Air-filled SUP board can be stored either pressurised or deflated on a roll. Most people store their board with the air on all summer long, making it immediately available for use. If you do this, it's worth checking the pressure every couple of weeks, especially if you're going for a longer run. If you want your sup board to stay in good condition for years to come, shade the board when you're not using it, even if it's made of UV-protected PVC material such as higher quality boards. If your board sits in the sun all summer on the dock, UV rays will eat away the colours from board after board sooner or later.
If you store your board in a rucksack for a longer period, make sure it is dry all over so it doesn't mould. Check the carrying handle in particular, as the neoprene handle can easily get wet. According to the manufacturers, it is allowed to store your SUP board in freezing temperatures. If possible, keep the board inflated over winter at low pressure (max 10psi). However, it is worth bearing in mind that frost will wear out any material, as the material will freeze and thaw several times during the winter, which will inevitably stress the material. A board that has been stored for ten years in plus temperatures will certainly be in better condition than a board that has spent the winter in freezing temperatures. So if your board can be easily moved to plus-side storage, it's worth doing so.
A SUP board with arms the same guidelines apply as for inflatable boards. With winged boards, you should pay special attention to sunlight and heat. If the board overheats in direct sunlight, the EPS (styrofoam core) of the board and the fibreglass layer against it may delaminate, i.e. separate from each other. This is not covered by the warranty as the instructions state that the board should not be stored in the sun. Of course, this is not a problem when paddling because water cools the board. Jobe's hard-bodied SUP boards have an automatic valve on the board cover above the stand-up platform, through which the excess pressure caused by thermal expansion escapes. Sometimes, when paddling, water can collect on the valve, which can slightly "bore", which is perfectly normal. However, water cannot get inside the board because the valve has a gore-tex membrane that lets air out but not water in.
Both inflatable and rigid SUP boards are very easy to maintain. The most important thing is to clean the board with a mild detergent solution and a brush when necessary. Rinse the board and equipment with fresh water if you are finning in seawater. For inflatable boards, check the valve at regular intervals to make sure there is no excess debris. You might think that Joe's hard-bodied bamboo boards would require more maintenance, but this is not the case, as the bamboo veneer has a protective layer of fibreglass on top, so just cleaning is enough.
It is very difficult to break an inflatable SUP board, especially if it is a higher quality board made of durable and thick PVC such as Saimaa SUP Moon or Jobe Danube. Vesiurheilu.fi has not broken a single SUP board on the water in ten years, although the kilometres and different boards have been tested in quite a few rough conditions. Most often a hole is made in a board by careless handling on dry land, for example by stepping on the board on a pier where there is a screw or nail underneath or on a shore rock where there is a sharp branch or stone standing up, etc.. So don't walk on the board on dry land!
If your SUP board gets a hole in it, it's easy to patch. If you don't know where the hole is, you can find it by filling the board and listening to where the hiss is coming from. If the hole is small, you may not find it by listening, but use soapy water to help you and watch where the bubbles are. In general, you should start looking around the valve for the leak. If the leak is there, in most cases simply tightening the valve with the valve wrench that came with the SUP board is enough. (Sometimes even a new board can leak between the valve and the board because the valve was not tightened at the factory, so tighten the valve according to the instructions below.) The valve wrench is often a grey plastic tool that looks like a clamp, found in the orange tube that came with the board. If the valve mechanism is broken, valves are also sold as spare parts. If the leak is not in or around the valve, the next step is to inspect the board seams. If there is no leakage at the seams, inspect the base, then the cover.
Once you have located the leak, drain the board of air and clean the area. SUP board repair kit, which is part of the equipment on all SUP boats, has several PVC patches and glue. Put glue on both surfaces (board and patch) and centre the patch over the hole. If you cut the patch smaller/shaped, leave at least 3cm of patch on each side of the hole measured from the hole. Press the patch firmly into place from the centre of the patch, pressing towards the edges to release excess air. Allow the patch to dry for 24h and the repair is complete!
If your board is badly damaged, e.g. a 10cm or larger cut, we recommend you take it to a professional to have it repaired. For example Selboat Oy repairs SUP boards and other plastic products in the Greater Helsinki area.
If the valve mechanism is broken, it can be replaced. Using the grey, hard-looking valve tool supplied with the board, unscrew the valve. Note that the counterpart of the valve is inside the board, so press the counterpart through the bottom of the board against the substrate and unscrew the valve. Do not lose the valve counterpiece in the recesses of the board! It can be difficult to fish it back into place because the inside of the board is full of dropstitch wire. Once you have the male half of the valve in your hand, check at this stage that the cause of the valve's malfunction is not debris, dropstitch wire, sand or similar in the valve threads/reverse threads, and you can save yourself the trouble of buying a valve.
Insert a new valve in the opposite thread and make sure that no wire is left between the valve threads or between the valve and the PVC plastic of the board. If this doesn't work, you can cut a few wires near the valve - this won't weaken your board. Tighten the top of the valve by twisting clockwise and simultaneously pressing the board against the substrate to prevent the counterpart inside the board from rotating with it.
Repairing SUPs with arms
If you have driven your bamboo board on a rock or managed by some miracle to get Titan board a dent that has broken the coating so deeply that the EPS (polystyrene) foam on the board gets wet, the board should be repaired immediately to prevent the EPS foam from leaking. First, allow the dent and the EPS foam to dry, then clean the broken area. The repair can be done with a water-resistant two-component epoxy, for example Loctite's power epoxy is an inexpensive adhesive for less than a tenner and is neat to use. Mix the ingredients together and brush over the dent. You can also use the epoxy to fill small dents, as it hardens really hard and then the board is ready to use again. If your board has a big damage, we recommend you take it to a local professional, for example fibreglass boat repairers can usually repair SUP boards.
These guidelines are freely available in online publications if you link to the source www.vesiurheilu.fi More information info@vesiurheilu.fi
