Have I Bought A Dog?

[SeaWeed]

Woof! My first new post and hoping for some emergency advice...

I bought my first board today (stupidly) off eBay. I was attracted by the website of these local guys (whose anonymity I will preserve), as they have made some hand-crafted retro boards and their product looked great.

I assumed this to also be hand-shaped, however after picking the board up today, it is actually imported by these guys with their logo on and not hand-shaped. I paid AU$400 for it, but having inspected it at home, have some concerns about the quality.

I would REALLY appreciate your guidance on this and whether these are valid concerns...

1.) There is glue visible over the stringer. Most evident on the deck side and occurs the full length. I looked at pics of boards from a reputable local shop and theirs look dead clean. Is this normal?



2.) There are some visible marks under the glass, presumably on the foam blank. None of it totally obvious, but when you actually look, there's lots of discolouration. Again, is this typical?



3.) The board can be compressed. Only very slightly and you have to give it a strong grip, but you can feel give. I understand boards get compression dints, is it typical that you could feel slight give in the glass if you squeeze rails tightly?

4.) The board was sold as coming with a free set of FCS fins. The supplied fins look like they are made of cheap, brittle, molded plastic and have no FCS logo anywhere. Is there any chance these are genuine FCS fins?



5.) The fixings that the fins screw into look like they are poor quality. Again, no FCS branding and the metal screw does not screw into a metal 'cuff' or thread - it is threaded straight into the plastic. Again, is this normal?



So, am I worrying about nothing, or are these signs that the board is extremely poor quality?

Is this expectable for a $400 board and would it be fine for learning, or should I request a refund immediately?

I'd rather fork out a bit more $ and get something quality if it's that bad, I just don't have time off work to get into a shop and get a reference within the three day refund period.

Thanks for any help guys...

[Lebowski]

1. I wouldn't worry about that
2. Wouldn't worry about that
3. Surfboards are fragile. You can easily ding them by squeezing too hard. Treat it with care.
4. Those are cheap, generic FCS fins. People refer to fins as being 'FCS' if they have the 2 mounting tabs as yours do. 'Proper' FCS fins are around $150 AUD, so if you got a new set of those with a new board for $400 I'd be surprised. They will be fine for a beginner.

All FCS plugs screw directly into the plastic. Don't overtighten them.

[dtc]

As Lebowski said. For $400 new you arent going to get incredibly high quality control, so things like the stringer and the discolouration will occur. But they wont make any realistic difference.

A lightly glassed surfboard (what you get for $400....) you can compress with your fingers. Indeed, lightweight shortboards you can almost stick your finger into. So it may ding and compress over time or when you hit a rock or drop in in the car park. You could get a more expensive board that will be a bit tougher (more glassing weight) or an epoxy board; but what you have is nothing unusual. Remember that the board is just foam (a version of that white packing foam) so its soft; covered by fibreglass sheets. So unless you have a really solid level of fibreglass, you can compress the board because the board core is naturally soft.

As Lebowski says, 'FCS fins' is just a name used for the type of fin mounting; the manufacturer could be anyone. You may wish to upgrade the fins in due course, but as a learner no big issue. The little metal screws are what FCS uses - that is standard. That said, I guess if you wanted to return the boards then you could argue that it said it came 'with FCS fins', not with 'FCS compatible fins' and that is part of your reason for returning.

Realistically a top quality board in Australia is $800+ (and wont come with any fins); for $400 you get a board entirely suitable for a beginner but one that may not last forever. All the stuff you have commented on is fairly minor; only the light glassing will be noticeable.

On the other hand, if you dont trust the board now, will you ever trust it?

[SeaWeed]

On the other hand, if you dont trust the board now, will you ever trust it?

Nope, all good. I think this is enough to allay my fears! I just wanted to make sure these things are fairly typical, particularly at this price.

None of them are particularly noticeable and I'm only a newbie, so as long as the thing is not going to fall apart in the water and will give me a stable platform to learn on, that's all I need.

It's 7'6, which is the same as the other boards of practiced on...

[billie_morini]

Importantly, how does it surf? That's what matters most.

[SeaWeed]

I took it out on Saturday morning, with the group I usually go with. It's the same size as the epoxy hire board I've been using (7'6), main differences being the material (glass) and the amount of wax.

Pleased to report that on my second 'wave', I was up on my feet and surfing along

I'm still practicing in the white wash, but this my 4th session and first time I can get on my feet reasonably consistently (and even turn a bit!) It also felt more balanced and easier to paddle, but that could be a placebo effect.

Maybe it's the board, maybe it's progression, but either way I'm a happy chap!

[billie_morini]

It works! Yea! Keep the stoke!

[jaffa1949]

IT'S PROGRESSION ON A REAL BOARD

[IB_Surfer]

Sounds like you bought a chihuaha. My wife loves ours, I hate it, but love the wife.

The good thing is that it barks like the big dogs (you get the analogy)

[954worldexplorer]

Return it and buy a better board for much less on craigslist!

[jaffa1949]

Return it and buy a better board for much less on craigslist!

He has had it over a year now, it suits him well and he is happy