Surfing Waves

so i just bought my very first surfboard today and i got (i think) a really good deal on it (tony staples speed egg). however, it has minor dings on the board and it has an open crack about 3-4" on the the tip of the tail where i could actually see something that looks like white foam.

is this something critical? should i be patient and take it to a shop and have it fixed first before riding it?

Yes, if you can feel the crack and think it's going to take in water you need to get it fixed if you want your board to last. You can either bring it to a shop or fix it yourself with one of those ding repair kits.

Suncure seems to work realy well. Can aways use gaffer tape to seal it untill you get someone to sort it.

Whatever you do get it fixed soon or it'll take in water.

if the board already took in water (since it's second-hand), what can i do about it then? or am i s.o.l.?

If the foam hs gone brown, and the area around the ding is squashy, then it's taken in water,and just needs to be dug out and patched up, looks crap, but works fine.

If the foam is still white, it should be fine. Just squirt some suncure resin stuff in the hole.

just make sure its dry as a bone before sealing anything up

Cy, set the board upright with the crack pointing towards the ground so any water will drain from it and let it dry for a good week or two. Then take it to a repair/ding shop or any surf shop and let them patch it up. The last thing you want is to have your new/used board get wrecked by getting it waterlogged.

By the way, Tony Staples is still shaping? Wow. He shaped one of my first boards way back when I was a wee toddler.

thanks for the tip. another question....is it alright to store my surfboard inside a soft carrying case? or do i have to hang it up (air it out)?

air it out is preferable.

cy wrote:thanks for the tip. another question....is it alright to store my surfboard inside a soft carrying case? or do i have to hang it up (air it out)?

I just unzip my bag a little bit.