I store my growing quiver in a sheltered but unheated outdoor shed…no sun, no precip but subject to the cruel low temps we get here…10-20 degrees f. many winter nights. I’ve heard gut-wrenching descriptions of the freeze-thaw processes that may be happening to my beloved boards following a mid winter session. I’m sure other NE and Great Lakes(!) surfers have given this some thought and seriously I’d like to know if anybody knows jsut how serious this is. I mean I’ve been doing this for years and had my share of delaminated boards but who know whether the cause is my storage setup or not.
Hey mitchell. I’ve been living in the upper peninsula of michigan the past couple winters and have not had a problem. I would regularly keep my boards in my van for weeks on end in mid-winter. Have never had any trouble, even with temps near 0 or lower. I also have been making boards throughout the winters in a little room we built. It is well insulated, and I keep the heater (a simple 120 watt against the wall on the floor) at around 40 degrees. I turn it up a couple hours (depending on temp) before going in there, and make sure everything is at a constant temp, especially when working with resin. Before starting this a couple years ago, I came to swaylocks for information. With the help of many people I put some ideas together and it has worked very well. Dale Solomonson probably gave the best advice; just make sure the blank, glass, resin, and everything else is at the same temperature. Thanks Dale! If anyone else needs any input on creating boards in cold weather I’ll do my best to offer what I’ve learned. Have fun- ryan