Messages

91

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 25, 2021, 05:12:56 AM »

@ Subber

When I was doing research for prone surfboards; specifically longboards, since lots of people surf surfboards, I thought there would be lots of surfboard forums on the internet. I found out there aren't that many at least for longboard information.

The best place on the internet, in my opinion, specifically for finding information on surfing longboards, is at the Jamboards site at the link below.

https://jamboards.com/

Under the "Surfing" forum, I found the topic thread for JC Nelson Boards. Only the original poster wasn't paying attention to what he was typing and instead of typing, "CJ", he had typed, "JC".

But when I saw the topic thread listed as JC, I assumed it was a typo and the topic thread is at the link below. BTW, the topic thread there is now at 14 pages in length.

https://jamboards.com/threads/jc-nelson-boards.7800/

There is also another topic thread for the CJ Nelson "Outlier" model and it is at the link below.

https://jamboards.com/threads/cj-nelson-outlier-reviews.9758/

The Outlier comes in three lengths and at this time they are 7'6", 8'0" and 9'0". I had thought about the 9' Outlier, but at 23" in width with 70.0 liters, I thought this board would be just a hair too narrow for me for the liters of volume and might prove to be "finicky" and give me problems.

As for the Flying Diamonds of California fins which is a company CJ owns, there is even a topic thread for that too.

https://jamboards.com/threads/flying-diamonds-fins.9619/

I've enjoyed this topic thread and thanks for participating in it along with the other posters who have made comments.

92

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 24, 2021, 07:59:06 PM »

My Involvement 9.0 fin was supposed to be delivered at my home this upcoming Friday. Then I checked the tracking number this past Saturday and it said my fin would be delivered this upcoming Wednesday.

I checked my tracking number this late Monday afternoon and it said the fin would be delivered to my home by 9:00 pm today. The fin arrived at  4:30 pm.

And I'm going to post the picture of the volan green fin. BTW, the fin color is green, but the volan is the material the fin is constructed out of. The fin came in a soft black fin bag so I laid the fin on top of the black fin bag to make the fin easier to see.

Now, this site's forum software does not allow one to preview a picture so I'm just hoping this picture shows since I had to resize the picture. Got to add this. The fin is 9" in height and the base of the fin is 5 1/2" in length.

93

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 24, 2021, 03:03:49 PM »

@ Subber

I'm glad you like this topic thread and all the research I've found for it.

The Parallax is not a nose rider because of it's pintail. CJ designed this longboard to be very fast, easy to ride without any "pumping" of your legs, being able to "trim" (turn the board from the midpoint of the board) and to be able to carve a wave, not shred a wave.

Basically a fun type of board made for pure enjoyment. Since it is a fast board, the board will always be able to be out in front of a slow wave. Since it is a fast longboard for it's length, mine being 9'3", it can easily out run a wave so it needs to be able to make that nice bottom turn to get back in touch with the wave no matter how small or how high the wave is depending on one's skill level.

The Parallax will nose ride, but the wave has to have plenty of "juice" in it to do so. But I'm not a nose rider. Never have been. Never will be. I love the glide of a longboard and this is why I chose the Parallax.

CJ does ride his Parallax which is: 9'6" x 23 3/4" x 3 1/4" @ 81.4 liters with a 10.5 "Parallax" Flying Diamonds fin. Not an "Involvement" fin.

If one wants a nice single fin niche board that can do what the Parallax can do and can nose ride easily, then another of CJ's designed boards can do this and it is his "Neo Classic" longboard. The Neo Classic comes in two lengths which are: 9'5" x 23 1/2" x 3 1/8" @ 76.1 liters and 10'0" x 24" x 3 1/4" @ 84.4 liters.

CJ's rides his Neo Classic 10'0" length with a 10.5 "Power Flex" Flying Diamonds fin.

And I just so happen to have an indepth video review of his Neo Classic model in the 9'5" length below.



Some people say they are too old to surf a prone longboard. If one choses a skinny longboard, lets say 23" in width or shorter and under 67 liters of volume, yes, at our age that may be tough to ride.

But if one chooses a longboard; lets say around 9'2" in length to 10'0" in length with at least 23 1/2" of width and with at least 73 liters of volume in it, then anybody can ride a prone surfboard, no matter their age.

The only caveat for a longboard of 9'5" in length or longer, swinging the nose of the board backs towards the wave in a high wind speed and/or high wind gusts. This is why I went with the Parallax at 9'3" in length over the 9'6" Parallax and also over the Neo Classic at 9'5" in length.

94

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 24, 2021, 05:41:22 AM »

Thought I would make one more post to help explain the Thunderbolt Technologie in Red and Black construction. In the video below, you will see why I specifically chose the Red construction.

Taylor Jensen really does an excellent job explaining the Red and Black construction in conjunction with surfers and the waves they surf.

95

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 24, 2021, 05:34:17 AM »

@ surfinJ

When I was doing my research and narrowed it down to a single fin longboard, this is when I ran across CJ Nelson. After CJ retired from competitive surfing, he started designing surfboards. His last three designs were the Outlier, Parallax and the Neo Classic. And Ryan Engle shaped these prototype model boards. Engle has been around a long time with an excellent reputation as a shaper.

When I started to zero in on the Parallax, I had no trouble finding online reviews of it on YouTube. But there wasn't any actual surfing footage of it on YouTube. There were actual surfing videos for the Outlier and Neo Classic, but none for the Parallax.

I had to "hunt" for the actual footage for surfing for the Parallax. I ran across a site, Jamboards, which had a topic thread in for CJ Nelson's boards. And I ran across the Vimeo video in it showing the prototypes for the Outlier, Parallax, Neo Classic and the Sprout.

In the video below, there are two white colored boards, side by side, with pintails in different lengths. One of them was the Outlier, the shorter length one and the other was the longer length one, the Parallax. I recognized the Parallax in the video and CJ was surfing it in this video. It is a long 15 minute video. And watch it in full screen mode and high definition setting.



Now lets get to some fins. Since CJ designed his boards, it was a logical step for him to actually design fins specifically made for these different model boards. And he is the owner of Flying Diamonds fins which is at the link below.

https://flyingdiamondsca.com/fin-collections/cj-nelson-fins/

The right fin design and the length of it determines how good or bad a surfboard will perform for a given set of waves. My choice came down to a Flying Diamonds "Parallax" fin and a "Involvement" fin. For the waves I normally encounter, the Involvement seems to be the best choice and I will know for sure when I actually surf the 9'3' Parallax with the 9.0 fin.

The Parallax has a long fin box. Where to put the fin in the box is very important. Placing the fin all the way back in the rear of the fin box makes the board track straight, but it might make the board too "tracky" for a turn. Placing the fin all the up at the front of the fin box will make the board very loose which will make the board "skid out" on a turn.

Instead of "guessing" where the correct spot for the fin is to be placed in the fin box, there is a way for getting it real close to where it should be placed. And the 15 minute long video below explains that. Watch the video for this segment when CJ goes to his warehouse. Again, watch this video in full screen mode and high definition setting.



As you can see, I'm detail oriented so I do my homework when it comes to research.

96

Random / Re: Cover songs.

« on: May 23, 2021, 10:33:12 AM »

Since I just purchased a single fin prone niche surfboard which should be delivered to me in the first week of July, I thought I would post this cover song below. And the video itself along with this site's watersports theme, is appropriate for what I bought for prone surfing. Just not the nose riding part. 

The New Love Generation  (Mamas & Papas cover) - "California Dreaming"

97

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 23, 2021, 06:42:40 AM »

@ surfinJ

I absolutely LOVE "geezer" type waves for both prone and sup surfing. Pure enjoyment. Hence, my preference for longboards for both prone and sup surfing since these type of boards fit my style of surfing which is the old "classic" style of surfing from the 1960's.

It is 110 miles from my home to Surfside, Tx. So the round trip is 220 miles. I leave my home to go to Surfside at 5:00 am and I get to Surfside at around 7:15 am.

I usually surf the waves at Surfside between the hours of 7:30 am to 11:30 am with a few breaks inbetween to head back to my truck to rehydrate myself and get a little bit of rest.

I take four rest breaks which are 15 minutes in time for each rest break. So three hours of actual surfing will take it's toll on the body for both young and old (like me) if one doesn't take a rest every now and then and gets lots of Gatorade in one's self.

For those "lurkers" on this site who have not registered for any reasons and anyone else interested, I suppose they are wondering how much did the Parallax cost me?

The 9'3" Parallax cost me $1,125.00 and shipping cost was/is, because of the length of the board, $199.99 for a grand total of ($1,324.99).

When REAL Watersports left me an email, the email stated they had a few Parallax boards coming in late June in the length, construction and color which I wanted. They asked me if I wanted to pre-order one and make a $100.00 non-refundable deposit to "hold" the board in my name.

I remembered when REAL got two of the 9'3" Parallax boards back in January of 2021 in Red construction and white in color, they sold both boards in the span of 10 days. But I was still doing research and missed out. The old "you snooze, you lose".

So I called REAL and gave them my credit card number for the non-refundable deposit. The rest of money for the board will be charged to my credit card when the board is shipped along with the tracking number.

REAL told me they used FED EX to ship their boards and it would be delivered to my home with a signature required. But, I told them to ship the board, in my name with driver's license identification and signature required, to the FED EX truck terminal at 9010 Jackrabbit Rd in Houston, Tx. REAL asked me why I would do that?

I told REAL, the fewer people handling the long package containing the board during transit would lessen the damage percentage wise during transit. So I removed the damage possibility from the trucking terminal and then being loaded upon the delivery truck to my home handling wise. Even if the board would be damaged in transit, REAL told me it wouldn't cost me any money and REAL would replace the Parallax.

I told REAL, you can't replace this particular model in the length, Red construction and color (volan green) I want if REAL sells out of them and I would have to wait another 4 to 6 months in time to get the replacement. And at 71, I'm not getting any younger and REAL said I had a very good point.

When the board arrives, probably in the first week of July, I will take pictures of it and the 9.0 fin and post them in this topic thread.

 

98

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 21, 2021, 11:14:24 AM »

I hope you enjoy the new board when it comes.
You could pop the fin in one of your sups to feel it out while you wait.

My One World sup is 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 liters. My two Duke sups are 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 liters. Since I sup surf small waves at Surfside, Tex; both of these two sup models surf best with a 4 fin quad setup. Why? Because of the small waves, the quad fin setup allows both of these tow boards to generate speed which in turn helps with the small amount of dynamic lift these waves produce and gives me a nice ride.

A single 9.0 or a 9.5 fin would have a hard time with these two big boards when sup surfing small waves. How do I know? I tried a single 9" fin down at Surfside on both of these boards above and it just doesn't work well enough on these two models to give me a nice ride.

99

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 21, 2021, 10:45:50 AM »

@ Dontsink

Longboards are usually described as being 9' in length and over. For the longest time, longboards fell into two categories which are HPLB's (high performance longboards) and NR's (nose riders). But times have changed. There is a third category which I call NLB's (niche longboards).

HPLB's usually have multiple fin boxes (3 or 4 fin boxes). NR's usually have single fin boxes and the key word is "usually". I have seen some NR's with 3 or 4 fin boxes, but the usual norm is a single fin box.

HPLB's can be steered by putting the back foot over the fins or on the rails above the fins. NR's usually are steered by putting the back foot over the single fin (or over a 2 + 1 setup).

A NB (niche board) is usually steered by shifting one's weight over the center of the board to turn right or left. No need to put the back foot over the fin(s) on the underside of the board. No need either to put the back foot on the left or right rail for turning. So the Parallax is the best of both words for steering or turning.

And the above is why I chose the Parallax and as a bonus, this design by CJ Nelson is a very fast longboard.

Since I don't nose ride, I just wanted a NB to enjoy myself without working at it or to please anyone on the beach looking at me. The Parallax is this type of board. If the waves have enough juice in them, I could nose ride it, but that isn't my style.

I agree poly (PU) boards are a "dent" machine. They ride nice and feel good underfoot when riding a wave, but they ding easily. The Thunderbolt Technology feels like a poly, but it doesn't ding easily. One really has to work at it to ding one. Thunderbolt comes in Red and Black materials. For a lightweight person like myself who surfs in small waves most of the time, the Red is the right choice because it is not as stiff "flex wise" as the Black.

On the internet, many people are discovering Thunderbolt Technology. Below is a good video for it.



And one more video as a "teaser" for the Parallax.

100

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 21, 2021, 06:12:49 AM »

NW, you must be in great shape to still be able to prone surf at your age.

I turned 71 in February. I'm not in that great of shape. Since I've been using a sup for a few years now for both flatwater paddling and sup surfing, my back problems no longer appear.

But, I have a partial tear of my meniscus in my left knee. I put my left foot in a gopher hole where the gopher hole was hidden under some sycamore tree leaves. It caused me to fall and I fell on an exposed root of the sycamore tree and the exposed root was also hidden under the leaves.

When my left knee hit the root, it caused a large and very painful bone bruise on the inside of my left knee. My knee really was still swollen after one month of time and that was when I went to see my orthopedic surgeon, the same one who repaired both my left and right shoulder joints.

My surgeon told me, after the MRI, a partial tear of a meniscus is "not" the same thing as a torn meniscus because of where the tear is located. My partial tear is in the middle of the meniscus and not on the side of the meniscus. Think of a doughnut where the hole in the doughnut is where my partial tear is located. He told me my pain and swelling was due to the bone bruise and a stretched ACL ligament. Not from the partial tear.

He told me getting to the partial tear would cause more harm than good damage wise. He gave me some exercises to do at my home and he said it would take about two months of therapy and my pain would go away. And I wouldn't even know I had a partial tear.

I told him I was still concerned at  the partial tear. He told when the partial tear, tears all the way to the outside edge of the meniscus, my left knee would DEFINITELY let me know to come see him. I asked my surgeon should I "baby" the left knee and he said, "absolutely not". He told me when the pain in the left knee goes away, just use it like you normally would no matter the activity I was doing.

The waves down at Surfside, they are not big waves like what you find where you surf. My style of sup surfing and prone surfing is just made for a longboard. I don't surf shortboards. Surfing a shorboard is a lot of work especially at my present age of 71 and I surf for "pure enjoyment" which is also known as "fun" and not work.

Most of the "young bucks" on their shortboards at Surfside, they view my style of surfing as "boring". They like to shred waves, pump their boards when the waves just aren't suited to their style of surfing, etc.

I told one young buck, out of twenty waves when the waves are knee high, I can surf all twenty where you can only surf maybe three waves on your 22-27 liters in their 6' in length or shorter, shortboards. The young buck told me I have a point which can't he couldn't refute.

My style of surfing is to get out in front of the wave and just glide almost to the beach and this is why I get and enjoy many long rides. The young bucks have nicknamed me, "grandpa" and they told me to wear that nickname like a badge of honor since many of them have told me they hope to be still surfing if and when they reach my present age.

You can see some to the waves I like to surf in the two videos below. One is at Surfside and the other is at Port Aransas.

101

SUP General / Re: Surfboards (Longboards)

« on: May 20, 2021, 08:48:09 PM »

Thought I would give an update on this topic thread.

After doing lots of research, I finally made a decision on getting a single fin longboard over my favorite muti-fin longboards. After getting in touch with REAL Watersports in North Carolina, I made the decision to get a CJ Nelson "Parallax" model longboard in Thunderbolt Red construction. It's specifications are: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 liters in Volan Green color.

I left my email address with REAL and REAL told me it would be a long wait for this particular longboard due to the pandemic. Yesterday REAL left me an email and told me they were getting a few Parallax's in the Thunderbolt Red construction in Volan Green and the boards would arrive in late June (2021).

I called REAL this morning as soon as they opened and placed my order for the board above. It will be delivered to Fed EX Freight at FED EX's truck terminal in northwest Houston (Tx) in the last week of June or the first week in July where I will pick it up.

But this board does not come with a fin. Along with my research for this board, I also did research on longboard fins which would work well with my physical weight and the waves down at Surfside, Tx. BTW; after my three surgical procedures I had done in a span of 19 days, my weight went down to 138 lbs, but I now weigh an even 150 lbs.

The single longboard fin I wanted was a Flying Diamonds "Involvement" fin in volan green color which was designed by CJ Nelson. I figured I needed a 9.0. or a 9.5, but I didn't know which one.

I hunted all around the internet and there was a surf shop (Hawaiian South Shore) in Honolulu, Hi which had both sizes in the Involvement fin and also in volan green color. After getting their opinion on how much I weighed, where I surfed, how I surfed and what waves I would normally encounter at Surfside, I went with the 9.0 size.

The fin was shipped today at their closing and I should receive it by next Friday (28th of May).

102

Gear Talk / Re: All advice welcome

« on: May 13, 2021, 01:53:32 PM »

@ Supgirl 67

Blue Planet, at the time of this posting, has six (6) Easy's in stock in Bamboo Rasta color. How do I know this? Easy (pun intended).

Robert puts all of his inventory on the board models he sells online. I ran across the link to his inventory a few years back and like a packrat who keeps things, I bookmarked it for future reference. The link is below. It is on a slow server so be patient. The page will show up and the inventory page is updated daily.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16mKsrbMifP3X4mIcInd4LK0knjG5QsS4IWbPZlnD2uU/edit#gid=1648521327

BTW, I Iike to surf "small easy" waves which are fun for me so I surf a few miles up the coast from Surfside, Texas. The waves are much bigger at the Surfside and Quintana jetties. And those waves there are just like the waves down at the jetties at Brownsville, Texas.

And I just so happen to have a live streaming webcam of those bigger waves, at the Brownsville jetties, when the wind is blowing. Of course, best seen during the daytime. You can see them and hear the wind blowing, if the wind is blowing, at the link below. Sometimes, you can hear the call of a seagull flying by.



Best seen in full screen mode and in 1080p60 HD definition setting.

103

Gear Talk / Re: All advice welcome

« on: May 13, 2021, 06:24:05 AM »

@ Supgirl67

This is going to be a l-o-n-g post.

I've been watching this topic thread, but once I read your weight is 130 lbs, I am closer to you weight wise at my 138 lbs than anyone else on this site although I'm 5'8" in height. I'm a small guy due to my small skeletal structure. The middle fingers on both of my hands are only 3" in length.

I do a lot of flat water paddling for plain enjoyment and most of my paddling sessions last between 90 to 120 minutes. I have two long sup models which are a Sup Sports 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 liters "One World" and a Blue Planet 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 liters "Duke". Both of these boards have 5 fin boxes. Both of these boards can be ridden with one long single fin for flat water paddling. Just keep in mind both of these two models are no longer being manufactured.

The long 9" single fin in the long center fin box makes both boards track straight. However, the long single fin makes it harder to turn left or right so that is a trade off. When the wind comes up to around 12 mph or higher. It is easier to paddle my 11'1 board because of the 30" width. But if the wind makes the water very choppy, my 10'5' board is more stable at 32" to paddle. Again, trade offs.

Since I weigh 138 lbs and with two surgically repaired right and left shoulder joints, my surgeon told me to get rid of my 85 paddle blade and go with a 75 paddle blade. This makes paddling on flat water with a good breeze easy on my shoulders and also it is easier to paddle both boards.

I use a woman's paddle because of my small frame. An adjustable 65"-84" length Naish "Alana" 75 with a small diameter shaft.

https://www.naishsurfing.com/product/alana/

I've been flat water paddling with this paddle in mostly not very windy conditions and I've been steadily coming down in length. For quite some time, I've been using this paddle at 70.5" in length. But since this Spring has been very windy, with wind speeds steady at 15 mph, I started to notice this length when paddling upwind, it was tough. I needed a faster cadence so I started to lessen the length.

With these same windy conditions for flat water paddling, I am now using this paddle at 66.5" in length. I can even use this paddle length to surf some waves although I do like to surf waves with this paddle at 65" in length.

BTW, I can paddle a straight line by paddling on my right side, since I'm right handed. The only time I paddle on my left side is when I want to turn the board to the right and it is much easier to do it this way using a semi surf stance. I quit using a parallel stance a long time ago.

Now to surfing.

Where I live on the upper Texas coast, the best place for some good surfing waves is at Surfside, Texas. There isn't a free webcam down there, but the waves at Port Aransas are very much the same which you can see at the link below for comparison sake.

https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/texas-seagull-condos-live-beach-surf-cam

Both my One World and Duke sups can surf calf high waves, knee high waves, thigh high waves, waist high waves, chest high waves and head high waves with no problems because both boards have 5 fin boxes. With 5 fin boxes, I surf both boards with a 4 fin quad setup. Basically 2, 5" front side bites and 2, 4" rear side bites. This fin combination produces speed to handle tiny to small waves.

There are no bungee straps on either of my boards. But if you want to put some bungee cords on a sup, just use some suction cup bungees like at the link below as an example.

https://www.amazon.com/Suction-Cup-Tie-Downs-pack/dp/B001803PXU

With all of the above said, I'm going to list this board for your consideration. A Blue Planet "Easy" model at 10'2" x 32" x 4.5" @ 179 liters which can be found at the link below.

https://www.blueplanetsurf.com/102-x-32-x-179l-easy-2020.html

It has a slightly pulled in nose which will be good for flat water paddling even when the lake water gets choppy and it can be surfed in just about any wave conditions (except for extremely high over head waves) with a nice kick tail pad and 5 fin boxes. And the pad which covers the deck is very comfortable (at least it is on my Duke).

And you can see this board surfing in the video below. There is woman surfing this board in the video too. The video is best seen in full screen mode and 1080p HD for the high definition setting.



BTW, I hope you find the info in this post helpful.

104

General Discussion / Re: Surf Rig - How do you hide your keys?

« on: May 06, 2021, 05:38:25 AM »

I don't like getting down on the ground to get my key because I hate getting dirty sand on my wet hands or in my gloves when taking breaks. I also avoid getting sand on my wetsuit when leaving the beach because I wear my suit home and don't want that sand in the car or on my towels. I guess each person has his or her specific needs relating to their situation, but my way is easier.   

1) I don't wear a wet suit. When the water warms to 66 F; that is my minimum water comfort zone so it's bathing shorts, T-Shirt, water shoes and a hat for me. After a surfing session when I'm all wet and I want to go back home; I do get sand on me when I crawl underneath the truck to retrieve my key hider, but once I open the door to my truck, I go back into the beach surf where it is about 3' deep, dunk myself under the water, pop myself above the water and no more sand on me. Then I just walk back to my truck. The driver seat has a cover on it so the seat doesn't get wet.

2) Since I had "three" urinary tract procedures done (in the OR under anesthesia) in a 19 day span of time from Dec 22nd to Jan 11th, I'm down to 138 pounds. My truck tires have about 50 lbs PSI in them so this allows me to drive on loose sand and not sink the tires into the sand where my truck would get stuck in the sand. If I weighed about 175 lbs, I wouldn't be able to work the top half of my body underneath my truck because there is not enough space from the sand to the lower body panels of my truck for me to crawl underneath my truck. I would need to dig a small trench so I could fit underneath my truck to retrieve the key hider.

So in retrospect. A thief is not going to want to get the back of his body, from heat to toe, covered in sand and/or get covered in smudgy motor oil. And lastly, if the thief weighs 175 lbs or more and the thief doesn't know where the key hider is, the thief is going to have to dig a small trench to remove a lot of sand "from the back of the front wheel to the beginning of the rear back wheel" so the thief can actually crawl underneath my truck "for a look see" and if the thief did, the thief won't be able to see the key hider.

I'm guessing the time for what I do takes me 5 minutes longer than what it takes you to do with the key around your neck. But I'm not in any hurry.

105

General Discussion / Re: Surf Rig - How do you hide your keys?

« on: May 05, 2021, 04:22:21 PM »

I put two of my keys (ignition, camper) in the magnetic key hider and attach it to the underside of my truck where it can't be seen even if you look up at the underside of my truck. Hasn't failed me yet and I've been doing it this way since 1994.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Nite-Ize-Black-Key-Hider/1000518889

I tried that back when I started surfing and found it to be a hassle to get down on the ground to retrieve the key and risk being seen doing it every time I needed to change gear, take a break, get some water, etc.

That's my point. Thieves don't like to get sand on their clothes because I park on the beach sand. Or something a lot worse . Like hiding the key hider behind the oil filter.

One thing I know about keys around the neck while surfing. If the key is not wiped down real good, the key will transfer a tiny amount of saltwater into the ignition switch and if it does, rust (corrosion) will occur inside the ignition switch.