You go into the pet store or at least pass it. We all have. And there in cages sit the dogs with the eyes of purity, a window to angels, every sad moment they have experienced being abandoned boring into your soul. I can’t look. I have to keep walking or else I would just get every single one. I get tears just posting the photos on here. For some reason I have a compassionate soul. I see people with walking sticks crossing the road and stop traffic even though they are already stopped. I see turtles crossing the road and I do the same thing, only the cars are not already stopped.
And every time I pass an old surfboard I see the same thing. They look just like Rescue Puppies. I have a hard time to walk by and ignore them. They sit there, unloved and depressed looking without purpose. Just taking up space. Once they were brave steeds to warriors of the waves, riding together on ocean swells, turning, jumping and being the love of someone’s life. And then, the new board came along and they are suddenly called “logs, bombers, pieces of crap, shit board, mother in law” and worse. We are always wanting the new board. And why?
In his article “Do We Love New Things?” for Psychology Today, marketing expert Harry Beckwith thinks that “things that seem familiar feel safe. And we like to buy things we are familiar with, but the “new and improved” version. But think what those words actually mean. “Improved” reassures us that this new product is actually just a better version of the old familiar one. It’s good old Crest toothpaste, but now with whitening!”
And so we surfers are the same. Influenced by images of Kelley Slater, knowing we could be that good IF we just had the right equipment. All I need is what Kelley rides. It seems like every month a “new” board innovation is happening, right now it is channels. Again. So this last trip to Costa Rica. I decided I would not be Kelley anymore. I am sure he will appreciate that.
Travel with a board has never been something that I enjoy. It is like hauling a dead body from the airport, all over town in taxis and buses, up and down stairs, bumping old people off of narrow streets and being charged sometimes crazy amounts of coin to do so. I have had Uber drivers actually look at me and drive away. Many airlines will require a hundred bucks each way to mishandle your board. Sometimes your board will cost you as much as your own ticket. I have often wondered if I could just buy my board the seat next to me. At least it could watch the movie with me.
It used to be an extra charge per bag. And as will happen, surfers decided to try to get around things a bit. The multiple board bag that can hold up to three boards and has wheels on it was invented and is now a common sight, appropriately named “Coffin Bags”. And so the checkmate was played by the airlines. “Ok smart asses! From now on we are charging PER board! Ha! Ha! Ha! and touche!”
This last trip to Costa Rica, I suddenly had one of those moments of extreme brilliance in cheapness that seem to come to me when I consider that I am going to have to spend a lot of money. It becomes the only thing I can think about. How to save wasted money? Those poor Rescue Puppies! I know how to do board repairs, especially the most common ones of fixing dings and de-laminated fiberglass that comes from water intrusion or being in the sun too long. It suddenly flashed on me that all I really needed to bring was a small bag of fins and a fin key! Surfboards has several types of fin setups from just a single fin up to four fins. Ninety nine percent of boards will take three fins, a setup called a thruster. There are two main boxes for these fin types, a brand called FSC and another called Futures. I already had these, but you could get a set of each for under fifty George Washingtons. You also need something that is called a fin key, although any surfer where you are going to will have one. This allows you to attach the fin to the board without it slipping out of the box.
Feeling like a frugal genius, I packed up my fins into a quart sized ziplock and, along with the required surf leash, wax, board shorts and rash guards, it all fit wonderfully cheap into a small, free bag that I had picked up from a school STEM conference. When I looked at the bag, I started to worry. What if the boards didn’t work? What if the surf was going off and I arrive with no board? I needed a beer and to go out front and discuss with the squirrels in my oak tree. After a short while, we decided that I could always pull the Plan B for when you take a board and it snaps in half – rent one. This usually ends up costing about the same as flying one and dragging it all over the country. “Why don’t more surfers just rent then and save the hassle?” you ask. Because we all need OUR board, so that in case Kelley shows up he will be impressed! I have come to realize that I really love two things about surfing, being out there in the waves and hauling ass. Any board will do that for me.
Soon after arriving with my one bag and asking around for Rescue Puppies, I was told about several boards left under the main cabin of the place where we were staying. It was dark and dank under there, it looked spidery and snakey. I could see vague shapes off in the darkness, like sad little prisoners in some third world dungeon.
All boards are magical. If you pick one up, you can feel the energy from them. These all seemed to be looking at me with their sad little eyes ” take me!” I had that same feeling the one time that I went to a dog shelter, I about cried for them. I grabbed four and dragged them out into the first sunlight that they had obviously seen for years. Two were in better shape than the other two. Suddenly I had a quiver! A 5’10”, a 6’4″, a 6″6″ and a 7’0″. For FREE! I hugged them and calmly told them that everything was going to be alright. I could feel their excitement that we would get back into the ocean together. They were going to surf again!
I took them to the yard and using some coconut shells and other found materials, scraped all the ancient and moldy surf wax off of them. They began to shine a bit and the sun melted off most of what I could not get with the coconut scrapers. I made a surfboard repair area at the cabin and set about translating the directions on the resin that I had bought in town at the hardware store. You will not go anywhere and not be able to find some type of resin and hardener, some gritty sandpaper and some masking tape. After this I went over the boards and decided on which one to fix first. The 5’10” had the least amount of dings, so I set on that one first, hoping the repair would set up in the 20 minutes the directions had said that it would and I could be in the water for an afternoon session.
If you have never repaired a surfboard, do not be afraid to go for it. The absolute worst part, unless you love chemical fume buzzes, is the incredibly strong chemical vapors that arise instantly from the resin bottle and are dramatically enhanced when you add the hardener. It is such an easy process to mix and is just a ratio – usually about 1 or 2 percent added hardener to the amount of resin. I always do a test batch in a coconut or waste jar of 4 or 5 drops of hardener to an ounce of resin before a repair. It only takes 15 minutes to see if you got it right. If it hasn’t you can gauge about how much more or less to add. Adding more of less of the catalyst agent will speed up or slow down the curing time for the resin. Also heat or cold will affect the time. After that you just tape off the area that is messed up, pour your repair resin and make sure it stays in the area of repair. All of this is on youtube about a thousand times. The resin, hardener, 60 grit sandpaper and tape cost me about fifteen bucks. Sanding can be done rough, just so nothing will cut you or have an edge. Watertight is all you need.
I am so stoked with how things turned out! I rode all of the boards, and carrying them back, I could feel a new energy in them as I hugged them under my arm. They are surfers too. I can’t imagine being tossed into the darkness and left to rot, never to see the ocean again. And I have a new found respect for these old wave warriors who may break or get beat around, but are still ready, willing and wanting to charge. The next time somebody asks what kind of board I am bringing on a trip, I have a new answer. My boards are already there. Those little chargers, the Rescue Puppies!
Sleep on Sand 
I absolutely love this Mark! It brought back childhood memories of my brother working on boards on our back porch. I remember him cutting down his long board when short boards became the rage. I can still smell the resin. 🤪 Hopefully your Resue Puppies will find homes with young ‘students of the waves’ when you head back to your paying job in a couple months. Stay safe.
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I wonder what his longboard would be worth today. Thanks so much for reading and especially your feedback.
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Good Job …I’ve been doing this in Cocoa Beach for years ….Nothing feels better than fixin up an old board that was heading to the dump and turning on some kid that can afford a board on to a free surfboard … Keep up the good work …. Ed Townes
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