Newbie Tanaka- Would You?

[Smokey231]

Thank you in advance for putting up with a newbie. I asked around and for $100 got a 1981, 8'4" Tanaka floater. I don't know anything about surfing (I just learned what a "floater" is) aside from what I have been reading online. I am a friend of the surf having grown up body surfing, boogy boarding, and most recently, kayaking the surf in a whitewater spud boat. My board has some dings and a nice crack in the nose which I can fix (i think). What about the rest of the board? There are several thin cracks and circular depressions. They don't look too bad but I'm reading that they may be worse than I think. I just want something I can use to learn how to surf. Any thoughts?

[surf patrol]

Hi Smokey231, welcome to Surfing Waves.

I'm not sure what a Tanaka floater is, I'll assume that it's a regular board (not soft surfboard) because you mention cracks.
(http://www.tcsurf.com/surfboards/shaper ... anaka.aspx ???)

If so, at 8'4", this should be a good learner board.
If the board has cracks that are letting in water, they will all have to be repaired. Hopefully it's not waterlogged.
The best thing to do would be to get some pictures up, then everyone can have a better idea as to what needs to be done.
(Use the PostReply button, and you can upload images direct to this topic.

[Smokey231]

The guy I bought it from referred to it as "floater" because I am 6'6" and wiegh 220, and he said this board is big and thick and therefore is a "floater." (perhaps not part of the surf community vernacular- again I am a newbie hack) I have found a little info on Tanaka but nothing on this particular board; of course I don't have a ton of info on the board to Google. I will try to upload a picture which shows the logo in the center of the top of the board. The picture should also show some of the circular cracks to which I previously referred. It definitely feels like there is a soft core of some type inside a fiberglass shell. There is a bit of give when I press on it. The thin cracks do not appear to go all the way through and it doesn't seem to be waterlogged. I wish to fill some small dings in it as well as repair a nice chunk of the nose with fiberglass and cover it with a nose cap. Then I plan to head to the Jersey Shore this weekend and put on shred clinic! I may have gotten a bit carried away but do you foresee any problems with my plans?
Thanks again for any help.

[jaffa1949]

Hi Smokey given that the board was largely built before the internet and old school it is unlikely you'll find out much about it on the net.
The core is most likely to be Polyurethane rather than Polystyrene, as that was the common construction of the time. You can compress the foam even with that construction. If areas that should be white are yellow the foam has been exposed at least to the sun if they are darker and and seeem to surround a crck it is likely they are water stains
A couple of thing a floater is not a type it was just the guy's description that it would float you,IMO it is just within the range that might be workable for you a better fit for your size and beginning might be little bigger but as an each way bet you have a bit of surf nous so you could well be OK.
Do the repairs and see how you go

[Smokey231]

Thanks. I hope to use it this Friday in the Atlantic surf, assuming I can fix it before then. Can I use any fiberglass repair kit that I might find at an automotive or hardware store? (cloth & resin) Or must I use a specific surfboard repair kit? A friend told me he uses a hot glue gun with the hardest glue he can find. Have you tried that?

[jaffa1949]

A friend told me he uses a hot glue gun with the hardest glue he can find. Have you tried that?

No I haven't but it would worry me, often trying to repair bad repairs is a nightmare. What do your friends surfboards look like?

[Smokey231]

I haven't seen his boards but I called him to get a quick fix so I can surf this Friday. I'm going ahead with a fiberglass patch kit.