This is my quiver right now. I've decided to rack the Grean Bean and stick with the stick that has opened up my surfing the most since I started three years ago. It's a quad shaped by Stu Kenson. Not sure I can remember the dims: 5'8 X 2.75 X 20 (double wing) comes to mind.Like I've said before, it rides really well. I think it has a little more nose rocker than traditional fish, so it can drop into some pretty decent waves without pearling. I think I also mentioned that this thing is a ding magnet. I just picked it up from the shop, where I had a huge gash from Mexican reef fixed on Saturday morning. As I got into the water and started paddling out, stoked to finally have my favorite board back, I came to a screaching halt and heard the sound of crunching fiberglass. I had just run over a barnacle-encrusted stone hiding inches below the surface.
Shit.
I hustled back to my gear as the other guys continued out into the rip, more mindful than I of the rocks. I asked everyone I saw if they had tape; nobody did. I grabbed a tube of Suncure and smeared some into the fissure, then I aimed it at the sun, which had creased the clouds near the horizon. 15 minutes later, I was on my way back to the rip, paddling wide of any submerged boulders.
You guys are all going to tell me to fix this ding myself, but I'm a little hesitant, as I don't want to screw it up. I also want to use the board this week... I'm not sure that the Suncure is completely sealing the cracks. What's the best quick-fix? Duct tape? Clear packing tape (as Slim assures me)? A "Life's a Beach" Sticker? More Suncure? How hard will it be to do a better repair if I throw another layer of crusty resin on it? Kenson assured me that this Surfblanks Australia blank has a more closed cell structure than other poly boards, so maybe shouldn't stress on it.
Anyway, some peeps asked to see my quad, and here it is!
Evangelicals - The Water Is Warm
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17 comments:
That's a swwwwwweeeetttttttt board. You didn't mention it was KG fish (drool). It's a ding magnet because they always do a thin glass job. My friend had one that was always getting dinged. They are beautiful yet fragile. I'm jealous, I'd love to get my hands on one of those!
Put a sticker on the ding -electrical tape, whatevs will work brah.
Beautiful fishy thing.
KG boards are really nice.
Brat, a lot of people would say the same about the MSF you have posted on your blog.
I'm going to sticker the ding for this weekend, methinks.
The best way to fix it is with an Indianapolis Colts sticker. If you do something like a Rams sticker its sure to leak.
What's better Suncure or a sticker? I always assumed Suncure was the next best thing to having it professionally repaired. But of course I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Lanny Shuler told me to use clear packing tape when in a pinch.
If you don't want to fix it right yourself, you should really give it to a pro instead of stickering it. If you really love the board you know you have to give it up for a bit...
There has been this sweet used KG fish in a shop here for sooo long. Looks in good shape. Guess the $425 pricetag is scaring people. KG charges too much coin for their fishies.
We can rest assured that a sticker of Peyton Manning's head would scare away sharks, but it's water that I'm really worried about...
I may tape up (with packing tape) just this one time - okay, maybe this is my second time because I had duct tape on it for three days in Mex.
But after that, it's going back to the shop for a real fixin'. If I pay $35 for this ding, I'll have accrued $160 in damage repair over the past six months. Add that to the astronomical cost of one of these boards and... oh well.
The repair guy said he's giving me the frequent dinger discount, though.
Waz up, nother PDX surfer here.
Nice shots from the snowy weekend. Twas a blast. Word!
Came across this via Doc's blog and I'm seeing the whole little network going on here.
Anyway, KG's are notorious for shitty glass jobs as with most SoCal sticks. I'm rolling a Shuler quad myself, but have had the same problems in the past with shapers like Rusty. Hard to tell, but it looks pretty minor to me. Give it a light sand and slap a hot coat on there. Suncure and clear tape (never duct!) even wax is good in a bind, but put together a repair kit and DIY bec dings happen. Or come to me and I'll do it for ya if you tell me where that slab is, as I do ding repair on the side. Slim may have my # ? Good luck.
Peace-
Dubstar,
Thanks for stopping by, man! Appreciate your advice on fixing this thing. I'll let you know where the slab is via email (you mean the big, gray one right?). I'll bet you've watched it before but I doubt many have actually paddled out to it.
Welcome to the blog world.
Shoots brah, no wonder you're bummed on the Green Bean, that things a little pocket rocket.
Got's a 5'10" that's really similar, minus the wing and less pulled in tail.
copy/paste for the visual:
http://www.tomneilsonshapes.com/boredoweek/510quad.jpg
Try some electrical tape on the ding, best part is they make 2" stuff in yellow. I always use that in a bind then every so often I'll just take a day and fix all the boards with electrical tape on 'em. Keeps them dry and also a handy way to mark where your dings are.
$160 in 6 months? Shizzle my nizzle, consider it money well spent on some Suncure, some q-cell, a yard of glass and a few hours playing around on a beater board. Ding repair is easy once you get over the mental hurdle of actually fucking up your board even worse to fix it properly. So much info on swaylocks about it, no need to fret.
I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow to find some of that yellow tape. And grab some color chips for Manny...
I had the same prob with my KG fishy. Loved, loved, loved that board...but I had to give it up because I'd ruin, ruin, ruin it if I kept it too much longer. surferbrat is right—they are generally thinly glassed, which has its benefits, but durability and thrash-threshold is not one of them!
I still regret selling that board anyway.
Please be careful. Those rocks could scrape you.
Thanks, mom.
I don't like to go in the water with a ding only covered with a tape, even a very strong one...
I always have my board repaired before surfing with it again... but I have several boards, so it's not too much handicap...
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