Re: [Paddlewise] Fiberglass jitters- deck and hull upkeep

From: James W. Durkin <jwd_at_phonogram.net>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2002 00:17:29 -0500
On Wed, Jul 31, 2002 at 07:40:40PM -0700, Steve Holtzman wrote:

> One trick I learned from him is to buy two cheap camp stools to put
> the boat on when you get off of the water and carry fresh water to
> wash it down with.

Another trick along these lines that I've found to work well if you're
on relatively flat, although not necessarily level, ground is to set
the bow and stern each on a piece of foam.  What works really well is
the long, rectangular foam blocks with a shallow vee cut on the top
that are sold as cheap car topping devices for kayaks and canoes.  You
can get them in a variety of lengths, and every length I've seen fits
trivially through a kayak hatch for "take it with you" convenience.

I occasionally launch from one of the docks used by the local colleges
for varsity crew.  While convenient, they're loaded with nails that
sit just high enough above the surface to take a good hunk out of your
hull if whacked hard enough.  And, believe it or not, just leaving the
kayak on the dock when there is a good wind while one heads back to
the car to grab more gear, is enough to send the boat (at least mine)
spinning like a beenie propeller.  Foam == no more spinning boat.

-.- jwd
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
Received on Thu Aug 01 2002 - 06:21:24 PDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:57 PDT