I've replaced the goretex plugs in my Carbon Art boards with the Chinook screw type vent plugs available locally. Never liked them much and one has now collapsed.
ive searched the internet with no success. where can I source a plug - I mean the female part - similar to what is standard fitting to most boards?
or suggestions on how to DIY one?

Try surf sail Australia. They have a huge supply of bits N pieces.

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Madge said..
Try surf sail Australia. They have a huge supply of bits N pieces.

yep, but they sell chinook. But I think they are the real thing not a cheap copy.
Where did you get yours from Rob? I've used lots from there and only had one problem years ago, when the seat had a moulding edge there and didn't seal. And this may have been a cheap copy from somewhere else, don't remember, too long ago.
But I've never had on "collapse", what exactly happened?

Check Flikka Boards website. As a custom brand they also sell a lot of stuff to build and repair boards. Vent parts are available too.

Mike, Madge, yes I got the plastic Chinook ones from SS. They are crap.
I want something I can use my SS screws in
checked out Flikka, they just sell the goretex vents

Maybe I could just tap an M8 thread in a block of metal and epoxy that in. Would epoxy bond properly to aluminium, brass, stainless?

Drill a bigger hole and use a self cutting thread insert maybe?

Yes, that might work. Put it into some ply, then into board.
I found something similar in brass here surfinggreen.com.au/products/bio-plastic-goretex-vented-leash-plug

The Flikka female gore tex vent part is the one below. You can also drill a bigger hole and bond this into it the board or use the self cutting thread. Both should work. Have fun

You know what I think about goretex vents, I wouldn't advise using them!

So you just want the insert that the standard vent plug goes into......and the one from Surf Sail failed?
I've never had one stuff up. Anyway they're available all over the place but I bet they're all the same source
They're pretty easy to recycle from old boards if you want free n easy

I THOUGHT the ones from SS weren't the same, they come with a plastic screw and don't sit flush with the deck. I was using a standard screw in mine, which is probably what buggered it. Top picture is what I had. But i just checked SS's list and it looks like I'm an idiot, I simply picked the wrong plug, bottom photo looks like the right plug. Will order tonight

yep bottom one is what I use.

Stretch. I went an got custom plastic screws machined up from west turn in Mandurah. Work awesome as I have never trusted gortex vents after having a few fail. Can sort if you want some.

Thanks Crasher, sounds good. Unfortunately I just ordered a couple of the correct Chinook plugs

I agree - Bottom one is the go

I'm interested in this as I've got a newish board that came with a goretex vent. Basically the advice is leave it alone. But... That doesn't sit easy with me. Is there some maintenance I should do (aside from rinsing around the area to prevent salt build up), how do you check it's still ok, should I replace it periodically...???

I never had Gortex but sounds like a possible nightmare www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Vent-plug-leak?page=1
I also wonder how people fix serious board damage with Gortex on. I always removed the standard plug when doing any sandwich work to avoid any potential air pressure. How the hell one can remove Gortex.
I think best plugs I had were on older 2007/2008 Naish boards and some boards built by Flikka/Horue where the screw is super thin. I think that all regular/standard air plug fat screws all eventually leak a bit.

If you intend to keep it goretex don't touch it. The top cover breaks of 70% of the time if you try to unscrew it. My problem with them is, once there is any moisture inside the board, they no longer breath. And I've repaired a few, well made, boards with blown bottoms. The most likely explanation, I came up with, was a clogged vent.
I would always do what Stretch has done, replace with a standard bung.

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leto said..
>>>>>
I also wonder how people fix serious board damage with Gortex on. I always removed the standard plug when doing any sandwich work to avoid any potential air pressure. How the hell one can remove Gortex.

The ones I've seen unscrew, but you need a very thin socket, and you have to be very careful the load goes on the base of the plug otherwise you snap the top cover off.

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I think that all regular/standard air plug fat screws all eventually leak a bit.

Not if you replace the o-ring regularly

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musorianin said..
I'm interested in this as I've got a newish board that came with a goretex vent. Basically the advice is leave it alone. But... That doesn't sit easy with me. Is there some maintenance I should do (aside from rinsing around the area to prevent salt build up), how do you check it's still ok, should I replace it periodically...???

If I had one (and I won't) I'd rise every session or two and leave upside down. Replace every year as you can't see the membrane - well, not enough to make judgement if its OK

and +1 to everything Decrep said

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decrepit said..

leto said..
I think that all regular/standard air plug fat screws all eventually leak a bit.

Not if you replace the o-ring regularly

agree, though I think a lot of people don't.
if you only loosen and tighten from sail to sail, you really don't know what's going on. The recessed head naturally accumulates sand, which then gets in and destroys the o-rings pretty quickly. I keep a bag of o rings in my van and I go through them fairly quickly.

I also completely remove the screw between sails now rather than just loosen it. It forces you to keep an eye on the o ring.

a better design would be a narrower diameter hole (like Leto suggests), flush with the board so it doesn't want to accumulate sand and water, and a proper rubber washer that will last a bit longer

So a newbie vent question . Saturday I sailed with the vent screw loose. Discovered the error while on the water but couldn't tighten it by hand. The screw is the second image in Leto's post, with an o-ring.
I removed the screw on shore and have keep it out. It's been very humid in the 2 days since. How long should I keep it off to dry out?

Stuff some very absorbent material in the hole, leaving a few centimetres hanging out. Leave in the sun with the vent at the lowest point. The heat will drive the moisture to the hole and the absorbent material will wick it out to the atmosphere. Replace absorbent material daily, when it comes out dry, you're right

Nice, thanks Decrepit!

I have a non-gortex vent screw with an O-ring, remove after each use, before I screw it in I always use some saliva to wet the O-ring, that keeps O-ring from wearing. Used to grease O-ring with silicone grease, but it wore off over time. Also made sure the recess was burr free using some sand paper wrapped around a chopstick, learned that from someone here. The recess on my Goya Bolt looked smooth, but was black and so hard to tell, after sanding it lightly and removing the black paint realized there were some burrs/high areas on the sidewall. Also replaced the stock thin O-ring with a thicker one that makes contact with the sidewall so it now has two surfaces to seal against, the bottom and sidewall.

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decrepit said..
Stuff some very absorbent material in the hole, leaving a few centimetres hanging out. Leave in the sun with the vent at the lowest point. The heat will drive the moisture to the hole and the absorbent material will wick it out to the atmosphere. Replace absorbent material daily, when it comes out dry, you're right

Might be an obvious question but... Board upside down?

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musorianin said..>>>Might be an obvious question but... Board upside down?

I did say vent at lowest point! That's not going to be the right way up surely

I was told by Goya staff to turn board upside down and put in the sun, guessing because water vapor rises and then diffuses out the vent hole. Right side up and water vapor would get trapped in the high ends of the board.

^^^ huh? Vent in the bottom on your one?

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Mark _australia said..
^^^ huh? Vent in the bottom on your one?

Yeah, that is a bit of twisted logic, to clarify: water vapor rises to the highest part of the upside down board and then diffuses downward through the vent hole.