Serious worry about new board.

Hardest part of new board ownership is the first ding or crack. Because, they'll all get damaged at some point. 

Got some pics of the brown patches? Upload 'em to Imgur.com and paste the embed code here so we can see.

I suspect the 'heavier' feeling is probably in your head too. A board would need to take on a significant amount of water over a long period of time until there was a noticeable difference in performance.

not if the blank is EPS, which the spine teks are.

they'll happily suck water if cracks allow ingress.

My mistake, I stand corrected. 

I got a two little cracks on an EPS board the other week (something super rare to happen) and taped them up until i could fix them, but noticed if left in the car with a little heat the air inside expands and pushes out little bulges in the tape.

So i guess if you fear it has water in it and you haven't sealed it up, you could put it in a car that is a little hot (but not crazy hot) and see if it pushes out water.

I reckon the weight thing would be in your head though, I've had about ten EPS boards and never had any issues with sucking water but ive never had browning and any rare open dings ive fixed them ASAP.

Odd that it'd go brown in patches. EPS boards tend to suck water right through the blank, and not just keep it localised as PU does.

As per ID, EPS can be dried out so consider leaving it in sunshine or a warm area to allow the water to retreat.

Funny stuff, EPS and epoxy, it's a stronger builder, but also fragile in that tiny cracks can result in more damage than PU/PE. If you want it to last you have to be vigilant about damage, even very minor things.

I've got 30 year old PU/PE boards still going strong.

very much doubt there'll be 30 year old EPS/epoxies floating around ....mostly because of the water ingress and delamination/gassing issues.

Dry that fucker out Luka, and by dry I mean don't surf it for weeks while it is in a sunny or dry room.
Then take it to someone who specialises in epoxy repairs and get it made watertight.

the brown patches are likely UV damage.

as Stu said epoxy builds are more resistant to denting but in other ways far more fragile.

I had a hypto that felt heavier and heavier (had cracks then I think i sealed them with the water inside) and it turned into a dog very quickly.

EPS can suck in 500ml of water in one surf through a minor ding
Easy to pick a 1/2 kilo of weight increase in a short board
Where are you located lukaf ?

yep, I think the EPS durability argument is about the biggest pile of BS ever perpetrated on the surfboard buying public.

what happened to all those Hyptos you no longer see in the water.\?

"the brown patches are likely UV damage."

It's a possibility. Epoxy resin goes brown over time, especially compared to polyester which can glaze or dull, but not go brown - it's the foam going brown in PU/PE boards.

I've got a Firewire with a funny old brown patch on it caused by its position in the shed, whereby the sun would hit it for an hour or two each day in the exact same spot.

Any chance something like that is happening to yours?

From reading above I have gathered these answers to your questions.
A - it's probably not ruined but you should get the cracks sealed after making sure the board is dry.
B - Dont think you can reverse the brown patches but getting your board dry and sealed up would get rid of water that may be in your board.
C - if waters in there, your board will be heavier to move around.
D - I have epoxy boards and if I think there is a slight chance a ding or crack is letting water in I go get it fixed. I also get out of the water as soon as I notice a new ding. I dropped my board in the carpark once walking to the beach, I turned around and took it to the shop.

Sell it and get something else

When I was in the industry ,I stopped selling Firewires and anything from the cobra plant as some of the boards would have tiny pinholes in the glass, so small you couldn't see them. They would take on water pretty quickly though. I'm sure they have improved I hope, but I would buy an Aussie made board to be safe as our boys all surf and can feel your pain regarding a good or poorly made board.

I can't see much from those pics, but it could just be odd discolouration of glass, EPS/Epoxy are weird like that they do yellow over time but normally yellow evenly but ive also seen some really weird discolourations too worst ive seen is with Hayden shapes not sure why but ive had one and seen a few with this speckled discolouration.

If you are worried about it, move it on, it still looks in good condition, personally i love Merrick shapes and boards but if their EPS/Epoxy boards are anything like there PU/PE boards they aren't built too last.

@Freeride i cant see why there couldn't be EPS/Epoxy boards around in 50 years, the early FST firewire that are kicking around are often close to mint condition bar deck dimpling and yellowing and they are around ten years old or older, even if you rode them regularly unless you hit reef or rocks or something they will continue to stay durable.

The biggest thing going against them being around in 50 years is more how bad they yellow which isn't appealing visually and fact most EPS/Epoxy boards are generic off the rack boards and generally just white so lack individuality, IMHO people are much more likely to hold onto boards that are unique with nice sprays because they are artworks in themselves or boards that were made for them (customs) otherwise in 50 years only reason you would hold onto any generic white board (that by then would be very yellow) is if it was a magic board.

I have an FST Firewire, probably near eight years old now. It's going yellow. It's a magic board, my 'go to'.
I dinged it once by dropping it, got it fixed and no problems since. It's tough, it goes on every surf trip with me.

I contacted Firewire a few years ago to see if they could make me another one (as they stopped production a long time ago of this model) because I like it so much and I'd like a spare just in case.
I have customs from four different shapers but this board is the bee's knees.

If the board is waterlogged you could take it to someone who uses vacuum bags to put the veneers on boards.
Under vacuum the water will boil off and you can get the board back to perfectly dry, I have just used the sun myself with Firewires hole at the top for vapour to exhaust with no problems.

Patrick I have the same dilemma.

Patrick,which firewire model ?

Simba, it's a Tomo, V4

I have the same dilemma, Hellfire model for me.

Apparently they are considering doing a run of older models.

well i hope they do a elfuego ...might be tempted to buy one....in helium

What length and what waves would you want Simba?

had a 6-1 firefly...el fuego in fst years ago,really liked it and wouldnt mind another.