How to Pack a Surfboard for Travel
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditAre you tired of getting the feeling that the cargo hold contains a bunch of surfboard joyriding gorillas waiting to dent your surfboard the moment it is loaded? Rather than worry the entire flight about how your board is faring and whether or not the vacation ahead is set to be a good one, the answer lies in packing the surfboard well. This article takes you through several ways to protect your board so that you can arrive ready to disembark and head straight for the surf.
Steps
- Buy or borrow a
heavy-duty, appropriately sized board bag. To increase the odds of
ding-free travel, buy a board bag. While some people claim you can travel
safely without a board bag, it is debatable and is certainly a moot point
when you receive a damaged board at the other end of your flight.
Prevention is better than cure:
- Purchase a bag that is
six inches / 15cm longer than your longest board; this additional length
leaves room for cushioning.[1]
- Consider how many
boards youll be traveling with on this trip and in the future. Obtain a
bag that will accommodate your needs. Board bags are available with
compartments that enable you to carry more than one board safely.[1]
- Think about what kind
of bag would be most convenient to travel with. For example, you may wish
to get a bag with wheels so that it is easier to bring with you through
long airport queues and getting and from your accommodations.[1]
- A plastic hardcover
board bag will be most effective at protecting your board, but also the
most heavy and bulky luggage to travel with.
- Remove the fins from your
board. If you have removable travel fins such as FCS, OFishl, or Excel
Fins, it makes good sense to remove them to prevent the possibility of
catching on surrounding objects. A flatter object travels more soundly.
- Wrap the removed fins
in a towel and keep them with your board, along with the fin key. If you
forget the fin key, your efforts are in vain, so double check it is in
there before zipping up.
- If you have standard
fins, place a fin box around the fins to protect them. Fin boxes are not
expensive, but if necessary, you can make your own by using polystyrene
blocks - ask for these at electrical stores and warehouses.
- Remove the old wax off your board.
Skipping this step will usually cause your cold water surf wax to melt all
over your board bag when you land in the tropics.
- Cut foam pipe insulation
covering and duct tape it down the rails of your board. Pipe covering
is available at most hardware stores.
- Cut a slit down one
side of the pipe insulation.
- Secure the insulation
to the railings with duct tape or shrink wrap.
- Protect the ding prone
areas of your board such as the nose and tail. Do this by duct taping
items that you arealready traveling with, such as wet-suits, towels, and clothes around the
board. Bubble wrap is also a great choice as it is lightweight and
cushions impacts well. Look for bubble wrap with the larger bubbles.
- If you areusing pipe
insulation for the rails, you can use it to reinforce the nose and tail
as well. Secure with duct tape or shrink wrap.
- Cut a "bend
relief" notch at the center of the nose and tail so that the
insulation doesnt bunch up.
- You can also run
insulation along the center of the board for additional protection.
- Slide the board into a
sock or bubble wrap bag if you have one. This is yet another layer of
protection that will go inside the full board bag.
- Place the protected board
in your board bag. Throw in some extra clothes and padding for that
extra bit of protection, especially at the ends or any ding-prone parts. Do
not forget the removable fins and the fin key, if applicable.
- If you arepacking more
than one board, there are a few different ways you can arrange them:
- If the fins are
removed, place the the largest board on the bottom, with all boards
facing the same direction and the rockers running the same way.[2]
- If the fins arent
removable, place each board nose to tail all deck up, to even out the
bulge from the fins and fin blocks on each side of the bag (rockers
still run in the same direction). An alternative is to offset each board
in the bag, but this is only convenient with two boards and an extra
long bag. Lay both boards deck down in the same direction; put the
largest board on the bottom and stagger the next.[3]
- Write "top load"
or "fragile" on the bag with a marker or acrylic paint. You
areset to go and reach your vacation destination with the board in one
piece. All you need to do now is to stay healthy on the plane!
Tips
- As you are adding wet-suits
and other extra padding, consider the distribution of the weight in the
board bag. If the bag is unevenly weighted towards the nose or tail, it
will be hard for you to carry.
- Bring a ding repair kit in
your other luggage to fix the inevitable dings that will happen. It should
contain resin, catalyst, fiberglass cloth, fin rope, sand paper, and a
small tube of solarez.[1]
- Many airlines charge $50-$100
per board or per board bag per flight. Consider flying surfer friendly
airlines like Singapore Air, which do not charge this fee.
- British Airways has now
banned surfboards from flying in all of their planes. Keep this in mind if
you plan to air travel with them.[4]
Warnings
- A light carbon sandwich
surfboard can explode due to the lower air pressure inside the airplane
during flight. Most carbon sandwich surfboards have some kind of a cap to
let air flow in and out of the surfboard. This should be opened before
flight and moreover closed before entering the water or else your
surfboard will fill with water.
- Do not pack any hard items
(e.g. the leash) in your board bag because they might end up crushed
against the board at some point during the trip.
Things You Will Need
- Board bag suited to amount of
boards and your travel needs
- Towel for wrapping fins if
relevant
- Fin box and key if relevant
- Bubble wrap
- Foam pipe insulation
- Duct tape
- Shrink wrap (plastic wrap) if
relevant
- Board sock or bubble wrap bag
(optional, additional protection)
Related wikiHows
- How to Care for Your Bodyboard
- How to Longboard on the North
Shore of Oahu
- How
to Read Waves
- How to Purchase Your First Surfboard
- How to Wax a Surfboard
- How to Ride a Skimboard
Sources and Citations
- Perfect Wave Surfshop
- Source of foam insulation and shrink wrap instructions and images.
Shared with permission.
- http://www.surfing-waves.com/travel/pack_surfboard.htm
- Purchase a bag that is
six inches / 15cm longer than your longest board; this additional length
leaves room for cushioning.[1]
- Consider how many
boards youll be traveling with on this trip and in the future. Obtain a
bag that will accommodate your needs. Board bags are available with
compartments that enable you to carry more than one board safely.[1]
- Think about what kind
of bag would be most convenient to travel with. For example, you may wish
to get a bag with wheels so that it is easier to bring with you through
long airport queues and getting and from your accommodations.[1]
- A plastic hardcover
board bag will be most effective at protecting your board, but also the
most heavy and bulky luggage to travel with.
- Wrap the removed fins
in a towel and keep them with your board, along with the fin key. If you
forget the fin key, your efforts are in vain, so double check it is in
there before zipping up.
- If you have standard
fins, place a fin box around the fins to protect them. Fin boxes are not
expensive, but if necessary, you can make your own by using polystyrene
blocks - ask for these at electrical stores and warehouses.
- Cut a slit down one
side of the pipe insulation.
- Secure the insulation
to the railings with duct tape or shrink wrap.
- If you areusing pipe
insulation for the rails, you can use it to reinforce the nose and tail
as well. Secure with duct tape or shrink wrap.
- Cut a "bend
relief" notch at the center of the nose and tail so that the
insulation doesnt bunch up.
- You can also run
insulation along the center of the board for additional protection.
- If you arepacking more
than one board, there are a few different ways you can arrange them:
- If the fins are
removed, place the the largest board on the bottom, with all boards
facing the same direction and the rockers running the same way.[2]
- If the fins arent
removable, place each board nose to tail all deck up, to even out the
bulge from the fins and fin blocks on each side of the bag (rockers
still run in the same direction). An alternative is to offset each board
in the bag, but this is only convenient with two boards and an extra
long bag. Lay both boards deck down in the same direction; put the
largest board on the bottom and stagger the next.[3]
Article provided by wikiHow,
a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the
original wikiHow article on How to Pack a
Surfboard for Travel. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons
license.
