open the vents....

when we receive boards at Windforce and Auswind they are wrapped in 1 or 2 layers of bubble wrap then a piece of cardboard runs around the entire rails and last of all they a placed in a very snug fitting cardboard box
thats all and there are very few that are damaged, but i don't know exactly every step of the boards journey so no guarantee's

seanhogan said...



open the vents....

...and clsoe them before you sail

I always protect the rails on the largest board (in a double board board bag combo), using some closed cell foam that I got that is shapped to fit around the rails). The larger board provides some protection for the smaller wave board, it all comes to 20kg, in a custome double bag, Done about 10 + trips this way without problems.

I once forgot the rail protection and got a ding!

How's this look?

Just remember that the luggage handlers are more likely to rest the board on its nose or tail, so make sure there is enough padding there.

Have you left the rails unprotected around the footstrap area?

I have had one board damaged on the tail, and another damaged on the rail just behind the rear footstraps.

Take up kiting

ikw777 said...

It's two layers of bubble wrap all over with single layer of cardboard or the rails amidships. Had trouble squeezing this all into a pretty tight board bag. If there was more room in the bag I would had added more. Protection on the nose and tail is six layers or more (very thick).

Bubble wrap will fail on edges & corners, if it's tight in a bag should be ok, but I'd definitely put cardboard around the rails (to spread impact across the bubbles).

FormulaNova said...

Just remember that the luggage handlers are more likely to rest the board on its nose or tail, so make sure there is enough padding there.

Resting the board! That's the best case scenario. The worst case is when they throw it on top of the luggage trolly and it falls 6 feet onto runway concrete.

And the worst way for the board to land is on its rail directly amidships. The rail of a board is shaped like the outside of a banana. You can drop a banana from 6 inches onto a table and see that the biggest thump is when it lands amidships. That's when the most damage will occur, it's a direct stop. No easing into it with a rotation. So that's where to concentrate the protection, on the rail amidships.

A drop to the nose is not so bad, the board is able to flex, reducing the peak force of the impact . Also, to get a 6 foot drop you've got to raise the centre of the board to 10 feet, so it's less likely.

swoosh said...

p.s. question to the formula sailors, how the hell do you fly with formula gear?!

A heavy duty board bag will work in many cases. You can be lucky or unlucky. I work in the freight industry and I've seen some really badly packed gear come through ok, but seen plenty of examples where it hasn't.

You guys are scaring me. More card going on tonight if possible.

ikw777 said...

How's this look?

If it was me I would use more protection around the rails at the ends of the board. I do something similar except I don't use duc tape, just electrical tape straight on the board (duc tape will leave glue on the board). When they throw the board which they will! [}:)] and it lands flat, I reckon the flat shape of the board cushons the impact, but if lands on its ends it will come down hard.

I would not bother with the bubble wrap on the deck, especially as it adds volume and weight to the whole thing.

I would only use the cardboard on the bottom of the board for a fragile board, I would not bother if it was a wave board etc.

I can get two boards in a coffin bag for 19.5kg that way.

When I stack the boards the footpad from the bottom board and shopping bag on the front of the desk seems to be enough to protect the bottom of the top board.

The ligher the better, I reckon as it less likely to come down hard onto something even harder.

2nd board ready to go into the bag:

What i reslise while traveling, the heavier the bag, the heavier they will drop it. So if it's light enough for one person but heavy, if they take it from the tol of the shelf they will drop it on nose or tail, if they can carry it on their heads they will drop it from there. Check if it cost to ship more by 3 bags or just one big bag, i would prefer seperate lighter bag.

choco said...

I recieved a board couple of years back and it had 2 fork lift fork holes in it, best way to send board is in a box with styrene spacers on rails, bottom ,top so the board doesn't contact the cardboard at all.