Back a couple of years ago I discovered a few holes in the board, dried it out until reached an acceptable weight of 15.5lbs or 7kg.
Repaired and moved on. Lately, it felt a bit heavier again.

Opened up the tail, a couple of drops of water came out, let it in the sun and quickly no moisture was present (paper towel check).
Now, no matter how long I leave it out in the sun, it won't drop a single gram. The board is around 16.5lb or 7.5kg. Specs show 6.6kg.

1. Is it possible that moisture is still trapped inside after being in the sun for so many days (even had it in the bag but it burns the finish).
2. Do you advise drilling holes around suspected areas (where repairs where done back then)?
3. I realize that the vacuum pump is best but wouldn't the sun works just as well just taking longer? (we have lots of sun here )
4. I'm done with the board and looking for a replacement around 86-90L (Tabou Pocket, RRD Wave Cult, ...)

People used to use a board spinner. Sometimes water gets stuck in the eps. Drill a hole in the tip and tail and wait a couple months.

Guessing 6.6 is around 14.5 lbs.
Traction pad gotta weigh a lb including glue.
Do we know if listed weight includes inserts, boxes, and vents?

My '10 Starboard Q 76 weighs 14.2 lbs with straps, pad, mast base, fin boxes and 4 fins, on a certified USPS scale.

My JP Wave 251 weighs less, with straps, fin mast base, and pads..by a bit more than 1 lb. Too light for my skillset.

I've seen exact same models under 16lbs fully equipped.
My other boards are lighter fully equipped with mast base than this one naked !

If you fixed everything then you probably now have a stuffed footstrap insert or cracked box. Usually best to put it in the sun and look for water from all those places before drilling the hole.

Maybe you got a Monday/Friday board?

Or a Cobra board.

and drawing it out is always going to be better ...... paper towel wick speeds it up ten-fold

So if its had saltwater ingress over the years, could it be salt build up causing excess weight?

No water coming out anywhere, no salt residue, heavier than previously dried out.
There's nearly 1kg or 2lbs of extra something in it.

Last time I could see oozing and salt crystals shining from humidity. Even through pads.

Then the water isn't where your holes are.

EG: recently I tried to dry a board that hard a major bottom delam, and mast track has sunk. Big crack in deck at front of mast track. Very overweight. I know the feeling

Holes drilled into deck around crack, paper towel wicks, in sun in 40deg C (plus) for a week with the damaged area down..... and no change. Very strange - this has not happened to me before in many many board dryings

In frustration the owner said leave it heavy, just vac the bottom back on. As I drilled holes in the bottom I was getting water. Tons.
Even though the damage was on the deck, the water had sat on the bottom sandwich for a year and then a week was not enough to move it. So we can't go making swiss cheese every time, but I think that might be your option. Find the wettest area with exploration drilling, then wick and gravity and sun....
(I got a kg out of that board now)

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olskool said..
So if its had saltwater ingress over the years, could it be salt build up causing excess weight?

can't be bothered doing the math but if its 3.5%, you'd need about half a tonne of seawater thru it to leave 1kg salt...?

Ok thank you, don't care about the board so.... Revived it long enough to get a couple of years out of it!

Eps is like a maze of millions of air pockets the water gets trapped. Drilling and wicking gets a token amount out near the holes you make. Leaving in the sun just warms the board, not enough area for it to evaporate out if a few small holes.
Cut the whole bottom off leave for a few months the longer the better. When lighter glue the bottom back on.

Just order yourself a cheap chinese milk pump, shown here:
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=34297.120

You than adapt a syringe to fit to the tube connectors, because the head of the syringe usually fits thight in a 4mm hole, see below.

Then drill ONE 4mm hole near the area where you suspect the water to come in and do repeated drying cycles:
1. Put the board in the sun, close vent crew, apply vacuum, about 30 minutes
2. Open vent screw, the pump sucks out the vapor out off the board
3. repeat for one day
4. turn around the board repeat the procedure for several sunny days
5. Try to apply the syringe to the vent hole by e. g. using O-rings etc., close the drilled hole with a piece of tape, repeat.
This only works with a heated up board, so the water evaporates!
No risk of blowing up the board due to the vacuum, though.

At the first days you'll find water in the trap/pot.
When the board is getting more dry, the vapor leaves through the trap without condensating.
I got my boards to original weights several times i tried this method.

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AlexF said..
Just order yourself a cheap chinese milk pump, shown here:
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=34297.120

You than adapt a syringe to fit to the tube connectors, because the head of the syringe usually fits thight in a 4mm hole, see below.

Then drill ONE 4mm hole near the area where you suspect the water to come in and do repeated drying cycles:
1. Put the board in the sun, close vent crew, apply vacuum, about 30 minutes
2. Open vent screw, the pump sucks out the vapor out off the board
3. repeat for one day
4. turn around the board repeat the procedure for several sunny days
5. Try to apply the syringe to the vent hole by e. g. using O-rings etc., close the drilled hole with a piece of tape, repeat.
This only works with a heated up board, so the water evaporates!
No risk of blowing up the board due to the vacuum, though.

At the first days you'll find water in the trap/pot.
When the board is getting more dry, the vapor leaves through the trap without condensating.
I got my boards to original weights several times i tried this method.

Currently out of stock. Macro must have ordered the last one for his cows.

How about building a centrifuge, drilling a hole at each end then spinning the board at a moderate speed. Perhaps attaching something at the ends to capture water coming out to measure progress.

^^ so like the first reply here

could work with macro's cows too....

Just checked the center of gravity of the waterlogged naked board. It's right at the edge of the front pads.

Funnily enough, the center of gravity of my other fully equipped boards is actually ahead of the front pads by a few inches or 10-15cms and that is with straps and fin installed! Only my quad is a bit farther back right at the edge of the front pads.

My basic deduction is that there's about as much water left over as the straps and fin/fins weigh! (which matches the 2lbs)

And again the only leak I found this time was from the hole I did back then right at the tail.

The scientist in me would like to find some logic.

If the water came in then why doesn't it want to come out this time like it did last time?

If salt water got in it and then you tried to remove it, as the top layer evaporated it would leave behind salt that could effectively cap off the remaining salt water preventing it from getting out using a wicking technique. If this is the second time, the old salt plus the new salt could of reached a critical amount.

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Mark _australia said..
^^ so like the first reply here

could work with macro's cows too....

apologies, totally missed that one

Like in a softener salt tank?