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Topics - wateraintcold

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On Victoria Day 2020 I launched my paddleboard from Burrard Marina with the goal to visit Wreck Beach and Science World for total tour of 30.7km, 6 hours and 38 minutes.

Along the way I stopped by Jericho Sailing Centre, Spanish Banks, Sunset Beach, Granville Island and other Vancouver sights.

I paddled with my 2017 Red Paddle Explorer 12'6".

Day was just about perfect for this tour, with westerly winds topping at 15kph. Still it was quite a workout to handle the headwinds and crosswinds.

https://youtu.be/VAotVABKkac

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Gear Talk / Red Paddle 2017 Explorer 12'6" long term review
« on: May 20, 2020, 03:40:54 PM »
Hi all, I prepared this video to check up on my touring board after 2 years of use. As mentioned in other threads, I haven't treated my board particularly gently.

tl,dr: the board is in great shape still. There are 4 small cuts that penetrate the outermost green layer on the underside and which I'll patch as preventative measure. All hardware and glues are perfect. The front fin shows signs of sanding which corresponds to the way I take the board out of the surf on the beach. The FCS II Connect screwless fin sucks and I replaced it with screwed-in fin.

Lessons learned: take it easier when beaching the board / minimize dragging and pivoting on the sand. Be more careful when docking and watch out for barnacles. Rinse the board after every use (especially in salt water).

https://youtu.be/SqwSGClaIJc

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Hello again and thanks for your responses to my first thread.

When you're touring on a hardboard, do you offload all the gear to then take the board out of the water and place it on the beach / rocks / whatever is there where you're beaching?

Or is a short drag from the surf to the beach innocuous enough to the bottom of the board? I believe this would generate some superficial damage of course, but would it affect the structural integrity of the bottom?

Also, is this superficial "sanding" repairable with those epoxy kits?

I'm still trying to understand the logistics for operating a hardboard on day/multiday tours. If even a 1-5 meter drag to get a loaded hardboard out of the water is considered too risky, then I can't see how a hardboard can be better than an inflatable for this situation. This is, the inflatable penalty of reduced on-water performance is more than offset by the praticality of not having to worry about inflicting non-repairable damage to the board at every single getting-on-shore event.

On the other hand, with a hardboard if I can drag the board out loaded and not be concerned about structural damage, and then once a year do a minor superficial repair work then that's acceptable.

I'll appreciate your feedback on how you get on and off the water with a loaded hardboard. Thanks again!

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Hello everyone, and mods thanks for accepting my invitation.

I started paddling in 2018 in the Northern Alberta lakes. I'm now in Vancouver, still paddling my 2017 Red Explorer 12'6". Trusty, reliable board. I feel it's my SUV on the water.

Now that I got an outside rack to store my board in a local marina I've started to consider getting a second board to augment my options. I don't surf at all, but what little downwinding I've done has been lots of fun. I'm mostly a day long tourer (5-30km days) mixing flat water with whatever chop the afternoon winds bring. I thought about getting a faster tourer, then a race board, and now back to a fast tourer after ranking my priorities:

1. safety: Now that I'm paddling in more open water I've been thinking more about safety. Even though my Red board is quite durable, I still risk a tiny chance of getting a puncture in the middle of cold water.

2. durability / ruggedness: I don't treat my Red carefully because I know it can take it no problems. I scrape my paddle ocassionally, I bang my anchor against the bottom or rail when raising it, I load it with bags, bottles etc. I beach my board, lean it against the pavement with storing it, bump it against docks. Can any hardboard take this level of punishment? Or must all hardboards need to be pampered? I've read about rail tape, how much does it help?

3. ease of storage: I'll be storing my next board in the racks in the marina, I'll hose the board down after each use and cover it with a DYI tarp. I have no option to store my board anywhere else (if I go for a hardboard that is)

4. stability / speed: The 12'6" Explorer has treated me well, but I feel I'm outgrowing its speed and upwind abilities.

So for upgrades I've considered the following based on local vendor availability and support:

Inflatables:

-Red 13'2" Voyager with the RSS battens (I know and trust the brand, but there's no redundant floatation and it's not that longer than my Explorer)

- Starboard 14' Touring inflatable with double chambers (longer, stiffer, laden with features I'll use, but concerned about first-year production run of their new woven dropstitch)

Hardboards:

-Starboard Generation 12'6" x 28": new design that checks a lot of my boxes for performance, Wrice point I can seriously consider. would it last according to my usage?

-Boardworks Raven or Great Bear (if I stretch my budget a lot)

- Sunova Eco Expedition Norm Hamm edition (if I break my budget and YOLO it)

I'll appreciate your feedback on these options or any other.

Thanks and stay safe!

ps: attached my typical load for a day tour

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