How many times will you repair a board before giving up on it?

[SupDinger]

Howdy Zoners!

How many times will you repair a board before giving up on it?

I have a Riviera Nugg, which is apparently made from the finest eggshells. I have babied the hell out of it, stored indoors, never touches the ground. It's just when it goes in the water...

Had it for a few years now, been trying to surf on it for the last year or so. Small stuff in SoCal, never more than 1-3 ft. Sandy beaches no rocks. Day 2 cracked the tail, and since then, I've had cracks repaired almost all the way around it, and recently had a big chunk of the deck redone along with the handle. Apparently we didn't do a large enough section, as now its delaminating under the pad all around the repair (internal bubbling/warbles). I knew this comes with the territory but I never expected for my maintenance costs to be this high. I'm lucky if I go 4 sessions with no damage.

For those who DIY repair, there's obviously a lot of savings there, but for those at the mercy of the pros, is there some rule to keep in mind as far as where to draw the line, when it becomes a money pit? Some ratio or something?

This has made me a bit hesitant to get a new board, since what's to stop this from happening a month in with the replacement, starting the cycle all over again? Until now, my calculus has been that $100 for a fix is preferable to the outlay for a new one. But it keeps adding up!

For all its problems, and I absolutely love riding the Nugg, but I'll never get a Riviera again. I guess they are just made for people that never ever fall, or flatwater or wall hanging or whatever. Maybe the carbon model is a lot better, but I'll bet it has the same delamination problems internally.

I'm tempted by the Infinity New Deal, or a Nectar - are these brands on a whole different class as far as construction goes? In terms of the brittleness of the outer shell, handle integration, and also this delamination issue?

Of course some dings are going to happen, but this is pretty ridiculous from talking to some surfer friends. It's out for another crack on the rails now, and trying to decide my next move. Would I be served well with one of those foam wavestorm sups until I am at elite status? Did I just get a lemon?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[surfcowboy]

This is not typical.

I've had a Coreban for years and never dinged it.  Rocky breaks in LA.

My custom that I glassed myself has had one, from a side chop into the rocks. That's in 2 years.

That board is a pit man. Sorry you got bit, but glad you like to surf it.

Your next board will be way better.

[TallDude]

This is not typical.

Actually, it's super common for the Nug in particular. If you asked one of our local repair guys what the most commonly folded and needs to be repaired board is? I would put money on the non-CF NUG. There are a handful of Zoners who have had it happen to them. Fun board for sure, but 1 lb. foam, standard glass and no stringer leads to a broken surf board.

[clinto]

If it were me I would fix the last ding and sell it. Not worth the headache and now it is in the back of your mind when you go out. That takes away from a session if your worrying about another $50 - $100 if u fall. Not to mention the time it takes away. I fix my own dings but it still sucks. I just picked up a L41simsup and it has a reputation for being very well built. Stoked to be able to charge harder without so much concern. My laird gets a ding often and my michael Dolsey beater is a Frankenstein board at this point. My next board beyond these will be another L41, a Kings or something else handmade and built more like surfboard. I don't trust painted mass produced boards anymore.

[SUPcheat]

If I can get 12 to 18 months out of a  board without repairs, as I did with Prowave and closing in on that with Speeed, than I consider it fully depreciated.  Any residuals are a bonus. 

I messed with the ever breaking Vernor.  I liked it, but that cured me of fix-it-itis, what a pain in the ass.  I am fortunate enough that boards are easily affordable, so I would just as soon donate and move on.

Prowave has an exotic string of dings from trying to fold up somewhere.  It is sitting in a bag in back until I can decide if anybody would want to buy it or I figure out a way to donate it to a deserving kid.  Until then, I will just take it out and enjoy it once in a while as a beater.

[PonoBill]

Nuggs are infamous. Which is too bad because they're fun. Wavestorm SUPs are at the other end of the spectrum. Best described as "not horrible" to surf, and they will be around when cockroaches (or maybe Tardigrades) rule the earth.

At some point for any board, I stop fixing cracks and dings and just tape the leakers with my favorite bullshit repair tool: Aluminum tape. My 9'10" Foote has a half dozen aluminum tape repairs on it and it's going strong after god only knows how many years. Maybe eight?  Way past its expiration date, but still fun to surf.

Every few years I get my Kenny Tilton longboard down off the ceiling, tape up the leakers and go surf it. Last few times I found my body was a bigger problem than the big old delam on the deck. Three days sleeping in a chair trying to get my neck to stop spasming. There are some things Aluminum Tape won't fix.

[Bean]

SD, if your paying for repairs, you're missing out on some of the best parts of stand up. 

The Nugg is a versatile board for sure, but you might consider selling it to a DIY'er  and getting yourself something more durable.  A big delam job might not be the place to start home board repairs.

[stoneaxe]

Do it yourself....keep the nugg as a backup (you likely won't get much for it)  and get a more durable board you can surf with less worry. Learning to fix dings isn't hard......learning to fix dings so they look as good as new is. I just fixed 6 or so dings that I had in my Vec.....I'm going to use a black sharpie and draw stitches on all of them ala Gerry Cheevers. Like Bean said a big delam job may not be the best one to start with but it will also likely be a bit expensive to get fixed and it's not really harder than other dings to fix (boxes are harder IMO) just bigger.

[kayadogg]

This is not typical.

Actually, it's super common for the Nug in particular. If you asked one of our local repair guys what the most commonly folded and needs to be repaired board is? I would put money on the non-CF NUG. There are a handful of Zoners who have had it happen to them. Fun board for sure, but 1 lb. foam, standard glass and no stringer leads to a broken surf board.

I second TallDude's statement. Older versions of the Nugg would delam just by looking at it the wrong way. A buddy of mine in SoCal had a Nugg that underwent pretty much the same sequence of repairs you're facing and then some, including buckling it in mushy Dogpatch waves. He's pretty handy with repairs so he ended up stripping the entire deck of glass and laying down carbon. He also installed one of Robert's Blue Planet handles. Frankenstein-ish board now but more rock solid than it ever was.

Almost any other brand that you choose will give you better construction and more longevity.

[SupDinger]

Hey everybody, thanks for all the input, confirms a lot of my hunches!

Clinto you're right, that all of this is sitting in the back of my mind as I take off and definitely affects my performance. Probably the reason it hasn't already taco'd or otherwise been utterly demolished, is that half the time I just go out prone on my Nurf.

I suppose I'll try to sell it but know it won't be for much. It's already kind of a Frankenstein! I like the idea of painted stitches hahah!

I do have some experience with fiberglass but these days not much inclination to mess with it. Also unsure of the technical aspects, which resin that doesn't melt the inside foam for instance, and also making it look nice and clean. Doing fin boxes looks pretty hard though. Would be fun to learn but I already have plenty of other projects!

Very stoked to hear that I'll have better luck with other makers! Looking forward to finding my next dream ride! I thought the New Deal seems to be the closest in shape to the Nugg. I've never paddled on anything else actually so open to suggestion. The simsup looks really different and from the descriptions sounds like a lot of fun too. Might be good to find a place where I can try out some variety of boards before I take the leap. Any idea where I could do that around LA? Maybe the sup place in the marina...

[PonoBill]

Nugg to L41 would be a great transition, and they are quality boards. Mine has been almost bulletproof, and no one is more pointlessly tougher on their gear. J.O.B. beats his worse, but he does it in the water.

[SlatchJim]

To answer the question: when my frustration in repairing the board causes my frugality in buying a new board to ebb.

Having just started advancing my repair skills above moldable epoxy putty or Solarez into actually using filler and fiberglass, I kind of enjoy fixing the dings in the fleet.  I'm not skilled enough to do fin boxes or snapped boards, so if it got to that level, it would be time for a "decision." 

Sounds to me like you're getting close. (Clever Forum Name by the way )