Surfing Waves

Hi all,

I recently picked up a second hand board. It has a about 30 or 40 hairline cracks in the top layer of glass all in the same direction across the base of the board on the curve behind the nose over a space of about 2ft.

I called a surf shop and they reckon its stress fractures.

The cracks are hairline but you can feel them. they don't go to the foam as its not discoloured and the stringer is fine.

Will that be safe to surf for a while until i can afford to get the bottom reglassed?

I had a few hairline cracks in a board of mine for a couple months. It seemed to handle it fine, but my paranoia got the best of me eventually and I had to fix it. It was a pain checking the underside of my board every couple waves just to make sure it wasn't sucking up a bunch of water all of a sudden.

It will be fine, the cracks will be in the top hot coat which is only a sanding coat and gives no structural strength to the board. The layer of fibreglass underneath gives the board its strength and also provides protection from water. Providing this layer doe not have cracks in it your board will be water tight.

KS

cool, thanks.

further to this. the board i sold a few months ago has deformed. all down the rail the foam has collapsed. If i didn't know better I'd say the fibre glass and foam had melted and folded over.

I had someone who knows more about boards than me and they said its got "bad foam" and is probably not repairable as the rest of the foam may do the same. He said best bet was to fill it and hope rather than cut it open.

has anyone ever had this happen to them? what causes it?>...

Pics would help us to help you now .......... take a few good ones and post them.

Deformed causes little probably too sunlight exposition

another cause is a non cured board (after lamination process)

more probably original bad foam (just in mold process)

rail is most important part of board, a collapsed rail is unrepairble howewer