[Paddlewise] sand and grit (was something else)

John Somers wrote:
>         Keeping water and also sand and grit out of a folding kayak is a
challenge
> for me also.  I am concerned about the wear on the boat's skin when sand
> gets between the frame pieces and the covering fabric.  Then the flexing of
> the boat over time could wear holes through the skin.

Ralph Diaz wrote:
"You may be worrying too much.  The hypalon hull is incredibly strong
stuff.  I have seen such damage only rarely, just once really.  And only
the patch that an owner put on later but I did not see the damage
itself...I suspect it wasn't as bad as he thought. 

ralph"

	Thanks Ralph.  Your input is invaluable, supported as it is by lots of
experience with folding boats plus the input you get from so many other
paddlers of folders.
	My caution is based partly on a different experience I had, actually with
a kayak dolly.  I used a commercially available dolly with an aluminum
frame for a mile and a half portage across Matagorda Island. We pulled
several loaded kayaks through sand and wet marsh across the island.  Then I
found the sand and seashell grit had cut deep grooves into the aluminum
where the wheel hub sleeves rode on the axles.  That abrasive potential
from the sand stuck in my mind as something to avoid.

	Cheers,
	John
	

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