Topics

1

Gear Talk / D-ring on bottom of board?

« on: July 09, 2023, 09:14:27 PM »

We bought 2 more paddle boards, for a total of 4, so we could paddle with our kids or friends. One of the new ones had a D-ring on the bottom! Can someone tell me why? This calls for a top ten list:

• Slows down novice paddlers who are going too fast
• Acts like a car spoiler, to prevent lift (in this case, sucking down into the water)
• Helps the hydrodynamics like a vortex generator
• You could tie a rope from it to the nose, on the bottom of the board, to flatten it out to reduce drag
• Good for towing a sinking paddle board
• Good anchor attachment
• Attach a fishing line for subtle fishing
• Marketing gimmick and makes your product unique
• Allows attachment of radical new fin design, trailing a rope behind the board
• ... add to list ...

2

Gear Talk / Fast compressor fill success

« on: July 09, 2023, 08:56:43 PM »

I first tried filling my iSUP with a bike Schraeder valve attachment. It took a long time, about as slow as pumping up by hand, despite running high pressures. The Schraeder (and the tire fill attachment) apparently have small air passages.

My compressor is huge (two cylinder, and around 60 gallons, 230 liters). I have 3/8 inch inside diameter connectors. The pic shows how we twisted in a quick release coupling to an iSUP pump connector hose.

We set the output pressure to about 14 psi (close to 1 ATM, or 100 kPa). We let the tank fill to its usual 120 psi.

It pumped up an 11 foot long, 33 inch wide, 6 inch thick board in 2 minutes and 30 seconds!

I was careful, and checked with an iSUP pressure gauge on another pump, as I didn't want to trust the compressor's gauge at low readings. They agreed perfectly. My big tank had enough air to fill 2 paddle boards.

If you do this, take care, it would be very easy to blow up (literally, as in explode!) an inflatable paddle board if you forgot to turn down the output pressure.

Too bad this solution isn't more portable!

3

Gear Talk / No gauge pressure check?

« on: April 18, 2021, 10:07:26 PM »

I leave my iSUP pumped up, as I live walking distance from the water. It's not very accurate, but on my bike I can pinch the tire to see if I have enough air pressure.  I'm curious if anyone has a quick trick to save the trouble of hooking up the pump. Hmmm, maybe I can calibrate finger pressure next time I pump it up.

4

Sessions / First 3 times Jellyfish and Sting Rays

« on: April 08, 2021, 08:51:10 PM »

I was all excited to try out my iSUP. My first time I put the board in the water, and then saw all the jelly fish. They were very clear and hard to see, but had I kept going I would have waded into a school of them. I decided to make my first iSUP adventure another day.

The 2nd time I only went on my knees. I was wobbly at first, until I relaxed some. I was surprised how tired I was after a mile. I think it is like starting skiing. You don't have your natural balance yet, so you just tense up everything and tire yourself out quickly. I tried standing up one time at the end, and promptly fell into the cold water.

My third time it was a little cool for falling in, so I went on my knees again. I was definitely doing better, and could do more strokes before having to switch sides. I arrived at my beach, and saw sting rays. I stood at the edge of the water. The sting rays had a surprising amount in interest in me. One kept hovering underneath my board. Another swam slowly towards me, but turned away when I hit the sandy bottom, with my paddle, when he was about a step away from me. Another kept circling my board and passing close to me. They ranged in size from about 20 to 30 cm across. I wanted to try standing up again, but didn't want to fall in near these curious sting rays!

5

Gear Talk / Glue for pump?

« on: April 04, 2021, 12:59:19 AM »

The sleeve fit for the air hose for my pump blew apart. It was obviously glued on original manufacture. What kind of glue is best to fix this? Thanks in advance for the help! I tried to attach a pic but it didn't seem to work.

I was at about 10 psi. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to quick slap my hand over the blasting air coming out of the end of the hose. I disconnect the hose from the board and estimate I was down to around 8 psi. Even at 8 psi it was way way stiffer than my Sevylor inflatable kayak, and I still had a fun first experience on the water. BTW, yes, I could ask for a new pump under warranty, but I think it is faster and easier to just glue it.