I am going to Panama this summer and want to bring my Sunova Nitro with me. Its construction is identical to a Firewire--1lb eps foam, balsa rails, balsa deck, pressure valve. Is there anything special I should know about packing it for the trip and handling the board in the tropics. My flight is Baltimore to Miami, Miami to Panama City, and then a 2hr shuttle from Panama City to the hotel. I avoided the Angry Beavers thread on purpose, out of fear that radical feminists will hijack it and shoot it all to smithereens. Slainte!
If there is a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will be deployed. First place the mask over your nose and mouth before providing assistance to your surfboard, or family members. Then place the oxygen mask over the pressure valve on the surfboard to ensure constant pressure and prevent 1 lb. EPS foam particles from being sprayed thoughout the cabin. Sorry...i'm no help on this one.
make sure you put some extra protecting on the nose and tail, maybe stuff some teeshirts around them. I did the trip to ecuador from fl, changed flights at miami and then to guayaquil. I personally didnt have any problems with my stick but i bubble wrapped it and put some shirts on the nose and tail, but my friend had a fish and her tail did get banged up and had to be repaired. not that big of a problem if you know that there are shapers in town that you can take it to, costs like $5 at the most to get it fixed. Or bring some epoxy with you and do the repairs your self. but pretty much every plane ride ive been on i had an extra ding put in to my board, the chances just keep going up for every plane change.
Foam pipe insulation for the rails, 1" XPS sheet foam insulation from HD, cut to fit the deck and bottom. DON'T TOUCH THE VENT PLUG. Just make sure it's clear of debris (sand, salt crust, wax...) and cut a hole in the sheet foam over the vent plug. Mitchell... you're one funny f'er, brother! That had me laughing at my desk! Mikey... I had a Sunova Nitro for several months, and that board absolutely rocks! Amazing tech. Made me wish I was a better surfer, cause that thing could do stuff way beyond my ability.
Nitro Pipe foam, bubble wrap, and forget about any factory support should your beautiful Sunova suffer a delam... It will in no way be any fault of the factory, they will just leave you HANGing MAN.... Removing the vent plug will only allow the 1lb eps to fully breath while minimizing the chance that the lamination would pull from the foam, just make sure the plug is back in before you splash...
