporting their client. I had a Sunova board damaged in transport and a replacement received two weeks later. Stop screwing around.

Bob

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sup808 said..
Thats a custom made board here in shop that use to be here in hawaii. That definitely got hit hard, not normal wear and tear.

Thank you! Is the board shop no longer in business then? I had asked her to put me in contact with the guy that made her board so that would be unfortunate.

I will be pursing getting her a new board since it doesn't sound like a repair is an option.

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FRP said..
Do the right thing. Replace the board. Your company severely damaged her board. The purchaser did nothing wrong. Doing the right thing IS a good business model. The company that sold the board should be fully supporting their client. I had a Sunova board damaged in transport and a replacement received two weeks later. Stop screwing around.

Bob

it's not actually my company that damaged her board. we are a 3rd party tsp that hires agents to move the shipments. they will be charged back for the damage.

obviously Ive asked to be put in contact with the man who made her board and will discuss options with him, but I also like to see all my options. I have 60 days to close this claim and have had it for 3. I have time to see what's out there.

cheers.

thank you all for the responses! I've never used or seen a paddle board before so it was really helpful! I will definitely be pursuing buying her a new board since my goal is to not cheap out on her, but to view all of my options like i would do for any other claim. I simply asked because I found several repair how tos when googling her board and what I could do for her.

First off, every surfer knows some poor soul who has had their board destroyed in transit either by airlines or freight companies. Its always pulling teeth to get them to make good so thank you for making the effort. No doubt that is impact damage, probably from hitting a hard corner. I know it seems crazy, but it is probably write off from your perspective. Patching a board isn't hard, but getting it to look good as new is an art form that takes craftsmanship.
A good surfboard repair person can fix this for $100-$200, assuming you can find one, not sure your location. Finding a good repair guy in Honolulu is easy. Santa Fe, not so much. Rates can vary wildly as can turn around time. Add another $100 to make it an overtime rush job and you won't have to wait too long to get the board back.
If you need to ship it out to get repaired, figure another $400-$500.
Rental cost for a replacement board during the turn around time would run about $300 for a month from Blue Planet, best rate available I know of. If you paid to rush the job, you should need less time than that to get it repaired. Finding a rental place nearby might be harder than finding a board repair shop though. But Blue Planet could ship to you. $400 round trip I think is what that would be.
Even a good repair hurts resale value, usually in proportion to the extent it is repaired. That's another $100-$200.
So I think you could probably make this right by offering her $1,700 USD as a repair allowance.

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allodoxia said..

sup808 said..
Thats a custom made board here in shop that use to be here in hawaii. That definitely got hit hard, not normal wear and tear.

Thank you! Is the board shop no longer in business then? I had asked her to put me in contact with the guy that made her board so that would be unfortunate.

I will be pursing getting her a new board since it doesn't sound like a repair is an option.

www.yelp.com/biz/tropical-blends-surf-honolulu?adjust_creative=dWJMtmYxpd5N5yoyzSuhtA&utm_campaign=yelp_api&utm_medium=api_v2_business&utm_source=dWJMtmYxpd5N5yoyzSuhtA

Tropical Blends is still around. The tricky part is that they contract different shapers to make their boards in short runs and one off orders. I think these were made by Coil Surfboards for Tropical Blends as a short run so you might get lucky and find that they have one in the same size stocked away somewhere.

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exiled said..
First off, every surfer knows some poor soul who has had their board destroyed in transit either by airlines or freight companies. Its always pulling teeth to get them to make good so thank you for making the effort. No doubt that is impact damage, probably from hitting a hard corner. I know it seems crazy, but it is probably write off from your perspective. Patching a board isn't hard, but getting it to look good as new is an art form that takes craftsmanship.
A good surfboard repair person can fix this for $100-$200, assuming you can find one, not sure your location. Finding a good repair guy in Honolulu is easy. Santa Fe, not so much. Rates can vary wildly as can turn around time. Add another $100 to make it an overtime rush job and you won't have to wait too long to get the board back.
If you need to ship it out to get repaired, figure another $400-$500.
Rental cost for a replacement board during the turn around time would run about $300 for a month from Blue Planet, best rate available I know of. If you paid to rush the job, you should need less time than that to get it repaired. Finding a rental place nearby might be harder than finding a board repair shop though. But Blue Planet could ship to you. $400 round trip I think is what that would be.
Even a good repair hurts resale value, usually in proportion to the extent it is repaired. That's another $100-$200.
So I think you could probably make this right by offering her $1,700 USD as a repair allowance.

My favorite part of this job is getting to research what can be done for the service members honestly! For one, I get to learn a lot about things I don't know about - like boards! - and it's a little like clue. Gotta find out who done it, how, and why. Plus this way I don't have to hassle the member with an inspector because I can ask good people online. If it hit something and broke that means somebody didn't package something right and that is a problem. I feel bad because they just moved across the country or sometimes across the globe and now some of their items are ruined and they gotta mess with the claims process which is equally as frustrating if not more so, but I try my best to make sure everyone comes out a little happier than they were before.

I am in the midwestern part of the U.S, so there is just no way I could ask her to ship her board again to a repair shop just out of fear that it would get repaired and then damaged again. Plus $1700 is about what she is asking for, for replacement, so that is what I will be offering her.