Hey Folks, I have an Amudson-prone board- 37l 4’10. It got a crack in the nose and one in the foil box, both small but I foiled on it for a while. At first, some water and air came out, after drying for a week, using some light air pressure, light heat, shop vac, paper towel to draw water out, there is no water coming out anymore. Here is the mystery: It weighs 1.75 lbs heavier than a new one, it feels like a tank, and weighs 7.8 lbs. I drilled some weep holes in it to get more air circulation. Still heavy, still no water coming out. Its EPS and Ive been told it could hold that much water, but if so, where is it? Does anyone have experience with this issue? Thanks for any assistance.
I successfully dried out a few boards over the years. If you can get it out in the sunlight, it helps a ton. Generally for very waterlogged boards, you need to drill a hole in the tail or the nose and set the board vertical so gravity goes to work.
If you really want to get it dry, the very best way is to shove a tube in the hole you drilled, put some mastic around it to seal it up and connect to a vaccuum pump. Maybe don’t pull too hard a vaccuum to avoid damaging the board. But you won’t believe how much water comes out. Leave it in the sun with the vacuum running all day and you’ll probably get as far as you will ever get back to original weight. Patch up and go
1 Like
When you stomp on the board pumping, it’s like squeezing a sponge. The water gets soaked everywhere through the board.
1 Like
I built a system years ago to apply vacuum to board(s) to extract water.
The key was to allow air flow through the board. Especially if the ding has been absorbing water for a while. Vacuum and heat (aka sunshine) together and the board shouldn’t delaminate.
But it was a slow, long process:
https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34297.msg391624.html#msg391624
1 Like
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The heat idea just made me realize that I could put it in my sauna at low heat. Going to give that shot as it is still winter here in New England and not many such warm/sunlit days.
Hi,
Unfortunately, I realized that I had a little damage on my board too, and yes, the board took on water …
It’s been a little over 24h since I opened the pressure valve and the water is slowly coming out drop by drop through the valve hole. As the ding is small I did not drill a hole in the board, thinking that opening the valve is enough as i see the water coming out.
How long before the board is completely dry?
Any effective techniques to recommend? Knowing that I don’t have a vacuum pump, centrifuge or any exceptional tools as I’m not a manufacturer
Hot garage, hot car. It will take about 2 weeks under vacuum to come out. If you know the weight of the board originally it will help to know if it’s fully dry or not.
I think I’ll be doing the same thing on my DW board over winter… I’ll drill a hole in the tail (where the ding is anyway), and stand it up in the basement to let it drain. No vacuum or heat, but I figure it should do the trick after 4-5 months that way? 
please be aware that for years and years people have tried all kinds of things to dry out EPS boards that developed dings and took on water. There are multiple difficulties, the biggest is that the water wicks all throughout the board with capillary action. It won’t leave with gravity alone because gravity isn’t strong enough to counteract capillary action.
Beasho started a long thread on StandupZone about the topic, which is a fun read. I’m sure you can find it.
drill a hole, use gravity and hot sunlight, wait a long time - this will get the most egregious amount of water out, but eventually no more will come out.
attach a vacuum pump to the hole and leave it under vacuum and hopefully hot sun as well - given enough time, this can get almost all the water out. I’ve done this a few times and it does work. It can take days to weeks under vacuum.
the other popular idea back in windsurfing days is a board “spinner” and there are fun stories about homemade contraptions to use centrifugal force to expel water.
1 Like
Should it be ok to fix the ding, close the valve, going for a sessions, and open the valve again when I come back home ?
Forecast gonna be firing from this afternoon
Sure, that’s fine. I just tape up my dings for the most part now and then leave then untaped when I’m home. I rarely actually fix boards anymore.
multiple options to tape over it. I’ve tried a bunch. actually of the easily obtainable options a decent quality clear packing tape works great. Stay away from the really thin stuff. 3M or Scotch packing clear tape available anywhere.
The absolute best I know is: Tear-Aid Type A you can get it on amazon, once you get a roll you’ll use it for everything. Works great for wing bladder repair as well. Use rubbing alchohol to clear thoroughly first. If the board is rough use 400-600 grit to sand smooth first.