No slip

Question
QUESTION: Hi Windlover,

On my old Tiga board, there are no footstraps (or places to attach them).

I'm Ok with that as I hope that by the time I need them I will transition back into my HiFly board (which has 6 of them).

However now that I am using the Tiga, the top of the board is getting slick as glass (the other day, despite my wearing beach shoes with nice rubber soles, I was getting pulled off the board when the wind picked up).

I tried some vinyl skid strips like you use in a tub and they worked fine, but after one day of use they were starting to release in a couple of places, so I am sure they are not going to last.

I've read a ton of posts about things you can do such as commercial products like Re-Deck
http://www.windsurfing-direct.com/Redeck-Traction-Kit-p/26redecktractionkit.htm

and Monster Paint

http://www.paddlesurfwarehouse.com/Monster-Paint-Spray-On-Clear-Traction-SUP-Boa

and also things like spraying polyurethane and sprinkling sugar in it.


However given that the old Tiga is of that wierd generation of plastic (or whatever it is), I am not sure what might work the best.

Do you have some suggestions there?

Thanks!

Charles

ANSWER: Hey Charles,

That old Tiga is a polyurathane material. Pretty tough and impervious to most adhesive type materials. Some epoxys might not be compatable so stay away from them.

The Redeck system should work fine. The system can be a bit messy so use blue painters tape to tape off the areas you don't need or want grip on. You will want to keep about two inches around the edges clear of the redeck so as to not scrape yourself up climbing onto the board.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: In doing some more research on Re-Deck vs Monster, I found a lot of posts by people who had used Re-Deck, but switched to Monster because they said it lasted longer and was easier to apply evenly.

Do you think there would be a problem with it on the old polyurathane material?

Also as an FYI, I found the source for Re-Dek.  Only $16.50

http://www.surfsource.net/store/category/traction/

Much cheaper than what you find in most shops.

:-)

Charles

Answer
Hey Charles,

The Monster spray on traction stuff should work well. Less mess and fuss in applying it. I still recommend taping off the edges. I included a link to the manufacturer website.

http://www.monster-spray.co.nz/index.php

Google - monster paint spray on clear traction - for a variety of online shops that sell it for less than the manufacturer site.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover