Leashes and board care: sizes, dings and quick repairs

6 min read

Leash length

The rule most brands and shops give: a leash about as long as your board, or slightly longer. A 6'0 board takes a 6' leash; between sizes, round up. Leashes come from about 4' to 12'.

• Too short and the board springs back at you after a wipeout.
• Too long and it drags in the water, tangles more, and puts the board further away, so it sweeps a wider circle around you and anyone near you.
• Longboards take a 9' leash or longer. Some longboarders use a calf leash, which fastens below the knee.

Thickness

Thinner leashes drag less but break more easily. Thicker ones hold in bigger surf. Figures vary a little by brand:

• Comp: about 4.5 to 5.5 mm. For small, clean waves; FCS rate their 5.5 mm comp leash for 0 to 4 ft.
• Regular (all-round): about 6 to 7 mm. Most surfers, most days; FCS rate their 7 mm leash for 2 to 8 ft.
• Big wave / reef: about 8 mm or more, with a wider cuff. For big or heavy surf and bigger boards.

In the app: A leash can and will break, as evo put it. It is not a lifesaving device: never paddle out further than you can swim back.

Putting it on

• The cuff goes on the ankle of your back foot: the right ankle if you surf regular (left foot forward), the left if you surf goofy.
• Strap it firmly, with the cord trailing off behind you, so it does not twist around your ankle.
• The rail saver is the fabric strip between the cord and the leash plug. It stops the cord cutting into the rail when it pulls tight.
• The leash string ties the rail saver to the plug. Use a strong nylon string and replace it when it frays; it is a common weak point.
• Swivels at the cuff, and on many leashes at the rail saver too, stop the cord twisting and wrapping around your feet.

Checking for wear

• Before you paddle out, run your fingers along the whole cord. Nicks, cuts, flat or rough spots mean replace it. Nicks often come from fin edges and rocks, and a small one can snap under the pull of a wave.
• Check the Velcro grips. Clean sand out of the hook side with a comb.
• Spin the swivels. Salt seizes them; rinse the leash in fresh water.
• Do not wrap the leash tightly around the tail for storage: the cord takes on a coil and tangles. Keep it out of the sun, which makes urethane brittle.

Heat and sun

Heat is the most common way to ruin a board. Hayden Shapes warn that heat and long sun exposure cause delamination (the glass skin lifting off the foam, felt as a soft bubble), yellowing and warping of the foam, and that heat damage is not covered by their warranty. FCD Surfboards say a board must stay under about 65 °C.

• Do not leave a board in a closed car, on a hot roof, or lying in the sun on the beach longer than you need to. If the car is too hot for a dog, it is too hot for the board.
• Store it in a shaded, cool place, ideally in a reflective (white or silver) bag. A sock alone makes it hotter than nothing, say FCD.
• Soft-tops delaminate in heat too. Catch Surf ask you not to leave them in the car for long.

Dents and dings

• Pressure dents are shallow hollows on the deck from your heels, knees and chest. They are normal, especially on light boards, and need no repair as long as the glass is not cracked. Hayden Shapes treat them as wear, not a defect.
• Dings and cracks break the glass skin: a knock on the nose or tail, a rail hit by another board, a crack around a fin box. These let water into the foam. Stop surfing the board until it is fixed.
• If a pressure dent has started to crack, treat it as a ding.

When water gets in

Wet foam makes the board heavier, keeps soaking up more water, and resin does not stick to it. Dry it before you repair:

1. Rinse salt out of the ding with fresh water.
2. Stand the board with the ding facing down and let gravity drain it. Squeeze a crack gently to see if water comes out.
3. Leave it to dry somewhere airy. Small dings can take days; badly soaked foam weeks. Strong sun speeds drying but heat can delaminate a board, so be careful.
4. Press a dry paper towel into the ding. If it comes away wet, it is not ready.
5. Foam that stays wet has to be cut out and replaced, which is a job for a repairer.

Quick repairs

For small, dry dings, a UV-curing ("solar") resin in a tube is the quick fix: sand the area lightly, fill it, cover it with clear plastic film, and let the sun cure it. Then sand it smooth.

In the app: Match the resin to the board. Polyester resin dissolves EPS foam, so never use it on an epoxy or EPS board. Hayden Shapes say use epoxy UV resin on EPS and epoxy boards, and polyester UV resin on PU boards. If you do not know what your board is made of, epoxy resin is the safe choice; it works on polyester boards too, just less well.

• Tape and stickers are temporary, to get through a session or a trip. FCD say quick glues can yellow and a proper resin repair should follow.
• Work above about 21 °C, measure two-part resin exactly, and do not add extra hardener to speed it up: FCD say it can stop it curing at all.

When to see a repairer or shaper

• A crease or a crack right across the board, or a board that has snapped.
• Delamination: a soft, bubbly patch on the deck.
• A loose or cracked fin box or leash plug.
• Large dings, or foam that has soaked up water.
• Tell them whether the board is epoxy or polyester.

Travelling

Fins out, wax off, pipe lagging on the rails, padding at the nose and tail, and a proper travel bag. Booking, packing step by step and what the airlines say are in Travelling with surfboards.

Sources: evo: how to choose a surfboard leash · Surfer Today: surf leash maintenance tips · Saltwater Dreaming: surfboard leashes (leg ropes) · Hayden Shapes: surfboard care guide (heat, pressure dings, UV resin) · FCD Surfboards: board care (heat, EPS and resin, repairs) · Surfer Today: how to address surfboard pressure dents · iFixit: surfboard repair (resin and EPS) · Shore: Solarez epoxy UV resin (epoxy vs polyester warning)

Open in the app →