My girlfriend unfortunately came home this summer with a brand new board which has a damaged stringer (0.5 cm gap). The supplier of the board says this is normal and does not effect the longevity of the board. Also deep pressure dings appeared all over the deck after only being used four or five times and the stringer becomes proud at some places even though the board was cured fully, it is glassed in volan and my girlfriend weighs less than 130 pounds. The board has returned to the supplier and we are awaiting a refund.
The board is a 9ft 4 x 22.75 x 3.25 with a deep nose concave, made from a clark double redwood stringer blank and finished in volan, also glossed and polished.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how the stringer might end up like the picture and what the implications are?
What could the reasons for the deck board to pressure ding so easily even though it is finished volan and cured? file://localhost/Users/alexa/Desktop/stringer.gif
Maybe she walks around on her heels or she lent it to her 220 lb “friend”. The deck could have been skinned too much. ALL boards pressure dent. I’m surprised the supplier in question honored your refund request.
Stringer damaged? Quick dents? Stringer “proud”?? Sounds like a snap that was fixed up for quick sale… PU goes to goo when wet so that could explain some of your story…
I can assure you she does not surf on her heels and less sexism would be appreciated. Also a volan glassed board should not pressure ding as easily as this. I agree though that the board my have been over skinned when it was shaped.
Also a volan glassed board should not pressure ding as easily as this.
It just depends on the volan weight and number of layers. Volan is just a different finish, it has nothing to do with added strength. BUT it usually comes in 8 or 10 oz weights rather than 6 or 4 oz, that’s where the strength comes from.
I can assure you she does not surf on her heels and less sexism would be appreciated.
to steal a line from the P.S.A. (public shaka announcement) in “Sprout”…if anything on this forum offends you, you may need to take yourself less seriously.
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Also a volan glassed board should not pressure ding as easily as this.
as balsa already said, volan has absolutely nothing to do with strength. it’s a finish applied to fiberglass cloth to help with adhesion when laminated. it also adds that greenish hue that people tend to dig on old school logs, but that’s just because volan cloth is what they used back in the day. accordingly, people often request volan cloth when ordering these classic-styled longboards to get that same look of yesteryear. also, in creating a classic log, the boards are glassed more heavily. because the demand for volan cloth is generally in heavier weights (what with everyone using it for these classic logs and all), it is typically found on 8-oz and 10-oz cloths rather than lighter surfboard cloths. most lighter cloths – 4-oz and 6-oz – are treated with silene, which also helps with adhesion when laminating, but is clear. however, that’s not to say you can’t get heavier cloth that is treated with silene rather than volan.
Welcome to my world before epoxy. I began visiting this site and making my own surfboards because I was fed up with boards that would self destruct after less than one season under my bony knees.
I’d recommend you start making your own. You’ll be hooked for life.
