Hey guys,
Im abit of a newbie super, ordered a 8'0 X 28" Starboard pro and picked it up on friday, have been out on it everyday ive had it and am very stocked with the board! Just wondering if its really that important to take the bung plug out when ever your not using your board? What do you do? and have you had any disasters as a result of leaving your bung plug in? I know that surf life saving paddle boards dont have them and most of them are a fair bit bigger than my board...
Thanks, Tristan

DavidJohn said...
[

I don't even know what a butt plug is.. ..

...yet you work in a hospital?

It's a really good idea to get use to taking it out and putting it in as part of your process of setting up and packing up. Continual expansion and contraction with temperature changes will eventually cause delamination, even more so after the board gets a ding and has a little moisture inside. The clubbie boards probably use different construction that doesn't require a vent. Just about every production windsurfer for the last 15 years has a vent screw. It's there for a reason.

The most popular brand of clubbie board (Kracka) have "vents" in them , but lots of other brands boards can "blow" up if they are dark colours (like clear carbon) even before a delam issue can appear the 70 something softening temp of EPS foam will be exceeded but the suns heat on some colours

(PS a clubbie board is 10'6" long and weighs a mandated minimum of 7.6 kg)

Here is a little read/website on water in boards/bungs,vents and leaving them in the sun. good for repairs too!

boardlady.com/

Tristan,

Screw it when you first unpack it and you should never need to unscrew it.

We have a heap of Starboard demo boards and never unscrew them whatever conditions we use them in.

Just keep in mind a board should never be left in extreme heat, if a board is left in a car with its nose up on the dashboard in direct sun on a hot day there is potential to do damage to any board with or without a vent plug. The direct sun through a windscreen is enough to damage any board on a hot day, through the windscreen is worse due to the angle of the screen, side windows are not as much of an issue.

Starboard will in the future phase out air vent screws. Most of us do not loosen them and never have issues.

I can only comment on Starboard and all boards are constructed differently, i would definately take advise from the manufacturer / distributor / retailer about which ever brand you have.

My 2c worth.

Cheers,

Ian

I noticed with Firewire surfboards, they all ahd bungs then they stopped putting them in with a little sticker in the boards saying testing had found the bungs unneccasary.
Also I must admit to travelling by commercial airlines with my Carbon Starboard and always forgetting to loosen bung with no adverse effects. I think this is due to the fact that pretty well all luggage compartments of airlines are now pressurized.
But when i remember I loosen them.

Nick

Rahams, the Fanatics don't have vent screws. If you are looking at the threaded inset in front of the carry handle, it is a mast fixing point.
ET,

DavidJohn said...

HumanCartoon said...

DavidJohn said...
[

I don't even know what a butt plug is.. ..

...yet you work in a hospital?

Ha.. We have so many Code Brown's in ICU that I often wish there was such a thing that we use on our patients..



DJ

Nurse/reg/consultant DJ?

DavidJohn said...

FlyingKiwi said...


Nurse/reg/consultant DJ?

The consultants ask me what I think about out patents.. .. just before I drive our $60,000 motorized beds to the hospital ER, Theater, Cath lab, CT or MRI after I've set up all the equipment that's needed for the patient.. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it..

DJ

True, worked aeromedical in NZ, bed to bed service, as you can appreciate with a full ventilated patient with art lines and many infusions running, great job..... Have the 'simple life' now working on a rescue helicoper