Please Help! No Leash plug in my longboard.

[TOESoFURY]

So, I've got my hands on an old late sixties to mid seventies (I think), 9 foot long board. It has a single fin and is manufactured by a company called dunlop. However this board does not have a leash plug or any other mechanism for attaching a leash, and as you could image if I wipeout on a wave and the board carries on to shore (which it does) it could seriously injure someone if it hit them, and would cause a hell of a hassle for me. So i was wondering is there any way to install a leash or leash plug, i have heard of e-z plugs but i do not believe they are available in New Zealand. Any help appreciated thanks.

[jaffa1949]

Relax your toes on this one, Dunlop boards were one of the first attempts of a higher order company to enter the surfing market late sixties at a guess.
Your best bet is to go to the local surf shop and have them install one or if you are into DYI then they can sell you the plug. Installation is no big deal just make sure where you plan to put the plug Oh and just to be sure check out the type of foam under the glassing if it is PU or polystyrene as some of the the knock off board of those days had strange blanks. You will need to choose your resin accordingly.
Good luck

[TOESoFURY]

Thanks alot for a quick and helpful reply, however how could i tell what foam the core is made of?

[Hurricane]

Wooden Stringer than its a PU. No stringer or painted stringer than its EPS.

[TOESoFURY]

Thanks mate, I guess it's a PU core as it has a wooden stringer.
Thanks alot for both of your help.

[esonscar]

Just to let you know, some surfboards used to have their leash attached to their rear fin . . . hence no leash plug in such an instance.

[TOESoFURY]

Hey esonscar, i don't believe it has a leash hole in the fin (it is single fin). However, would making a leash hole in the fin work well and not damage the surfboard, Thanks.

[jaffa1949]

Just a foot note, several reasons why the the fin hole leash attachment was abandoned.
The first was with the super stretchy rebounding rubber of the time you had board coming back at you at the speed it went way from you with the fin as the part of the board destined to hit you, not nice and usually led to serious blood in the water.

Secondly the factor of drag with a leash coming around to under the board.

[TOESoFURY]

Oh, ok then, maybe thats not such a good idea then, any other suggestions for an easy to install leash plug alternative. Or should i just get one installed? problem is im in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest surf shop is a 5 hour drive.

[Rickyroughneck]

It depends, you will need a decent boring/ router device to make the hole which you will install the plug in. I usually advocate DIY but this may be hard if you haven't got the correct tools.

[TOESoFURY]

Well one of my dads friends is a professional boat builder, i was thinking he probably had the tools and the know how to install a plug. Thanks for your reply.

[tony g]

Well you could also put a fiberglass leash loop on your board instead of a plastic leash plug. The are stronger than plastic leash plugs and better looking when done right. The are made with fiberglass fin rope and resin. I have made a few and the good thing about them is if you make a mistake you can simply sand it off and start over. They also fit vintage boards style very nicely!

[jaffa1949]

Well you could also put a fiberglass leash loop on your board instead of a plastic leash plug. The are stronger than plastic leash plugs and better looking when done right. The are made with fiberglass fin rope and resin. I have made a few and the good thing about them is if you make a mistake you can simply sand it off and start over. They also fit vintage boards style very nicely!

So true often what surfers di as before plugs were invented>I had forgotten about that.

[TOESoFURY]

Thanks for alot your help mate. But how would one go about creating a leash loop?

[tony g]

Well it is not very easy to explain without showing you in person, but I will try to give you the basics of it. You will first need 1 sheet 80 grit wet/dry sandpaper, resin and hardener, 1-9" strand fiberglass fin rope, 1 pencil, some wax paper, disposable rubber gloves, mixing cups and sticks, a respirator for fumes . For polyester surfboards use polyester resin and for epoxy surfboards use epoxy resin. Here are some of the basic steps you sill want to follow:
First off you will want to do this outdoors, or in a well ventilated area and follow all safety precautions on the resin, and hardener labels.
1. Sand the area of the tail where you want to apply the leash loop.
2. Cut 1- 5" piece of fiberglass fin rope and set off to the side
3. Cut 4- 1" pieces of fiberglass fin rope and put off to the side
4. Wrap wax paper around the pencil and tape the ends so the wax paper stays on the pencil
5. Put disposable gloves on and carefully dip the 5" piece of fin rope into the catalyzed resin.You will want to hold one end tight so the fiberglass rope does not unravel all over the place and make a mess. You also will need to work some resin into the fiberglass rope without letting it unravel.
6. try to squeeze out as much excess resin as possible from the fin rope.
7. Lay the pencil across the tail of the board horizontally where you want the hole of the leash loop to be.
8. lay the 5" strand of fiberglass rope on top of the pencil while twisting the fiberglass rope as you lay it vertically across the pencil. it is okay to now let the ends fan out a little to give strength to the leash loop.
9. Put the 1" pieces of fin rope dipped in resin next to the pencil vertically on all 4 sides of the pencil to help fill in the void where the rope goes over the pencil.
10. Try to keep it clean and neat so you will have less sanding to do later. Carefully pull out pencil after about an hour, or after the resin is fairly well set. Don't worry about wax paper now.
11. After about an hour and a half, or when fin rope starts to get fairly hard...you can gently clean up your work with a sharp razor blade to minimize sanding. You must be careful at this stage or you may damage things and have to redo. If you are worried about damaging anything let it harden all the way and shape later with sandpaper.

Well hope that makes sense. After sanding till you are satisfied with your leash loop you can brush a light coat of gloss resin on the leash loop to smooth everything all out. You can also wet sand and polish if you want to take it that far. Well good luck and maybe post a picture of your finished leash loop.

[TOESoFURY]

Thanks allot for your help, will definitely post a picture, if decide to make a leash loop.

[tony g]

You should give it a try. You can always sand it off if you make a mistake.