Oops...left the vent plug out... again! Do you vent your board?

[Big Sal]

Went surfing this weekend with a friend who sells Starboards and in our haste to get in the water and try to surf the Starboard Cruiser, we forgot to put in the damned vent plug. Since we live in Lake Tahoe at 6300 feet, we need to vent every board we own. These stupid vent plugs that you have to take out seem to create problems with remembering to put them in after travelling down the hill. ( personally at least).

My friend and I have had many problems with boards delaminating or splitting out at the rails in the elevation and heat in the high sierras. I have now installed over a dozen gore tex plugs in my boards over the years.

Anyway, I surfed for over 1 1/2 hours on the thing before we realized what happened. We turned the board over and left it on the truck for a while and now have her back in Tahoe at elevation.

Anyone know the best way to get the water out? Could it just sit for a few months in a shady, very dry environment and dry out? Hopefully the wood veneer will not buckle...We don't have any board repair shops up here.

Anyone done this before? 

[juandoe]

http://boardlady.com/water.htm

I don't take my paddle out of my truck until I have the vent plug screwed in.  That way I can never leave it out.  When I windsurf, I never put the fin on until I screw the plug in.  Once you get a system, it's not too bad.

[Evan Lloyd]

You could put a little sticker on the nose of your board that reads... Is your vent in?  or Vent?

[H2Oman]

I was thinking of placing a big piece of blue painters tape across the board/hole every time I take it out.

[DavidJohn]

Bummer!.. My new Naish board came with this huge sticker.. but once it's removed it's not gunna do you any good.. Maybe it should be a permanent warning sign?

DJ

[Dwight (DW)]

I've set boards in the sun and watched water boil like a fountain from the ding. I'd try putting the board in the sun and maybe putting a black plastic sheet over it to generate heat.

[Big Sal]

Thanks for the advice. Good ideas. Being a surfer who has never even touched a windsurf board, I am not used to having to do that. I quickly figured it out when I got my first paddleboard. I am still blown away when I see folks come up to Tahoe without having vents in thier boards and then they leave them in the sun.... The rental guys up here have all had problems with boards splitting. Some manufacturers still claim you don't need them yet they put them on someof thier boards?

I have seen a vent plug that Bark uses that does not come out completely, rather just lifts up and half screws back in. That would help. I have been using the Gore Tex plugs that Infinity sells and have had no problems yet. You need to look at them from time to time to make sure they have not ripped.

DavidJohn... I have a new Naish 10' Mana that did NOT come with any vent plug, yet I see them in the pictures.  I installed my own.

Thanks!

[Richard]

Airplane pilots put a protective pouch on the pitot-tube(used to measure airspeed). A small flag is attached to this so when pilot preflights the plane it will be obvious that this needs to be removed before flight.

With a SUP board, you could install a small piece of velcro next to the vent. Whenever plug is removed you could attach a small piece of brightly colored ribbon to velcro and this would always remind you to remove ribbon and replace vent plug before launching.

You are cleared for takeoff!

Richard

[PonoBill]

I sure like the goretex plugs on my Foote Maliko 14.

I'm experimenting with an aquarium pump on my Gecko board, which is pretty waterlogged. I'm tempted to fill it with water to flush out the salt, but I suspect there isn't enough to really act significantly hydophilic-ally. I drilled a hole in the nose and tail, stood the board on it's nose (so it will act as a funnel) and attached the aquarium air pump to the tail. I'm getting steady drips, have been for days. I doubt it amounts to pounds of weight yet, though it will add up if it continues. If nothing else it doesn't belong in there.

This time I'm not going to forget the holes are there.

[Caribsurf]

I have been windsurfing for some time now and my boards have the screw vents.  I have always just left them screwed in unless taking on a plane to deal with the pressure....   Is this wrong?

Am I supposed to have been unscrewing the vent after each use?  Never had any problem leaving it screwed in...

[tautologies]

I think a pretty common way for repairing water logged boards, is to drill a hole at the nose (or tail whatever is easiest), then turn the board so that the water can drain, and just leave it like that for some time. The problem of draining the board in the center is kind of like a balancing act....

I think some push air through the boards too, but I am guessing that would require specialized tools and I am not sure how they do it...

[tautologies]

I have been windsurfing for some time now and my boards have the screw vents.  I have always just left them screwed in unless taking on a plane to deal with the pressure....   Is this wrong?

Am I supposed to have been unscrewing the vent after each use?  Never had any problem leaving it screwed in...

Same here, always in. I think it is smart to take them out if you leave them in a hot place.

For the most part this is about having a routine...i you take it out, always do that, or use a sticker like suggested so subtly above ;-)