Hi Guys,

Are modern sailboards prone to damage when left in cars/on roofracks on hot days? I know fibreglass surfboards can be ruined, how about sailboards?

thanks

If it's got a bung, and you leave it done up, yep big damage can happen.
Other than that, the finish should be reasonably well UV protected.

It's a bit strange but here lots of boards are left in the sun. Biggest damage is faded paint and dried out straps.

I did recover a super old board left on a roof, it was delaminated. Not sure if it has prior taking on water or its horizontal position was a problem?

I dried out another board, leaving it in a black bag under the sun. The white surface just doesn't get much hot while anything dark gets much hotter!

Temps got so hot inside the bag that the hull paint started cracking like baking, oops! The grip can also lift off the deck.

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Manuel7 said..
It's a bit strange but here lots of boards are left in the sun. Biggest damage is faded paint and dried out straps.

I did recover a super old board left on a roof, it was delaminated. Not sure if it has prior taking on water or its horizontal position was a problem?

I dried out another board, leaving it in a black bag under the sun. The white surface just doesn't get much hot while anything dark gets much hotter!

Temps got so hot inside the bag that the hull paint started cracking like baking, oops! The grip can also lift off the deck.

Sometimes we are too smart for our own good!

Select to expand quote

Sandman1221 said..

Manuel7 said..
It's a bit strange but here lots of boards are left in the sun. Biggest damage is faded paint and dried out straps.

I did recover a super old board left on a roof, it was delaminated. Not sure if it has prior taking on water or its horizontal position was a problem?

I dried out another board, leaving it in a black bag under the sun. The white surface just doesn't get much hot while anything dark gets much hotter!

Temps got so hot inside the bag that the hull paint started cracking like baking, oops! The grip can also lift off the deck.

Sometimes we are too smart for our own good!

Doesn't help with manufacturers coming out with "Black" coloured boards

See plenty of delam in dark coloured boards. even with the vent undone there is a lot of expansion between dissimilar colours and materials so I say bug undone all the time, no sun time unless necessary.

Or just do whatever as I like the repair business

I'm asking because I live in a flat and getting board in and out is a huge pain in the ar@# so I'm thinking I'll just leave the board in the car which is parked on the street. Either that or leave on roof racks.

I'd be more concerned about the gear being stolen leaving it on the roof or in the car.

Epoxy starts to soften at temps above 60?C, hence leaving inside a car or board bag in direct sun being a bad idea.
sciencing.com/effects-high-temperature-epoxy-8590977.html

^^^ No 60 is not enough to cause damage. That's where it starts to soften.
Even at higher temps it softens but returns to normal upon cooling, so a board can be well and truly fine if the car hits 60 a few times.

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airsail said..
Epoxy starts to soften at temps above 60?C, hence leaving inside a car or board bag in direct sun being a bad idea.
sciencing.com/effects-high-temperature-epoxy-8590977.html

Softening can happen with crap resin systems at any point... In general terms though, going soft can happen if the cure has remained at ambient temps during manufacture or someone has screwed up the mix ratio.

Post-curing is a very important part of any lamination process to get max properties from epoxy resin. If the resin has only ever reached 50? during manufacture, if it reaches 65? at a later date, it can soften slightly. If the resin has been post-cured at 70? then it is highly unlikely it would soften at 65?.

One important governing factor why boards are often not cured above 65? is a styrene core can begin to de-gas and breakdown at 70?. When I'm making yacht kit finished with clear over carbon (no shaped core like a board) I post cure at 105? to ensure the resin has been cured above operating temps; in direct sunlight on a 40? day, I've tested black stuff and seen surface temps exceed 90? and go as high as 110?.

All reasons to look after ya sticks when it starts getting hot.

Couple of points here:
1.Boards that are white on the bottom and are left white to the sun do not heat up mine have stayed on the van roof all summer for years and you can feel the board is not hot at all, not true for any dark colour. So I always try to get white or very light colour for boards, you do not need to remove the bung. However the finish does deteriorate over time ie 5 years if you are worried. In a car in or out of a bag the board will slowly heat up heat up to the inside car temperature which can be extreme.
2. Boards on a roof disappear in a flash in some areas unless locked, and also in a normal car it is obvious what is there so you are tempting fate.

I've got a black Exocet board. I live in the UK so heat isnt a big problem most of the time. I'm just careful about not leaving it out in the sun for too long in the summer. A few year ago I put a small pinprick hole in the hull and didnt notice it until I left it in the sun whilst getting changed and saw small bubbles of air/water escaping as the board heated up. I think Exocet have stopped all black colours now. Black definitely heats up quickly. Although I did see a FB post a couple of years ago of a 8 year old black board in the Caribbean still going strong.

About 10yrs ago I had a white board in an orange board-bag in my hatchback, bung out. Unfortunately, on one hot summer Qld day, the angle of the sun to the slanted hatchback glass produced a magnifying glass effect on to the bag near the rear of board. Took the board out of the bag and a section of the board's bottom in front of the fin box, the size of a saucer, had melted and sunk in about 1cm. Amazing what the sun and a car's glass windows are capable of... don't underestimate it.
Footnote: board repaired (did 37kts on it recently) and I am still using it... and the cover showed no sign of heat damage.

We sometimes leave a 118 Excocet out for weeks at a time in Puerto Rico.
But always red bottom up.