I am moving into a new place and I am wondering the best place to store my boards in the summer and winter. I have narrowed it down to three places: Option 1, a \"closet\" attached to my deck that is only accessible from the outside and is not insulated. Stays cool in summer. Could it be too cold in winter. I know I surf in 35 degree water, but Im not a science guy---is it possible that the 20 below 0 days will cause some crackage? Option 2, a former single car garage that has been insulated and turned into a workspace. No more garage door. There is a wood pellet stove in the center of this room and it could potentially be too hot. The farthest distance from the stove in any direction is 8', or inside an adjacent closet. Option 3, an upstairs bedroom devoted to \"gear\", but presents a logistical challenge of negotiating an old 1800s tight staircase. Ding potential. This is the worst access area, and the best temperature area. <br /><br />What is the ideal storage situation for surfboards? Is there such thing as too cold? I know there is \"too hot\", but that occurs at what temp exactly?
Option 4: My house, I'll take good care of them and ride them so they are not lonely but in all seriousness I would say in the gear room. I keep my boards, golf clubs and guitar gear in a spare room upstairs.
Option 2 sounds best. I used to live in Vermont for 5 years, and we heated with wood. Its hard for me to believe that some part of the workshop away from the stove wouldn't be cool enough to keep boards. The part of the room where the boards are kept would have to be well over 90-95 to even be a concern. Are you heating an entire workshop to sauna temps? Option 1 (20 degrees below zero) probably isn't that bad if the boards are being stored bone dry. If you are pulling them out to surf and then putting them away wet, then I believe wet hairline cracks suddenly being dropped to way below freezing will stress the glass a bit. Option 3 sounds ideal if they were being moved up there ONCE for the winter. Just be careful on the stairs. If you are regularly surfing out of Vermont in the winter, I'm impressed by your stoke.
Probably would be better if you could keep it out of the extreme temps. If its a really nice board why not just hang it on the wall? Either way, its not going to explode and as long as you keep it out of the sunlight and extreme heat it shouldn't turn yellow. Surfboards are pretty resilient over all.
Thanks for the feedback. And yes I will be surfing regularly from vt all winter! Just squeezed into a new 6-5 yesterday. I am an avid skier and ice climber, and going into the season this year my ol lady asked "If its crankin at the coast, but there's 1' of powder on the ground, what's the plan?" Going into this year I thought it would really depend. Skiing (back and front country) has shaped my life. I got to the mountain once this year and it wasn't magic like it used to be. I've skied literally 300 epic powder days in my life, but never rode the perfect wave. Surfing is like heroin. The mrs and I agreed three runs into our day that we would rather be surfing. So pretty much every time it's cranking you'll see a white Subaru with VT plates dawn patrolling, year round.
oh man, you could for sure ski and surf in one day, winter systems often provide both. Hustle to the coast the night before the storm, surf for a couple hours at sunrise, hustle to the mountain right afterward on the way home. sure it may not be first tracks, but ya never know.
AggroNE, I'm in Vermont too. Glad to hear there are more Vermonter's getting after it. I try to get to the coast for every swell that's waist/ chest high or bigger. I have skied my whole life and after 2 years of surfing I understand what your saying about rather being in the water. It is like a drug, and I haven't even been barreled yet.
(keeping in mind I surf decent waves spring-fall) if there's a foot+ of fresh powder over a deep base, I'd rather just go to the mtn (snowboarding, in my case). The mtn is just easier (lifts>paddling), warmer and a fun change of vibe/scenery...plus you don't have to deal with crowds, competing for waves and people dropping in on you (although that may not be an issue in NH winters)
It depends upon the glass transition temperature of the fiberglass (polyester resin). I think it's in the neighborhood of -60F. Meaning, physical properties of the fiberglass will not change until it reaches this point. The real enemy is UV light with which breaks the double bonds making the board yellow and become brittle.
I am a weekend warrior these days, and though I will occasionally call out for an epic day, I am mostly limited to Saturdays and Sundays. Thats 104 potentially surfable days a year. If its cranking, I am going to be in the water! If its snowing Monday through Friday, I can duck out early and hit the mountain. I can even get in a lap on my teles during lunch. In that sense I am snow spoiled. Grass is greener I guess. Unfortunately the crowds get intolerable on the weekends in VT. Having moved back east from the west coast two years ago, I had forgotten how small of a personal space bubble one gets on the mountain here on a Saturday afternoon. Opening day at Killington last year I got clipped by a tumbling snowboarder. People ski so close here you can smell their cologne. And oddly enough, I am warmer in a 6/5 than on a lift! The ocean never gets to be ten below! I do prefer the backcountry for the solitude, and for that same reason I am enjoying the thinning crowds in the winter lineup.
