Surfing Waves

There have been some nasty looking cracks on the the bottom of my surfboard since I've had it, are they worth fixing or is it better to simply ignore them and let nature take its course?

The dimensions are 9'2" x 22 1/2" x 2 3/8". Being so thin it is easy to see how it cracks, but I have only thus far taken it out in small stuff.


(The leash plug is ugly but it is solid as hell)


These are a few funny ones on the underside.


Probably the worst, as it links up to one of the FCS plugs for left sidebite.




Does it need repairing by a professional (price?), can it be done at home or simply left?

It can be expensive to get the cracks removed. I know the local repair guy here sands the cracked areas down and opens the cracks up and brushes styrene(a resin thinner) into the cracks and then lays some light 2 oz cloth over the cracks and reglasses. You can also spray an acryllic clear spray finish into the cracks. The idea is the sparay will penetrate the cracks and help seal it up so water does not get into the cracks and damage your board by weighing it down and yellowing the foam and possibly delaminating the glass.

Leave it, they will be fine. Cracks in the sanding coat are nothing to worry about. Remember the board has layers of glass underneath the sanding coat which will be water tight and it is highly unlikely that those cracks will penetrate through to the foam. You spray some laquer in but its really not worth it.

KS

Thankyou for the advice, that is interesting about the styrene, I guess styrene attack works both ways (in that it could be used to melt the resin on PU boards).


The cracks look quite deep, (especially the one adjoining the fin plug). Is it likely that they have penetrated the glass mesh as well? - I tried bending the board to see if they would open, but it was a bit stupid so I stopped.

No it is not likely that they have penetrated the board. They don't look at all serious to me.

KS

I agree with the comments to ignore it. I had a 9ft hobie that had a a load of cracks on the underside. I took it to a local shaper for their assessment and the verdict was leave it. As long as they don't go through to the foam you're fine. It doesn't look good, but the repair looks worse

Ricky,
You wouldn't have this problem with a wooden board. I know where you can get a really pretty one.
billie

Ricky are you a surfing newbie ?

Roy_Stewart wrote:Ricky are you a surfing newbie ?

Yes and no, done it intermittently for years but not as good as I want to be. I had an nsp for a long time, horrible but tough, so I am quite new to board repair.