10 BEST PRACTICES FOR LOOKING AFTER YOU PADDLE BOARD

LOOKING AFTER YOUR SUP IS EASY WHEN YOU KNOW HOW

So, you’ve buckled down and bought a SUP. It’s awesome, but you want it to keep staying awesome for as long as possible. Here is a list of 10 often missed, but simple ways to care for your stand-up paddleboard to ensure that it stays looking and riding great for years and years. Most stand-up paddleboards are durable enough assuming you are not ramming them into docks or other boards or playing drums on the board. But, like anything that moves and is exposed to the elements, your board may need a bit of care and maintenance every once in a while to ensure that it keeps its good looks, performance, and usability.

1. Cleaning your SUP

Wash off your paddleboard with fresh water after every use. Every once in a while use a lightly water-mixed cleaning solution, we use Simple Green to keep the paddleboard looking and smelling great. This is an especially good idea if you have the sneaking suspicion that your paddleboard is starting to smell. Just like old socks, it happens. Wash it with a light water mixture every once in a while..

2. Lubrication & Rust Prevention

Once a year, take some basic household oil or WD-40 and lubricate all the metal pieces on your paddleboard including the fin hardware in the fin box, the fin tightening part on the side bites, leash cup bars, and any other metal pieces you find on your paddleboard. Even though all the metal components on the board should all be marine grade stainless steel (Usually, SAE 304 or SAE 316) and should not rust, it will keep them working well and make sure that the harsh marine environments don’t cause any harm to the metal components on the board. Also, if non-stainless steel metals touch the stainless steel components then there is still a possibility of galvanic corrosion. In all likelihood, you have nothing to worry about, but it's a good idea to do it every year or two with your SUP.

4. Be Aware of Your paddle board & Its Surroundings

Be aware of your paddleboard and the environment that is around it and avoid anything that is potentially sharp. This seems like a simple one, but it is the most simple things that are the most common and cause the most damage to your SUP. Docks, rocks, your paddle blade hitting your board, kids jumping on your board with the fin installed on the beach, or simply dropping your paddleboard on the asphalt when you are taking it off the top of your car are all things to be wary of. Yes, there are always things that you will miss, but just being aware of your surrounding is a key to making sure that you don’t find a random hole in your board.

5. Holes or Dings

Speaking of dings or holes in your SUP, regularly (ideally after every paddle) inspect your paddleboard for any holes, damage, wear, and tear, or anything new that your paddleboard seems to have on it. If you do have a problem we recommend taking the paddleboard to a professional surfboard or SUP repair person if it is severe or you want your board to look like new after it is repaired. If you think it is minor ding, or are a DIY type of person then most stand-up paddleboard dings or breaks can be repaired with a small epoxy syringe or epoxy putty and some sandpaper. Please make sure to at least put some duct tape over the exposed area to make sure that the paddleboard does not take on water. Also, as a side note, if your paddleboard seems to be getting heavier and heavier then it is a good idea to do a completely thorough inspection of your paddleboard including fin boxes to make sure that you don’t have a small pinhole that is taking in water.

Read our article on repairing a small ding.

8. Vent Plug

I don’t think that there’s a stand-up paddleboard on the market that doesn’t have one of these. Vent plugs help prevent delamination by allowing the enclosed board to breathe and not build up pressure. That being said, the great things about vent plugs are that assuming that they are installed in your paddleboard then they are already working. There’s no need to ever unscrew them and as long as you make sure once a year that they are hand tight then you are in good shape.

10. Storage

Store your SUP in a location that does not have high-temperature fluctuations and is not near any heat source. So many times we talk to people who after they pull out their paddleboard from their garage after a cold winter find that their paddleboard has delaminated because it was next to the heater. Delamination occurs when heat causes the fiberglass of the paddleboard to separate from the EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) foam core. Also, ensure that your paddleboard does not get any pressure dings by making sure that the paddleboard is not resting on any sharp or small surface area items that may cause lines or break the board if things are put on top of the paddleboard.

Keep in mind that these are more guidelines and that like everything, eventually life will happen to your stand-up paddleboard. As long as you follow these guidelines then you should be extending the life of your stand-up paddleboard. If you follow these guidelines then your board should stay looking better and maintain its value over years.