My inflatable stand up paddle (SUP) is deflating / leaking
Is your SUP deflating? If you are on this page, you are experiencing a problem with your inflatable stand up paddle. You’ve come to the right place to remedy the problem and get back on the water with peace of mind. Before you start looking for leaks in your paddle, you should know that the air temperature (inside/outside the board) can affect the pressure within your paddle.
Together, we’ll see that leakage problems on inflatable paddles are often simple to fix. We give you some tips on how to fix leaks yourself in this article.
WHY DOES IT DEFLATE?
Before solving the leakage problem, you need to understand why your paddle is deflating. This can be due to misuse (rubbing against the ground, bumping into rocks…), normal wear and tear (loosening of the valve) or poor quality manufacturing. The quality of manufacture of “low-cost” paddles is often the major cause of leaks. Indeed, to be cheaper to sell, the paddle must be cheaper to manufacture.
The factories use tarpaulin peak for waterproof bags whereas we use semi-rigid boat PVC. To reduce the amount of raw materials, low cost paddles are made of only one layer of PVC, they are “single skin”. In contrast, we market “double skin” paddles. This single skin is much more fragile and sensitive than a double skin which will last twice as long.
The rails of the board are also made of single skin on low-end paddles, whereas they should be made of at least two skins to make the SUP strong and rigid.
FINDING THE LEAK
To find the leak in a deflated SUP, you must first inflate it (a pressure of 13 psi is sufficient for this operation). As with a bicycle inner tube, the easiest way to find the leak is to use soapy water. The best way to do this is to spray the water on the paddle and note with a pen where small bubbles are forming. The bigger the bubbles, the bigger the leak.
Usually the leaks are along the rails of the paddle or at the valve.
THE VALVE
The most common leakage problem on a paddle is at the paddle’s inflation valve. This is a recurring problem because the valve is stressed each time the board is inflated and deflated.
It is very easy to fix with the valve key that is included in your repair kit. The valve is made up of two parts that are attached to each other. The first one is inside the paddle, among the dropstitch and the second one outside, the one you use to inflate your board. After many uses of the Stand-Up Paddle, these two parts can unscrew, letting the air through. Simply insert the spanner into the valve and tighten the top part into the bottom part. It is best to do this when your paddle is deflated.
At this point you have solved the most common leakage problem.
RAILS: A COMMON PLACE FOR PADDLES TO DEFLATE
The rails are a sensitive area for leaks as they are the junction between the top and bottom pvc. The risk of leakage is even greater if you have a low-end single skin paddle. Indeed, these low cost models are not made to last, for example only one layer of PVC is applied to the rails even though this is the area most subject to impact. Secondly, the rails must seal the top and bottom of the board. This single layer on the rails is not enough, it makes the rails of the board fragile and much less rigid.
To repair a leak on a rail, you must first define precisely where the leak is and mark it with a pen so as not to lose it. Then, take a quick-setting glue like super glue, and a hoover. Start by evacuating the board of its air and put it under vacuum by connecting the hoover to the valve. When this is done, inject glue into the hole. The glue will be sucked into the hole and will block the leaks. Finally, press the glued area with a thin, solid (but not sharp) object for about 5 minutes. Then let your paddle dry for a few hours, then you can inflate it again and spray it with soapy water to make sure there are no leaks left.
REPAIR A HOLE WHEN YOUR PADDLE DEFLATES
If you open your repair kit, you will find (at Sroka Company at least) a valve spanner, a neoprene handle for the higher end models, a piece of PVC and some stickers. This piece of PVC is what you need to repair a hole on a smooth surface. To do this, it is essential to mark the hole as described above, then clean (with acetone) and lightly sand the surface to facilitate the adhesion of the glue. Cut the PVC of the kit according to the shape and size of the hole, leaving a 3 cm margin around the hole. We do not supply PVC glue in our repair kits as we are not allowed to do so (from a criminal point of view). We advise you to go to a chandlery and get a special PU glue for PVC tyres (the best on the market):Once the glue has been applied according to the instructions on the jar, leave the paddle aside for at least 48 hours before inflating it again.
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