Just got GreenLight Surf’s goretex vented leash plug. Looks like a regular leash plug except the bottom is a layer of goretex vent instead of plastic. It is water tight based on filling the plug up with water, I’ve yet to test it under more pressure. By design, the goretex vent flexes as i push on it with my finger which leads to my main concern: how would the plug hold up if the tail of my board gets axed by the lip of a good sized wave coming down on it? I guess I’ll try it out on some small wave fishboards first.
I’m exploring options to vent my EPS boards as I have to leave them in my car while I work in socal. I’d like to try out PeteC’s goretex vents from Foam-EZ, anyone have experience installing them on shortboards? Given the thickness of a shortboard compared to a SUP, would it be too thin to install these vents to the point where it significantly compromises deck strength?
I know Brian’s done a bunch of tests… pressure tests included. I don’t know the data, but I know it was being tested for something like a year before he put it out there. I think it was tested in some big surf, including Hawaii. He might chime in soon…
I have installed/used 4 of Greenlight’s vented leash plugs so far, all in shortboards. There is no difference in depth between these leash plugs and normal leash plugs so I can’t imagine any compromise in strength. So far I have had no issues with the plugs and considering you need a leash plug anyway, I’d rather use one of these than a dedicated vent.
The only install advice I can give is to make sure you drill your hole as centered on the stringer as possible so that air can escape from the foam on both sides of the stringer. It took me a few tries to get good at this. The technique that finally worked was to manually press the pointy part of my forstner bit into the stinger as deeply as I could before drilling it out. Essentially make a good pilot hole so the bit doesn’t shift to one side or the other. There are very clear instructions (along with some cabosil and epoxy putty–nice touch) that come with the leash plug so it’s pretty hard to screw up.
Kudos to Brian for coming up with all of these smart doodads to make board-building better.
The leash/plug vent is a great idea, except aren’t venting 1 lb foam? (GL says you don’t need to vent 1.5 and up). With 1 lb wouldn’t you need a high density insert? And the insert installation (with epoxy or PU foaming glues), won’t it isolate the plug from the rest of the blank?
I installed the Greenlight plugs in boards with 2lb EPS. The reasons I did this are twofold:
Better safe than sorry.
On my previous 2lb EPS boards, the stinger was “rising” above the deck and bottom line of the board. This may have been caused by the pressure changes from air travel. IE, the foam was expanding, then contracting (below the stringer level) due to the change in altitude/pressure in the cargo-hold. The vented plugs hopefully will prevent this expansion/contraction from happening as air is free to travel in/out the board when the pressure/temperature changes. If this theory is bogus, then I will just revert back to reason #1.
With respect to isolating the plug from the rest of the blank. The whole trick is that the bottom of the plug is not blocked by any resin and there is a free interchange between the foam and the vent. This is done with the epoxy putty, which is wrapped around the bottom circumference of the plug and smooshed flush around the plug and hole to prevent any resin from seeping below it.
I put one of these in my hws. But I also put a regular vent, and when I remove the screw, I hear a whooshing noise. So the goretex vent is not letting all the pressure out, but hopefully when it builds up enough, the vent will work and prevent damage to the board. Still, I was surprised at how much pressure the board contains in spite of the goretex vent.
Just drill a hole through the high density insert down 'til you hit EPS, directly under the vent.
Works a treat.
Hey Huckleberry, that sounds unusual, are you sure that the goretex vent is installed correctly? Or that there is air flow between all the chambers in your board?
The goretex shouldn’t allow any residual pressure, it is used for clothing afterall
I'm sure I installed it correctly, per the instructions, and there is plenty of airflow in my board. I can blow pressure into the board through the other vent, put my finger over it, hold it for a few minutes, and when I remove my finger, I hear the whooshing noise as the air comes out.
