Recoating/painting a board for speed?

[whughes98144]

Hey all,

I've got this third-hand Starboard Sprint 14x24 that's had a lot of use and the surface of the bottom is not very smooth; you can feel long patches of roughness.  And you can see the texture of the carbon-fiber through a lot of it. 

When I look into discussions on drag dynamics, people seem to have many different ideas of what is best but this board, though I don't have that much experience with a lot of different boards, just doesn't seem like it's as fast as it should be.  I cannot get it over about 5.0 mph for any length (1/4 mile) and while I'm not going to be winning races, I'd think, if the winner of the RTR (Seattle) can sustain 6.5 mph over 13 miles (unlimited), I should be able to get my board to 5.5mph for a 1/4 mile.  So I'm looking for obvious culprits besides my own poor technique and lack of strength!

So, do people ever recoat/paint older boards?  Or should I just get out the 1000 grit automotive sandpaper and smooth her out first?

Will

[Bulky]

While I'm sure there may be some improvement, I suspect any gain would be minimal and perhaps completely unnoticeable.  My own experience is that the bigger variable is the paddler.  Changing fins, painting the board, putting magic cream on the board, getting a paddle that's 2oz lighter, etc never makes for that big a drop in speed.

True what people can do on these boards is amazing (but also remember you're comparing yourself to a race-winner on a UL--very different craft).  5mph is a pretty good clip for a recreational racer.  If I recall what Pono or someone here said about hull speed, 5.5mph on a 14 might be very difficult for a mere mortal to attain.

This is slow speed racing where 1/2mph is a huge drop in speed.  If you accomplish this simply by painting your board, I'll be a little pissed (as I'm getting out my sander...)

[Area 10]

Sorry mate, it's you not your board.

If you want to go faster, then do what the fast people do. Watch what you eat. Give up alcohol. Train 30 miles a week (at least). Video yourself and get some paddle coaching. Train with other people. Get lots of sleep and cross-train as much as you can. In about a year you'll be able to average 5.5mph over a mile, easy. Probably more like 5.7-5.8 if you really work hard.

Now, whether it is worth it, is for you to decide.

[whughes98144]

Train harder?  Stop drinking?  Get a coach?  Nah, nah, look, I'm from the States.  We expect a quick fix without any pain on our part.  So really, I just want to know, if like the paint *color* matters to speed.  Cuz maybe black is faster than white? 

But seriously, people get all into racing fins.  How can the fin make as much difference as the entire surface of a 14' board??  If my board surface doesn't get nice flow, what difference is the fin ?  Yeah, drag goes as the cube of velocity, so it's not as huge an issue at these speeds, but still! 

I'm happy to train, but it's nice to know the board is in top shape and isn't holding me back.

Will

[Badger]

It's possible that the board is designed to be that way. It's a well established fact that a rough surface is faster than a glossy surface. A lot of board companies intentionally rough up the surface on the bottom of their boards. Naish is one. Others like Jimmy Lewis put down a final layer of gritty paint.

If that's not the case and the surface is so damaged that it's pitted and you can actually feel the weave of the cloth, I would think it could definitely slow you down. It would bother me to no end.

The trouble is that you can't just coat it with any old paint or epoxy. Unless you're a paint expert, it has to be professionally done with high grade automotive paint and/or epoxy preferably sprayed on. If you try to take the cheap route and do it yourself, it will likely fail and end up getting scratched and chipped pretty quickly. It will look like hell and you'll be back to square one.

You might get away with just sanding it smooth but if you sand it down to the fabric, it will probably need to be coated.

[Bean]

A sanded finish is faster than a perfectly glossy finish because there is less surface tension.  But a sanded finish is not the same as a beat-up and pitted finish.  For touch-up on your SB, Krylon satin white should be a near perfect match. Paint, let dry, then wet-sand with 320 on a sanding block, for that brushed carbon look.

Red is the fastest color,  I know this for fact because I was way faster on my Fanatic than I am on my Naish.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with the drop off in my flat-water training.

[Area 10]

If you are worried that your board is holding you back, then try a different one and see if you are faster.

The most common experience is that a change of board makes a disappointingly small difference. (Within board type that is - there's no doubt that a DW board is slower than a specialised flat water one in pure flat water, and a DW board will murder a flat water one downwind, for instance.)

It is possible that the Sprint doesn't suit you. Some boards you just "gel" with, and some you don't. It's a very personal thing.

But 5mph is a common plateau for a paddler. It's the speed you reach when you are past the beginner stage, but haven't yet gone to the fanatical stage.

By all means sort your board out. If it's a Starboard then it can probably be greatly improved aesthetically by a completely new paint job all over   (sorry - just my opinion - my Ace is so ugly it makes my eyes burn to look at it.)

[ukgm]

Hey all,

I've got this third-hand Starboard Sprint 14x24 that's had a lot of use and the surface of the bottom is not very smooth; you can feel long patches of roughness.  And you can see the texture of the carbon-fiber through a lot of it. 

When I look into discussions on drag dynamics, people seem to have many different ideas of what is best but this board, though I don't have that much experience with a lot of different boards, just doesn't seem like it's as fast as it should be.  I cannot get it over about 5.0 mph for any length (1/4 mile) and while I'm not going to be winning races, I'd think, if the winner of the RTR (Seattle) can sustain 6.5 mph over 13 miles (unlimited), I should be able to get my board to 5.5mph for a 1/4 mile.  So I'm looking for obvious culprits besides my own poor technique and lack of strength!

So, do people ever recoat/paint older boards?  Or should I just get out the 1000 grit automotive sandpaper and smooth her out first?

Will

What year is it ? If its a 2014, watch out as we have had a couple of paddlers recently sand the paint off of those over here in the UK but it revealed large areas that needed filling and exposure of areas that had little to no carbon at all (!). It does save at least a kilo in weight but it might make what was already a fragile board even worse.

I can only echo everyone else - if you want to get faster train...... and that doesn't mean paddling more - it just means training with a plan and some degree of structure and science.

[SeldomScene]

Why don't you get the bottom gel coated and make the board beautiful and smooth.  Then having a nicer board, with a smooth bottom, will motivate you to paddle more and train hard to get faster.  You will look better and feel better, and hopefully get faster!  Pm me if you need the info on a board repair guy fairly close to Seattle, in Bellingham.  He does good work and doesn't charge Seattle prices.  No connection to the guy other than he has repaired my surf skis and is known here as the best.

[SlatchJim]

My company is in a joint venture with a manufacturer that is making a surface treatment originally used and meant for jet planes, but marketed to race cars. It's a bit like a wax but surface friction is foolishly slippery when applied. We did it to a couple of vehicles here at the shop and it's way slicker than wax in head to head comparisons.  I plan on grabbing some of the first batch and applying it to the bottom of one of my boards.  I'll let you know if it works (or is even noticeable) and if it ever goes into full production.

[Area 10]

Hey all,

I've got this third-hand Starboard Sprint 14x24 that's had a lot of use and the surface of the bottom is not very smooth; you can feel long patches of roughness.  And you can see the texture of the carbon-fiber through a lot of it. 

When I look into discussions on drag dynamics, people seem to have many different ideas of what is best but this board, though I don't have that much experience with a lot of different boards, just doesn't seem like it's as fast as it should be.  I cannot get it over about 5.0 mph for any length (1/4 mile) and while I'm not going to be winning races, I'd think, if the winner of the RTR (Seattle) can sustain 6.5 mph over 13 miles (unlimited), I should be able to get my board to 5.5mph for a 1/4 mile.  So I'm looking for obvious culprits besides my own poor technique and lack of strength!

So, do people ever recoat/paint older boards?  Or should I just get out the 1000 grit automotive sandpaper and smooth her out first?

Will

What year is it ? If its a 2014, watch out as we have had a couple of paddlers recently sand the paint off of those over here in the UK but it revealed large areas that needed filling and exposure of areas that had little to no carbon at all (!). It does save at least a kilo in weight but it might make what was already a fragile board even worse.

It will get red hot in the sun too, without the paint. Those brushed carbon Starboards get pretty hot even with the paint on. Risky.

[TN_SUP]

I have a 2013 gray carbon SB Sprint 14'x25" that love and it took awhile to do the 5 at 5 (5 miles at 5mph). The carbon started wearing thin on the bottom so a shop added a smooth layer of epoxy to extend its life. I feel it may have slowed it down a bit. I recently bought a SIC 14'x24" pro lite that doesn't paddle as well but it's much easier to maintain 5+ mph. Feel a difference between concave sprint vs convex SIC. So a different board may increase your speed - buy performance when you can.

[TallDude]

My favorite 5 mph + color is unlimited. So what I mean is that any color that's 18' or longer is the fastest.

[PonoBill]

I would say that paint won't make a difference other than making the board heavier, but wet-sanding it with 320 all over the bottom and up to the waterline might. You want the bottom to be smooth but not glossy. I've tested this in my private water tunnel (the hood river, just below the powerplant) and there is about a half pound less drag on a 14' board with my funky and fairly inaccurate load cell.

I would also have said fins won't make you faster if I hadn't just experienced a crazy result with Larry Allison's multi-fin setup. I can easily hold 5+mph in flatwater. Read the multi fin thread for those results.  Other than that, I'm drinking iced tea, doing starvin' Marvin days twice a week, skipping desserts, riding my bike and getting in the water every chance.

[TEX_SUP]

Hey all,

I've got this third-hand Starboard Sprint 14x24 that's had a lot of use and the surface of the bottom is not very smooth; you can feel long patches of roughness.  And you can see the texture of the carbon-fiber through a lot of it. 

Will

If it's a grey 2013 I have the exact same board and it is not rough at all.

Mine is for sale if you want a quick fix. Board will look the same and you will be instantly faster.