Blog

Don’t do this

I’m in the process of fixing a paddleboard for the second time (same board, crack in a different spot). This isn’t one of the boards in our rental fleet, or even a brand that we carry or paddle. A friend owns this board, and obviously, has had trouble with it, so I’m trying to help her out.

Back before I discovered SUP, I refinished a lot of antique furniture and stripped a lot of paint from old houses, so I find repairing boards somewhat familiar and kind of fun. But, of course, it is more fun to paddle the boards than to fix them.

So, this seems like a good time for a reminder: be careful with the boards out there. Our PaddleFit instructor John Denney calls them 12-foot eggs. While some of our boards, like those from Glide SUP, are more durable than others, they all need to be treated with care.

Here’s our advice:

• Watch hatchbacks and doors.
• Don’t drag boards through gravel.
• Don’t drop boards on the ground.
• If you start to see a small problem, fix it early, rather than waiting until it becomes a big problem

Take care of your boards so you can spend more time on the water and less time in the shop.