Surfing Waves

Hello. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve spent 7 years on an epoxy longboard. Tough as nails, though I managed to leave plenty of marks on it.

In October I made the leap to a glass board. It’s a watercooled 9’6”. The shop owner told me they were tough for glass boards. Since I bought it, I don’t think I have touched it once without leaving gouges, scrapes or dings, and it’s needed professional repairs already (“shoulda seen it coming” post).

This might sound like I’m out there ripping up giant waves. But nope. I can wreck up a board on knee high or less. That’s my super power apparently.

There are marks on my board I have NO idea where they came from. Not to mention the one million pressure dents on the deck from my apparently clumsy stomping pop ups.

So I gotta ask, does this come with the territory?? Is this just life with a glass longboard? Or do I actually have some kind of board disability and I should trade it in for an epoxy asap??? Omg.

I am really trying to take care of this board! Honest!

Ouch on your glass board, some as opposed to epoxy are glassed a little to lightly or the foam can be not dense enough to not compress in normal wear and tear. Yes epoxy most times is tougher.

Have you noticed the new iPhone have a glass back, where before it was aluminum? You’ve seen all the cracked front screens, now imagine what’s going to happen. The shops are recommending you get a protective cover. Kind of defeats the purpose of the lighter glass construction, if you have to add weight.
There is a difference between “epoxy glassed” board and a “molded-epoxy”( pop outs like Torq, NSP, Bic and some models of Surftech ) My Southpoint is over 12 years old and not a single ding.

Polyester resin boards get dinged easily just carrying them around or transporting them. One little bang and shatter results

As said, you can have different levels of glassing. My boards are all 6oz+6oz and rock solid. Albeit that slamming them on the towbar when taking out of the car isnt the best idea. But they have very few marks (see 'towbar' however!). I dont look after them with any particular care but I do

- always transport them in proper surf bags, 10mm foam
- store them in the bags when at home and when taking from home to the car etc (you will hit door frames and stuff)
- never lay them on concrete or the road (eg if I return from surfing and need to take off the wettie and there is no grass around, I bag up the board first)

Obviously when you are surfing then things can happen, people run into you, you run into things or rocks etc. But getting a good surfbag and always using it will (should?) help a lot

I had a board that consistently got shatters ONLY on the left rail. Thought it was my knee... nope. Maybe my board shorts button snap.... nope. Found out it was the pin on my watch clasp that was doing it on the paddle.

Personally I like a board with some deck compressions....wax mounds nicely and I feel like Ibget a better connection. Maybe that’s because my feet sink into the s deck every time up.

Longboards whack everything. Hard to keep them pristine. I gouged a tail at low tide on a reef when I sat up....didn’t think the tail would make contact (guess again). All around the front door, the back hatch of my car and a suspect post on the edge of the driveway there are flecks of paint and wax from past altercations. It’s just how it is.

That being said, I have two moulded epoxy longboard and a heavily glassed solid as a rock balsa longboard. Nothing against pu longboards, just found two saupertuff boards I like from the same company (shout out to Jimmy Lewis....longboards that work in good waves) and I like the lightness of these two boards in that they are quick off the mark and light underfoot. The balsa has momentum galore as it is unusually heavy (specifically requested is what the shaper told me)....works in afternoon chop and less than great conditions and has a whole different kind of feeling.....floats differently than either pu or the moulded epoxy boards.....sits down in the water but quite buoyant.

Different strokes for different folks but for longboards, pu to me means allocation of some downtime for shop repair visits.....more reason to have more than one board!!!

Thanks. I’m reassured that it isn’t just me. I had it in my mind there would at least be a few months before I made it ugly...

I have a decent bag for it (not 10mm thick but close). I still worry about it strapped to the roof of the car.

You know how some people are innately more clumsy than others, I was starting to think I better unload this board before there’s nothing left of it. But maybe that’s what they are about anyway. Enjoy them and ride them into pieces

Buttertoes wrote:You know how some people are innately more clumsy than others...

nope. no I don't.

buy a surfboard bag for all your boards, you'd be surprised by the dens and dings from straps, sharp edges, other surfboards, etc...