New addition to the quiver. 10'5" starboard widepoint

[clinto]

One of my co workers is moving to Colorado and was getting rid of his board. He had some bad craigslist experiences and decided to just dump the board to whoever came up with the best offer the quickest. I won! $400 for a 2015 Starboard Widepoint 10'5". I couldnt believe it. Only ridden 6 times and well taken care of. I have a 12' Bote HD as my only other board and was really wanting to get something i could surf. Anytime there is surf i always take out my prone longboard and really want to get into sup surfing. At 6'3" 230 lbs I think that this is really a great board for me to get my sup surfing stoke on. I tried to go out this am but it was nasty blown out conditions and i have been sick so i decided not to risk it. Its hard not immediately jumping in the water when you get a new board. One thing i wasnt sure of is the vent. Where does starboard hide their vents? I didnt see anything that stood out to me in the handle or on the deck anywhere. Maybe in the leash plug? Anyway im really excited and cant wait to get out on it.

[Night Wing]

Congrats on a great sup find and at a great price. I know you'll want to take it out for a "test ride" as soon as you can. Lets us know how you like it.

[Badger]

If the surf isn't good, go do some flatwater with it. It's a great way to get to know the new board.

[Zooport]

Almost new Starboard for $400?  Killer.  It's not that hard to install a vent yourself, if you are worried about it.

[Badger]

It says on the website FAQ that with the exception of the race boards, Starboard no longer puts vent plugs in their boards because people kept losing them or forgetting to put them back in the board.

If plugs really aren't necessary, it makes me wonder why some other brands think they need to have Goretex vents. I may replace my Goretex vents with solid plugs just to remove the possibility of them failing someday.

[Night Wing]

It says on the website FAQ that with the exception of the race boards, Starboard no longer puts vent plugs in their boards because people kept losing them or forgetting to put them back in the board.

Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttt! Maybe those people who keep losing their vent plugs don't live in a state with high heat temperature (along with "feels like" temperatures) and the humidity levels are always high. Even though it is early in the morning where I live in Texas, the temperature is 64 degrees F, but the humidity is 96%. I have a feeling when the temperature is 100 degrees F with the humidity at 90%, that would make the gases inside a sup expand where it would damage the sup if the sup didn't have a vent plug. When I ordered my Hammer, I was adamant about having "two vent plugs" installed in it.

Having two vent plugs in my sup might be considered "overkill", but I'd rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them. Better to be safe than sorry since carbon sups are expensive.

[supthecreek]

If plugs really aren't necessary, it makes me wonder why some other brands think they need to have Goretex vents. I may replace my Goretex vents with solid plugs just to remove the possibility of them failing someday.

Goretex is great... it constantly breaths, so even in hot zones, you don't have to worry about the vent at all. Nothing to unscrew and forget.
If you are worried, it's super easy to unscrew the vent to inspect and clean.....or to replace the membrane and the seal for once a year maintenance.

[PJBrendel]

I think you'll have a lot of fun with that board.  What an awesome deal! The 10'5" Widepoint was the first board we owned. I actually had to buy a larger board with more flotation to get down the basics of paddle surfing (11'6" Robert August) since I had trouble staying up on the Wide Point when it got choppy.  Which seemed to be everyday.  Anyway once I was able to move back down to the Wide Point I had a blast on that board.
I've since moved down to smaller boards but the wide point still gets a lot of use and abuse when we have a friend that wants to give it a try.
Enjoy your purchase!

[supthecreek]

Sorry clinto, I responded to the vent comments and totally forgot to say "Well done!"

Great score to  get a Widepoint for short cash! You will love it!

[Badger]

If you are worried, it's super easy to unscrew the vent to inspect and clean.....or to replace the membrane and the seal for once a year maintenance.

Thanks Rick,

I didn't know it was possible to clean and/or replace the membrane on the Sunova vents. I'll have to take it out and have look at it one of these days.

[clinto]

I also read on Starboard's website about no vent plug. I am a little concerned about that myself. I do baby my boards and will be getting a bag for it so i think i should be fine. Just need to be fully aware and not leave it out ever in the sun. Good thing its white on top and bottom. I couldn't be happier and am also very stoked to have a good board for guests as well as myself. The funny thing is when he bought the board i directed him to that very board hoping i could some day ride it. Turned out a little better than expected. Here's to furthering the obsession! 

[Bulky]

Great buy!  Fun Board!  The 10-5 WP was my first "real" board purchase after playing around on the craigslist barge that started the obsession.  Great big guy learning to surf board.  Haven't been out on it for awhile but will probably never let go of it.  Such a fun board to loan out to a learner--way tough and durable.

Mine was obviously from before they discontinued the vents.  It's right on middle of the deck.

[Night Wing]

Not putting a vent plug in a hard board sup because people lose the plug or worse, forgetting to put the plug back in, in my opinion is an excuse and a sorry excuse at that. Sounds like "cutting corners" and this is something I think a "bean counter" would do.

[starman]

Most of my SUP's and sailboards have no vent or have a plug that is opened only when traveling by plane or driving in high altitudes. Mostly a function of construction and materials. The good stuff doesn't have a lot of off-gassing of the inter core so no need for a self-venting plug in most cases. Certainly not a case of the "bean counters" nixing them. I would imagine the warranty returns would off set the cost of plugs by a huge margin if that were the case. I would also think people forgetting to tighten the plug or having a clogged goretex plug is a cause of more then a few boards suffering an early death.

[LeeBee]

On the venting issue, the problem is the air in the board expanding or contracting with temperature. Whether foam filled or hollow the effect is the same, there is still some air in there. For example, if the board had a vent which was closed with the board at 70 F. and put in the sun and the internals reached 100 F. the internal pressure would be 0.8 psig. In my opinion that this much pressure (or if cooled down 30 F. the vacuum) would not damage a well made board.  With most boards being foam filled I think the case of vacuum would be less an issue as the foam would limit the movement of the skin. My concern would be "flex" of pressurizing and depressurizing multiple times might lead to delamination. I think the GoreTex type of vent is a good idea as you do not have to deal with tightening it or worrying about losing it. I really suspect they failure rate is low especially if you rinse the board after salt water use.