Is my board damaged?

-- Last Updated: Sep-24-16 1:19 PM EST --

I have a Bic Ace-Tec Wing paddleboard made of fiberglass, no plastic. About a month ago, I was putting it on my car and it fell off and the nose hit the ground from about 6 feet up full force. It wasn't cracked, but a few weeks later I noticed towards the nose bubbling from the seam when submerged in water. There is a thin beige strip in between the two halves of the board towards the nose in both sides, but goes away past about a foot past the nose. The board still feels solid, nothing is loose. I put some super glue on the pinhole bubbling spots and it's good now. The board feels slightly tip heavy, could water have gotten in? But just now I noticed this: http://imgur.com/Kitox7E

It is completely smooth to the touch, so it's not a scrape. I am pretty sure this wasn't there when the board fell, it looks new. There is no discontinuity in the board. Lately I have been putting the board on my sedan with no roof racks, and stapling it down tightly. The roof is slightly curved, so is the pressure from being strapped to tightly on a curved roof possible causing damage to the midsection? Thanks.

Ace -Tech Construction …
Your board is manufactured using materials that are not common for SUP or surfboards and BIC does not give a lot of information about how the boards are really constructed, the grey thing may be a stringer made of some kind of plastic, many inexpensive SUP brands use a PVC stringer.



If you saw bubbles coming out of the skin of the board and are sure they weren’t just trapped on the surface, then yes you likely have water inside the board. A quick way to test this is to accurately weigh the board with a digital bathroom scale that measures to a tenth of a pound and then place the board in a warm slightly sunny spot for a day or two ( don’t put it in direct sun). If there is still a hole in the board you may be able to hear hot vapor escaping and see it coming from pin hole sized openings. When you weigh the board after a couple of days the difference should be noticeable. Call the shop that sells BIC products and ask them how to repair it, most surf repair shops will tell you they don’t want to work on it.

Found this
http://www.bicsport.com/files/documents/surf/BicSport_DURA-TEC_Repair-Tips_2016.pdf



If you think you sealed up the board with water in the foam underneath, you may need to puncture the board with a razor and see how wet it is, allow it to dry for several days and then repair. Sometimes you might have to take out the previously damaged piece to let the board dry sufficiently. … check with the shop where you bought if in doubt.