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Derikthin
Joined: 22 Mar 2016
Posts: 141
Location: Highland Park NJ
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 Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 9:06 pm Post subject: Board care?.... |
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You guys ever use this or something much better? Probably something way better.
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shreddbob
Joined: 31 Mar 1987
Posts: 361
Location: Hawaii
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| Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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I've used the SailKote to aid with shoving a mast into a tight fit sail sleeve--I just sprayed onto top half of mast (not near boom area!) and let dry. Helped somewhat for a few rigging times.
Don't bother with polishing boards for speed!! That fad disappeared in the 1980's. The best board care advice is to keep it outta the sun when it's not being used. Don't ever leave a board inside a car on a hot summer day unless great care is taken to shade car with reflective windshield shade, space blanket or at least beach towel on sunny side, windows cracked, etc. Your sails will thank you too, as well as your (eventual  ) 2 piece masts.
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cgoudie1
Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2599
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 5:51 am Post subject: |
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What Bob said,
I think Isobars is a mast McLuber also. Boards are actually
faster without a shiny surface. Turns out a boundary layer of water is more
slippery than a water polymer interface. My 70 Ltr Hi-Tech has a Hinde
special #600 grit sanded rear surface. Not sure it's faster than before the surface, but
with a 70 ltr B&J specialty Gorge board, who could tell?
-Craig
p.s. You really seem to be getting into this. You've definitely got the
initial crazy it takes to join the ranks, I hope your stoke stays high.
I've probably been windsurfing nearly as long as you've been alive,
and I still get a real charge out of it.
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Derikthin
Joined: 22 Mar 2016
Posts: 141
Location: Highland Park NJ
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 9:34 am Post subject: |
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Bob,
Thanks for the tip on the sail lube and speed coat. I was more interested in the hull coat for its possible uv protecting value then anything. However the older boards I have I figure by the time the uv starts to effect them I'll hopefully have advanced, but I still like giving love to items in my possession.
I don't have a car I use a truck and it has a flip back cover but the board tips still stick out a tad. I might look into board bags for the shorter Bic rock that I'll be able to use with future boards.
Craig!
I'm totally stoked for this sport. When winter is over I get really bummed but this sport has changed my mentality and I actually get excited for the beach. I love the challenge and even now for as bad as I suck I get such a thrill when I catch the wind right and start ripping for a short bit! I also enjoy the people and the support and advice, I have so much to learn and I love learning so it's a great experience. I think the fanatic I fixed is older then me haha.
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PeteCress
Joined: 03 Jul 2000
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 9:51 am Post subject: |
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| Derikthin wrote: | Bob,
...I was more interested in the hull coat for its possible uv protecting value then anything. However the older boards I have I figure by the time the uv starts to effect them I'll hopefully have advanced...
I don't have a car I use a truck and it has a flip back cover but the board tips still stick out a tad. |
I would put UV totally out of my mind board-wise. ...In my experience, it is simply not a factor ..... period.
I kept my boards in the garage, but have two surfskis that have been sitting outside 24-7-365 for over five years with no ill effects beyond some chalking. .... One is white fiberglass, the other is yellow carbon-fiber. .... But every day I see an old plastic Mistral Screamer that has been sitting outside 24-7-365 for I-don't-know-how-many-years with no apparent ill effects.
One thing that I have always done with my boards is loosen the air vent plug (and clip a reminder flag on to a foot strap!) for long-term storage - figuring that the expansion/contraction over time could be an irritant.
But you have to balance that against the fact that the owner of a windsurfing shop/rental operation that I know has his own rule for vent plugs: "Screw them in nice and tight when the board is unboxed and never, ever touch them again".
Sails, OTOH, have a service life that seems largely dependent on number of hours exposure to UV at a given latitude. ..... But even with sails, how much beach time can you get in ?
If you want to spend a few bucks, I have found that putting McLube SailKote on my masts at the beginning of each season makes them noticiably easier to slide into the sail's sock.
| Quote: | | I might look into board bags for the shorter Bic rock that I'll be able to use with future boards. |
Board bags can cut two ways: yes, they can protect against bumps and scratches.... but they can also become little ovens and overheat a board to where the skin delaminates from the foam. ..... John Parton, who made a couple of my semi-custom carbon-fiber boards a bunch of years ago was adamant that his boards should not be stored or transported in board bags.
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 10:41 am Post subject: |
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Sailkote makes masts challenging to even handle on shore. That's a GOOD thing, as it makes rigging with snug luff sleeves much easier and may help sail rotation. I wipe it on in liquid form on each mast -- AVOIDING THE BOOM AREA -- in the early Spring, and its benefit is still obvious in the Fall. It dries within 6-8 seconds.
Mike \m/
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Derikthin
Joined: 22 Mar 2016
Posts: 141
Location: Highland Park NJ
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 10:43 am Post subject: |
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Peter,
Well that's a good way to look at it and definatly going to save me money. I don't think that either the fox or the Bic Rock have vent plugs, but if the consensus is don't bother with them I don't have to look to hard then hahah
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shreddbob
Joined: 31 Mar 1987
Posts: 361
Location: Hawaii
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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| PeteCress wrote: |
One thing that I have always done with my boards is loosen the air vent plug (and clip a reminder flag on to a foot strap!) for long-term storage - figuring that the expansion/contraction over time could be an irritant.
But you have to balance that against the fact that the owner of a windsurfing shop/rental operation that I know has his own rule for vent plugs: "Screw them in nice and tight when the board is unboxed and never, ever touch them again". |
Ha ha, vent plugs. Now there's a topic that deserves its own thread. A thing to think about for your future boards, Derik. But ok, I'll do a quick diatribe now.
1. Ideally yes, they preserve the internal foam to skin integrity (bond) of a modern EPS core board, if the plug is unscrewed when board not in use.
2. It's easy to make a mistake when a vent plug is unscrewed. Sure you can have all the classic reminders that assure you re-tighten before sailing...but what about the rain storm you drive through on the way to the beach? What about putting a wet board into a bag with unscrewed vent plug (board will absorb water as the Board Lady says)? What about the weekend you decide to rinse off all your gear and forget a plug is loose?
3. The O-ring: This is not a very robust design for sealing the plug. One grain of sand caught in there may score up the o-ring so that it leaks. And I've had two brand new boards where the board's mating surface for the 0-ring was rough, from the factory, and had scored up the o-ring and the seal was leaky. (One board took on water before I realized. The second was caught by me as new and the offending burr dremeled down and new o-ring installed.) So, I don't like messing with the plug unless there is a compelling reason to, because the design is finicky.
4. I only loosen plugs for air travel, or for more than 4,000 foot altitude changes while driving, or for winter storage in a not temp controlled area. Most of my plugs are screwed in and not touched. The ones that are loosened, I make sure the seal is good when I re-tighten. (A short time of board in sun with plug sealed should then create a whoosh you can hear once the plug is loosened, or a very small amount of soap suds water at the plug edge will immediately show bubbles when the plug seal is loosened a bit--if not, don't loosen all the way or that suds will drop into board....)
5. If using the set and forget strategy (or buy a used bosard of unknown strategy), be assured the first time you loosen, after several years on inactivity, the old dried out 0-ring will likely need to be replaced, as it gets scored during the loosening.
6. A bit of bar soap rubbed onto the o-ring helps with getting a good seal.
7. One mistake and a little bit of water getting absorbed by the EPS foam, and you now own a board that is super susceptible to getting delaminated if heated up with the plug in, in the future. At that point you are now married to the loosen plug after every session method, or two years later your heals will be making dents  This reason alone is strong motivation for not fooling with the plug unless necessary, for me anyway.
There's no right answer on this one. Only knowing what you're up against and being careful whatever strategy you do. I've seen it somewhere written that a flat gasket would be a more robust design than the O-ring, because an O-ring deforms if it is over tightened and can leak from that. That's a feel thing. With a clean, new, soaped o-ring you want to snug it plus a little bit more torque; no more! I put reference marks on board and plug for any plugs I loosen...that way in the adrenaline rush of a first session of a Maui vacation I don't over tighten by accident 
Sorry for the long post, but had to do a mind dump on this one 
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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| It's all been hammered in several past threads, but ShredBob's summary is pretty thorough. I'd rate the consensus slightly tilted towards removing plugs every day, but I never touch mine for the reasons Bob lays out.
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U2U2U2
Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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Don't waste you money on those lubes
Get better
Beers or Scotch
Vent plugs: the goretex ones are bitchen.
I remove the vent plug when I travel use double rubber washers and have my boards blessed by the Queen.
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