Uncrowded spots and remote beaches. Surf trips are the best. Back to basics. That’s why you always need a basic way fix broken surf gear. Here’s how to temporarily fix up your foamie using surf wax and a lighter
Foamies can handle blunt impact pretty well but they’re not so good with sharp objects. In fact, it’s pretty likely that you will get a hole or cut in the soft top deck eventually.
Fortunately, there’s a quick way to fix a cut on the deck of a soft top. Also if you have limited tools at your disposal. I had a fin cut on my soft top recently. It was on a surf trip with absolutely no glue nor glue store anywhere near. The waves were foamie heaven so I was frothing to paddle back out. We managed to fix the board really quick and I was out in the line up in less than 5 minutes! All we used was a pocket knife, a lighter and surf wax.
There are numerous ways to repair a cut in your soft top. The best option is to get your foamie to a professional surf repair, of course. You can also fix the board yourself using non-solvent based glue. We also advice letting the board dry for a few days before sealing the hole with glue. However, if you’re on a trip and you’re looking for a quick fix – this is our preferred method:
- You need these tools: a knife, a lighter, surf wax (base coat or regular wax – that doesn’t matter) and optionally a spoon.
- Use a knife or thin flat tool to straighten the outer layer. It’s likely that the impact caused the outer layer to point inside the crack. Make sure that the outer layer covers the crack as much as possible.
- Put a chunk of surf wax on a spoon. Heat the spoon above the flame. The wax will melt instantly. Poor the hot wax over the crack. When it’s cooled down a bit – lightly press the gum. If you don’t have a spoon (or you don’t want surf wax on it) you can melt it directly holding the wax in one hand and the lighter in the other and cover the crack with the wax drops.
Obviously you want to wash the spoon thoroughly before using it for breakfast. Surf wax can have toxic ingredients. Another reason to always use bio-based surf wax!
Also: make sure to get your foamie properly repaired when you enter the real world again. This method is just for temporary fixing.
Hey all, my Catch Surf Log got 1kg heavier without a visible cut. The whole under the leash plug ist still wet after 3 weeks drying.
Any idea how to get the water out of the board?
Hi Bridge! This s*cks. Because in our experience with that brand is that it’s really hard to ‘dry’ the foamie once it has gotten heavier. I think the manufacturers have duty here to address this issue. This is the reason that I’m stoked on the MF boards – they are hybrids and don’t suck up water.
The good thing is: Your log probably will still surf fine, even if it’s a bit heavier.