StandUpZone Rocks -- Upgrading Deckpad

[805StandUp]

I had a brilliant idea of upgrading the deckpad on one of my SUPs to an OAM Dave Boehne Blur Pad.  Watching the following video, I thought this looks easy enough so I grabbed my hairdryer and got to work...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R94eUwG8JPE

Two hours later, after barely making progress I started searching on the Zone and after reading all the threads on the topic came away with... "if I only did this search earlier I would not have embarked upon this project... but since I started I figured that I would chalk this up to something I did once, but never again!" 

I decided to stay the course and got back to work.  Two more hours later, I was now 2/3 the way through but the rest of the pad would not budge.  I decided to change tactics and follow Wazza66's advice on this thread from 2011:

https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=12215.0

I laid out towels soaked in mineral spirits over the remaining deckpad and covered it in plastic.  Lo and behold, the next morning, the deckpad came off in 15 minutes!  Thank you Wazza66 and StandUpZone!  If anyone else wants to remove their deckpad, the process laid out worked for me.   

Attached is a picture of the finished product...

[Night Wing]

You did a nice job attaching a new deck pad to your board. Looks professionally done.

[lopezwill]

  Good job 805standup!

  How about a write up on how you like your Laird Surrator?

  Thats a really cool looking board.

[NorthJerzSurfer]

those OAM pads are almost TOO MUCH traction.  I had one on an old infinity and it really grips.

[stoneaxe]

Nice work...I'll have to remember the mineral spirits. I've replaced a few pads with no problem but if i ever want to change the pad on my Foote i'll need it...took me a 1/2 hour just to do a small section.

[805StandUp]

Thanks.  If I only checked the Zone sooner, it would have saved me 4 hours of frustration!  Or perhaps, I might have skipped the project altogether so maybe not all bad...

@lopezwill: I am still getting the board dialed but I had longer Surrator before and really like this 2016 8'10x29x118L.   2017 Lairds have a better diamond deckpad thus my addition of the OAM pad to this board.  This one is a relatively recent quiver addition for shoulder+ days with its narrower width, pulled in nose and tail and more aggressive rocker.  The other boards that I surf regularly are a 9'0x29.5x113L Laird Surfer and 7'4x30x105L Starboard Hypernut which have flatter rockers.  In general, the Surrators are super nimble, surf much smaller than their size and have speed on reserve.  They are very different from the trend towards smaller boards with parallel rails, wide tails and flat rockers. 

@NorthJerzSurfer:  Hopefully the grip won't be too much to move around the board...looking to get it in the water this weekend but have a kid fighting the flu at home.

[805StandUp]

A quick review of the OAM deck pad in case anyone is curious... 

OMG, as NorthJerzSurfer indicates, it has grip for days.  Took the board out barefoot in 2-3 foot windslop yesterday with a 10-12 knot wind and my feet felt glued to the board.  This had the effect of increasing: 1) the effectiveness of my paddle stroke; 2) the ability to right the board if it is tipping and 3) increasing responsiveness on a wave.  I bet it works great on the Infinity race boards.

The pad has way more grip than any of the pads that I used before: Naish diamond pad; 2017 Laird diamond; Starboard square design; Focus Rawson diamond; Pre-2016 Laird parallel lined pads.  The verdict is out on whether it has too much grip but for me works great on the Surrator which tends to be a bit tipsier than other boards its size and the parallel lined pad was too slippery when used without booties.  For my other boards, I will stick with the diamond and square pads which work fine.

[stoneaxe]

Does that pad have slots cut out of it? The reason I think mosaics work better than anything isn't because of the pad choice but the fact that there are spaces between the pieces. Slots would add a lot to the grip of a pad while reducing weight...kind of surprised all the manufacturers don't do it some....or simply have the pads come in more pieces.

[805StandUp]

Does that pad have slots cut out of it? The reason I think mosaics work better than anything isn't because of the pad choice but the fact that there are spaces between the pieces. Slots would add a lot to the grip of a pad while reducing weight...kind of surprised all the manufacturers don't do it some....or simply have the pads come in more pieces.

This one is the OAM Dave Boehne Blur Pad and it does have slots throughout the pad to reduce weight.  OAM also makes a Slater Trout version that doesn't have the slots.  Interestingly, I was wondering if the slots will make it less durable over the long haul, but time will tell.  Both versions come in 9 pieces for installation.  I think a big part of the grip comes from their "animal grid" traction layout--it is a lot more grippy than the traditional diamond patterns.

[stoneaxe]

I'll have to try one next pad I do. I like lots of grip.

[TallDude]

You can find just about every kind of color, pattern, thickness, texture, and material right here. https://www.hydroturf.com/ 
I've bought all my pad material from them. I like the soft long diamond material. The first Hobie race boards had it, and it's always been my favorite. There is some nasty stiff cheapo diamond plate pattern that leaves impressions in the soles of my feet. It gets brutally painful on long paddles. I just by bulk sheets and cut my own patterns but incorporate pre-made kick pads.   

[stoneaxe]

Hydroturf is who I have been using. I still have a bunch of the soft diamond in fact. I like the idea of the pre-slotted pieces though.

[SlatchJim]

I like what Tall Dude does for his pads.  Only rarely have I thought that I need more grip, and it's usually on a windy bumpy mess of a day with size (and even then, I should be realistic and know that I'm out in junk and to not expect a picture perfect ride). 

Nice work on the pad upgrade!

[805StandUp]

Thanks, Talldude!  This OAM will work great for my Surrator but it is nice to know a source if I need to get a diamond pad or have an option if I need to replace one of my other pads.

Incidentally, I saw on Laird's website that they are clearing out boards if anyone is interested.  I suspect your local surfshop can get the same pricing.  I can't say enough good things about my 9'0 Surfer and 8'10 Surrator.  I think the back story is that Laird is moving from Nidecker to another distributor and I see pre-2017 Surrators for as low as $670 just know the deckpads are better on the 2017s (which is what started this thread).

https://lairdstandup.com/boards.html

[Board Stiff]

Slightly off topic, but what's the best adhesive for re-sticking a deck pad that's starting to peel in a couple spots along the rail? After reading this thread, I don't want to let this get any worse and have to deal with a full deck-pad replacement!