Surfing Waves

Howdy,

Question that I'm sure alot of folks have dealt with. I live here in Florida, where it gets crazy hot in the summertime. I recently moved here from San Diego, before that was living on the coast in Oregon. I've always had to work a Monday - Friday/ 9-5 type of job and have always kept a surfboard in my car for early morning pre-work sessions and lucky sneak-out-of-work-early-if-it's-good surfs before heading home. Usually kept a PU board in my car, in a travel bag, parked in the shade. The issue is that it never got that hot in San Diego or Astoria.

The heat here in Florida though??? That's a whole 'nother issue entirely. It gets ridiculous hot in my car, even when parked in the shade. It must be the humidity or something. Anyway, i live in St. Augustine Beach but work in Jacksonville, where it's even a bit hotter than on the beach. I'd like to keep a board in my car again, for a pre/post work surf, but worry that this kind of heat requires a bit more prep.

I've talked to lots of folks at various surf shops about this, and the consensus was either a beather PU board, or a Tuflite in my car, in a travel bag (reflective side up), parked in the shade as much as possible.

I've also thought about picking up this solar shade too:


What do folks think is the best kind of board that would survive in this heat? -Poly? TL1? TL2? Tuflite?

Thanks folks,
Steve-O

FYI with an update. For the last two weeks I've been keeping a firewire Quad 5 and a Channel Islands Double Helix Flyer in my car, each one in a travel bag, parked in the shade, with a foldable window reflector in the windshield. My windows are tinted to the legal limit. There were a few days I couldn't move my car in time and it spent a few hours in direct sun. After my morning surfs I've been very careful to dry off the board before I stick it in the travel bag, worrying about the steam creating extra heat. Both boards were mint with no dings or cracks, cause I was worried if I put a dinged board in my car it'd delam around that spot.

Long story short, the Double Helix Flyer, which usually sat on top of the stack pretty much split along the rail for about 8 inches up by the nose. It looked like it's split along a seam or something. I'd only been surfing south of the St Auggie peir all week, nothing crazy shallow, so I don't think it was from surfing. I think that the helix, since it didn't have a vent like the firewire, blew up like a balloon and split along a weak spot. Needless to say pretty bummed. I really loved that Flyer, totally my daily driver.

Short answer= none , zilch, nix not any and no more!. What ever board you expose to these conditions, one day when the surf is pumping you will walk to your car and your current favourite will be nicely baked like your double helix.
You might even achieve the famous firewire bomb
Wax will be all over the interior of the car the seats will be briefly soaked with your tears of regret, I can understand your pain as coming from Oregon the concept of heat like Florida, is about as understandable as Jed Bush is to a Democrat

One way round your problem is to find a large sheet of Styrofoam or foamy rubber carpet underlay and place that over your board gives better protection but will not stop a full days invasion by the sun.
Best option, find a place in your work place where you can stash your boards until finish time.

Hi sunking247, welcome to Surfing Waves!

8 hours baking in the sun is not going to do any board any good. If you don't want to take any chances, stache it at work is the only option I'd recommend.

Thanks for the replies! I appreciate your advice. Frankly I've heard all different kinds of advice talking to folks at my local surf shops:

1. Firewires, with their vents, would handle the heat better. try those

2. Poly boards are better able to handle the heat compared to epoxies, I've even seen a graphic somewhere that showed PU/Tuflite/Firewires etc on a range of low heat to high heat.

3. PU boards, if they've been dinged/cracked even if they've been repaired....will likely delam at those spots since it's a weak spot in the glass and the expanding air will seek the area of least resistance in trying to escape the foam. Especially if the repair inadvertently got water in it before it was fixed, that water will expand evven worse then...delam.

4. Epoxies will be like big candy coated bubbles, with no where for the expanding gas to go, those would be more damaged than a cnventional PU.

5. I posted on a local Florida forum, and I got people telling me they've been leaving PU boards in their cars for years, parked in the shade in a travel bag, with a windshield vsor with no problems!!!

In a perfect world I'd just bring my board into the office everyday but I think I'd get the stinkeye if someone saw me sneaking outta work early with it under my arm. I'm in the Navy and they'ree kinda particular about stuff like that!!!

This is a shot in the dark, but if your back's to the wall... maybe there's a place near your surf spot that will let you keep your board there, maybe for a small fee. If there's enough ceiling to stand it on end, it wouldn't take much room, just stand it in a corner somewhere. A surf shop, hotel, storage facility, small business, whatever. Somebody you'd trust with your board and give you access to it. Just an idea.

Here's an idea: leave your board on the roof rack, perhaps with a cover, but lock it to the car.

It depends on the value of the board, and how secure you think the lock is, but this might be a reasonable solution.

You can buy locks that fit into the fin box, or you can make your own, as I have: