ABW June 2017

Getting Aboard a Board...
Words by
RED PADDLE
Photographs
as credited
72
Just a few years ago most of us hadn’t even heard of
stand up paddleboarding, but now people ‘doing it
standing up’ are a common sight along our shores, and
ever more boat owners are discovering and enjoying the
advantages of having a board (or two) on board. As well
as a very useful second tender, they’re the ideal craft
for exploring the anchorage, the marina, the harbour,
they’re a fun platform for
youngsters to mess around
They can be bounced
off rocks and run
up the beach with
impunity.
on, and they offer a great
way of keeping in shape too.
However, the main reason for
the huge take-up of the sport
by the boating community
has been the advent of
high quality inflatable
paddleboards, which are far
more friendly on the paintwork and fittings, and of
course much easier to transport and store. Inflatable
boards have been around for a while, but the early
offerings were generally a pretty poor experience; low
in performance, and easily punctured. Now however,
the inflatables from the leading brands offer such great
performance and robustness that (unless you’re looking
for top-shelf surfing capabilities), the question has
become why wouldn’t you get an inflatable! And for
boating, it’s really a no-brainer, as inflatables are just so
much more boat-friendly. The well-made ones are way
more robust than solid boards too; they can be bounced
off rocks and run up the beach with impunity.
So let’s just work through a few of the most common
concerns and questions that boat owners tend to ask.
How long do inflatable boards take to pump up,
and is it hard? It should only take 3-5 minutes once
you’ve mastered the right pumping technique. The
exertion involved will depend on the quality of the
pump supplied. The best pumps are double-cylindered.
Double action pumps (that push air on the upstroke as
well as the down stroke) are OK but not good for your
back in double mode, so treat them with caution.
Can’t I just use an electric 12v pump? It’s actually a
big call for an electric pump to inflate a paddleboard, as
it has to pump a high volume of air to a high pressure.
Most electric pumps do one or the other – to do both
in a reasonable time frame requires a LOT of power and
grunt, and a pretty sizeable pump (pricey too). Those
cheap little pumps that plug into your ciggie lighter
socket will probably take about half an hour to inflate a
paddleboard!
Do I have to pump the board up each time? No, the
good ones can be left inflated, and will stay inflated.
You can just treat them like a hard board.
How long do they take to deflate? About a minute –
just open the valve, and then rolling the board up will
squish any remaining air out of it.
Can they take the sun? The best inflatables can indeed
be left inflated, on the deck in the summer sun. The
fabric and glues are heat-stable, and the construction
can cope with internal air pressures 2 or 3 times greater
than what you could ever achieve with the hand pump
(normally 12-20psi), so the expansion factor when the
board heats up is not an issue. Ultimately of course,
UV will always take its toll on the overall lifespan of the
board, so if you are planning on leaving the board on
deck all summer every summer then covering it with a
light sheet certainly won’t hurt.
How easy is it to paddleboard? At top level, the
fully-developed paddleboard racing stroke is an
extraordinarily complex movement involving almost
every major muscle group in your body (which is why it
is such a good workout!), but at recreational level, simply
standing up and paddling is actually extraordinarily easy
- it’s like riding a bike; once you know you can do it, you
just do it.
But I have terrible balance! Then you definitely need
to get a paddleboard! The great news about balance
is that it’s something you can improve at any age. You
don’t need to build muscle or strengthen sinew, it’s
just about teaching the brain. And paddleboarding is
about the best balance training you can do. You’ll be
astonished at how quickly you improve.