Vent plug leak

Easy peasy

Throw away o-ring
Mould release wax on screw threads and head (Kiwi or similar shoepolish works great)
Tiny bit of JB weld or similar on the flat surface down the hole, and a bit on the underside of the vent screw head. Don't over do it..... needs stuff-all
Screw in - not quite all the way, u want a good millimeter of resin thickness between the two
Wait a day then remove.
New o-ring.


EDIT: not 5min JB Weld, its too hard to get it right that fast. Alternates are Devcon, Abro. Any auto store should have a quality metal filled epoxy like those

Or get a drill bit , the size of the hole , ( I think it's a 12.5 or 13mm ) and very gently ( I mean very gently ) by hand twist the drill until surface is smooth. The standard drill angle is very close to the plug hole angle. New O ring. I do this to every board I come across if it needs it or not .
PS , is this a normal vent plug and is the thread ok ? If so , as above , if not , disregard

Ok , here is the tech.
As a injection Moulder ( that is what I do ) and that is how a vent plug is made.
The plug which is thick plastic takes time to solidify .
Time is money.
Moulds are water cooled.
Any part with an internal thread has to have a mechanical screwing in and out part of the mould.
This part forms the hole , seat and thread.
When moulded and cooled properly I would guess a cooling time of the plastic should be about one to one and a half minutes ( based on max plastic thickness of 5 mm ) , 270 deg plastic x thickness x mould temp x time
It is a balance.
To save money , shorten cooling time in mould = less than perfect part . U can see this in just about every injection moulded part of anything.
So we get in a vent plug a hot threading seating pin that gets so hot as it unthreads leaves a soft mucky crappy seating surface.
It is a technically hard thing to overcome .
The plug in cost is 2% plastic , 3% power , 95% machine time , that's before profit.
Ill shut up now , you get the idea.

I never try to repair vent holes anymore, you're never quite sure if you got it right, and a new retro fit vent is just so much easier with the solid feeling that it's good to go after installing it. # R62-5119




From www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/SurfSailcom/surfsailcom.html in the states, but there is probably a supplier where you are.

One other thing to check on a new board is that the threaded hole is actually 90 deg to the seating area, I had a brand new board once that the vent plug was so far out of square the oring would not seal and it sucked in a fair amount of water. In fact I was quite suprised how much water was pooling out over the board once it warmed back up in the car after a winter session.

What I have noticed on new boards lately is that the thread is quite tight which would probably stop it from venting around the thread as good, so I have been running a 3/8 bsw tap down the hole just to make sure it will vent when undone. Would not have been an issue when the plugs had the flat on the side to aid venting.
I like to hear that little hiss when opening the vent when I get the board home

Check that the plug doesn't have a micro crack running away from it. From memory towards the back right side. I think this board could quite possibly be my old board that was warrantied. From your first rebuild post it certainly looks like you were repairing all the spots I found to be soft before it was sent back and is the same model and year by the looks of the graphics.
Anyway I had it sitting in the sun with the plug shut one day and noticed water bubbling out from what looked like a small crack radiating away from the vent plug hole.

^^^ except that goretex will always stop venting eventually. You won't know when.
Or if the membrane breaks it will let water in, and you won't know when cos u can't see it.
Or if water gets in elsewhere it will stop venting as the water is now on both sides. Then u repair the board so now it is sealed and not venting so it pops.

They are great for the lazy, or new-to-SUPing type people who don't get it and will only keep that thing they use twice a year for maybe a couple of seasons anyway.
The best advice from surf shapers forums like Swaylocks seems to be that salt crystallization blocks them up and they need to be washed every time with fresh water and replaced every year for safety. Makes sense to me..... but that is not the 'set and forget thing' they are sold as now is it?

One guy with a certain brand of boards with goretex filled a couple of the vent holes up as he knew they were stuffed. I repaired 4 major issues on his boards this season, just from letting them dry in the sun on mild days. Both the vented boards and the ones with filled up holes.

Personally I prefer not to risk it.

What's all the problem ?
On all my boards ever , I only had normal plugs. I made sure the seat and o, ring was good , done them up tight and never touched them again . Never a leak , delam or any problem.
Ps : never took them on a plane or left roasting in the sun on roof racks without a cover.
I personally think that opening the vent regularly will only suck sand onto the o ring and break the seal.
Again personally leave the thing alone unless under extreme heat or pressure , or drying the board out in the sun for repairs.

close it up, few soapy suds around it and stick it in the sun - presuming no leaks anywhere else.....

Or, cotton bud down the hole..... but many boards will be ever so slightly damp down there anyway so that's not an easy way to tell (unless u had the board since new and never ever opened it.

Imax is crazy Just at my local I saw 4 or 5 boards pop this summer when just left out to dry after a session. And thats not hot weather, high 20's with breeze. Dark graphics......