Paddle Board Sagging in the Middle

Have you gotten on your paddle board and found that it is sagging in the middle? This is a really common thing you will hear, with this a genuine question from a paddler:

Hey guys I have a question. I recently used my new paddle board for the first time and sat on it or kneeled the whole time but water was coming onto the board where the weight of my body was? Not much but I feel this is not right. Is it because I bought a cheap board?

We’ll look at the reasons this might be happening.

1. Not at the right PSI

This is nearly always the reason! In case you are completely new to paddle boarding, PSI is pounds per square inch. It tells you how much air to add to your paddle board.

If you have a manual pump, there’ll be a dial which will tell you what PSI you are up to as you pump up the board. With electric pumps you should be able to set the PSI level you want and the pump will the inflate it up to the set amount and stop automatically.

So what PSI should your paddle board be? A common level is around 15 PSI but it varies for different boards so when you purchase a board, check what it needs to be inflated to. It should though also state on your board (where you put the pump in) what the correct PSI is.

If you don’t inflate it to the correct PSI and have it inflated lower than it should it will, yes, you guessed it, quite possible sag in the middle!

The problem is that newbie paddlers often worry that they’ve pumped the board up so hard it’s going to burst. It won’t. don’t worry (well it shouldn’t, assuming you have a decent board with no faults).

You have to keep going till you reach to correct PSI otherwise the paddle board may well sink in the middle, or sag in other words. That won’t make for a good paddle boarding experience and may indeed mean you have. difficulty standing up, keeping your stability, or gliding your board smoothly through the water.

Of course you shouldn’t go way over the recommended PSI either as then you could be in danger of damaging the board.

2. The boards construction

Paddle boards all vary in their construction in terms of thickness, length, and the materials used to construct it. This can affect the stiffness of the board along with the PSI.

For instance, Red Paddle Co. have a patented technology called Rocker Stiffening System (RSS) which they claim increases rigidity. There are battens within the board that work against the downward force of the rider to create a stiffer board by preventing flex.

However, you don’t really need to worry about this. Any decent board should be able to support your weight if you have the correct one for you (see below). If your board is sagging and you have the correct PSI, have you got a really cheap board that’s not up to the job?

That’s unlikely as most should be up to the job but it’s possible a cheap board won’t have quite the quality of a good brand.

3. Too much weight on the board

A possible reason for a paddle board sagging in the middle is if you are too heavy for the one you have bought. Paddle boards are designed to cope with certain weights and when you buy a board you need to ensure that it is the right size for your body weight.

You’ll find online charts so you can work out what you need or of course you can get advise if you are buying your paddle board in a shop.

You can have the same problem if you have extra weight from things you are carrying on the board or if you have two people and the board is not designed to cope with that. Check out these tips and recommendations for two person paddle boards if that’s what you require.

In these cases of too much weight, inflating the board to a higher PSI may resolve it, but just make sure you are not inflating it above the recommended maximums. Pumping paddle boards above 25 PSI will certainly be too much for most boards.

The Bottom Line

Though construction or weight can be issues, the reason your paddle board is sinking or sagging in the middle and getting water on board is most likely because it’s not up to the correct PSI, usually around 15. So make sure you sort that issue out first and try pumping it to the right PSI – don’t worry, it won’t burst even if it feels like it might!