Repairing an inflatable Paddle Surf board is usually easy and shouldn't involve any more complication than what we're about to explain. Simply with the SUP repair kit that came with the paddle surf package you bought, it will be very easy to repair an inflatable paddle surf board. Let's see how!
We often pass close to rocks or paddle in shallow places. In this case, if our board isn't a high-performance inflatable paddle surf board, it's quite likely to suffer a knock or scratch that damages the PVC layer and goes through to the air chamber.
It doesn't usually deflate all at once but little by little. We'll notice our SUP gradually losing stiffness.
If you've noticed this and don't know how to repair your SUP.... Relax! You won't need to buy a new one. There are several ways to repair an inflatable paddle surf board. But before you reach this fateful moment with your SUP board, here are 6 tips for maintaining an inflatable paddle surf board. Tips that will help you extend the life of your board once you've repaired it with our step-by-step guide.
How to repair punctures and delamination on an inflatable paddle surf board?
You most likely have a repair kit if you bought a new board, a kit that came with your paddle surf package. You can alsobuy this paddle surf repair kit separately here. They're cheap and easy to apply, as we'll see below.
If you were even a little good at crafts as a child, that will be more than enough to successfully repair your inflatable paddle surf board.
Let's go!
First of all, you'll need to find the puncture. If you already located it on the day your board got punctured, great! If not, you'll need to inflate the board again and look out for any air leak. How do you find a leak? There are two ways. Press the board once it's inflated and listen for the sound of air escaping. Another option is to run your hand over the board until you feel a small stream of air.
Once the puncture is located, we should mark the area (with a pen, for example) so we know where to place the patch that comes with the repair kit.
Materials to repair an inflatable paddle surf board
You'll need each and every item in the kit
Scissors
PVC glue
Sandpaper
Piece of PVC
Steps to fix an inflatable SUP board
With the sandpaper from our kit, we'll sand the area where the puncture or scratch is.
We'll clean the area well with water to remove any PVC residue left after sanding.
Now we cut a circular or elongated piece of PVC. It's very important to adapt the piece of PVC to the shape of our puncture or scratch. This way the repair PVC will fit the board better and stop air escaping. If it's a puncture, we should cut the piece of PVC into a circle; if it's a scratch, it will probably be more elongated and we should cut the strip of PVC accordingly.
At Popkite we recommend you try to save as much of the surface of these PVC pieces in the kit as you can, since you never know when you'll need more.
In our kit we'll see that it also comes with an ultra-strong glue. We'll use this glue to stick the piece we've cut over the hole in the board.
Once glued, we deflate the board.
With the paddle surf board deflated, we'll place a heavy object on top of the patch to apply pressure for about 1 hour.
Once about an hour has passed, you can inflate your board again and head back out to sea.
Video: inflatable paddle surf board repair
Although we think it's explained quite well in the images above... we also wanted to leave you an explanatory video on how to repair an inflatable paddle surf board. We understand that if it's your first time repairing a puncture, questions may come up that aren't answered in this post. So, with the video below, you'll have no doubts left and your SUP board will be fixed in a few hours.
