Equipment: Caring For Your Pet Kayak

June-July 1995

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by John Dowd and Chris Ladner

Just bought a new kayak? To help you care for your new baby, here are some tips that will ensure you both will have a long and fun-filled relationship.

The Golden Rule is: "Respect Thy Kayak". Consider it to be a friendly beast, which, whether in or out of the water, needs your care. Remember that almost all damage to sea kayaks occurs when the boats are 'out of their element', on land, on automobiles, or in storage.

On the Automobile

The family car offers both subtle and spectacular ways to destroy your kayak.

Trailing bow-line tension fractures. The apparently harmless oversight of leaving a bow line dangling from a boat on a roof-rack can lead to one of your most memorable driving experiences. It occurs when the bowline is run over by the wheel of the car. The effect of the sudden impact of the front section of your kayak onto the hood of your car gives new meaning to the term 'V8'. The boat usually breaks in two just forward of the cockpit or across the roof-rack bar. To avoid this, tie off those bow and stern lines.
Mid-lateral compression syndrome. This appears as fine hairline cracks on the sides of the kayak just above or close to the point of contact with roof-rack bars. They have two common causes: cinching the boats to the roof-rack too tightly, or tying the bow and stern lines so tight that the hull is bent over the roof-rack bars. To avoid this, use a cradle on the roof-rack and cinch down the bow and stern lines only enough to prevent blow away (see Traveling with Kayaks, below).
Concertina sterna. Sometimes known as "involuntary window", this affliction usually involves new double kayaks on top of small cars, and may result in a hole in a supermarket wall that you were backing up to as well as a crumpled stern and demolished rudder assembly. Variations include holes punched in the back of camper vans stopped in front of you at a stoplight, and "underground parking lot crunch", which occurs as you attempt to enter your customary underground parking. To avoid any of this, attach a brightly-coloured cloth rag to each end of your new kayak to remind you of your new extremities.

Traveling with Kayaks

Once again the roof of your car becomes an area of great risk for your new family addition. Many evil spirits can be appeased by carrying the boat pointed forward with the rudder taped securely to the boat deck. This configuration is relatively aerodynamic but it is still wise to keep the speed below 100 kph in order to minimize the tragedy of:

Flying brace of kayaks. In this scenario, an entire roof load of kayaks may be sighted floating over a farmer's fence or, worse yet, sailing into a lane of on-coming traffic. This condition is usually the result of cheap roof-racks, or roof-racks which loosen their grip due to either an unusually heavy load or the gradual loosening of screw-on parts.

Remember also to remove insecure items from your cockpit before you drive. Otherwise you risk leaving a trail from your home to your destination as, one by one, the wind lifts the items out and discards them.

Rainwater collecting in an open kayak cockpit on the roof of a car can also damage the hull from sheer weight. Solve this problem by fitting a cockpit cover, or even better, carry the kayak upside down during a heavy rain.

Shipping your Kayak

If you must send your kayak somewhere via common carrier, then, in order to minimize the occurrence of 'embedded fork-lift injury' or 'home appliance crush syndrome', try packing your boat with deck-reinforcing foam pillars, wrapping the boat in layers of cardboard and plastic, and constructing a wooden crate around it. Finally, add some CAUTION NERVE GAS signs to the outside to confer some respect for your package onto the shippers.

Storing your Kayak

Storage problems are mostly related to water in both liquid and solid forms. Take the case of the kayak that is stored hanging under a leaking carport or sundeck. Water gradually trickles in and fills the boat. Damage occurs during freezing periods or when the unsuspecting owner releases the ends of the boat in the springtime and 600 pounds of water-filled kayak crashes down, exploding at the seams if it lands flat, or buckling in the center.

Another casualty zone is beneath the eaves of the house. Snow or ice falling from the roof, or, in some cases, just piling up to a significant depth, can seriously compromise the hull integrity of a fiberglass kayak.

Nursing your Kayak

Most sea kayaks are fairly resistant to the elements and do not require a great deal of maintenance. The exceptions are the rudder assembly and rudder cables. These should be kept clean on a regular basis. Flushing with fresh water is usually enough. Avoid the use of lubricants as these tend to attract sand and result in jamming.

Fiberglass and Kevlar boats usually have a surface gelcoat layer which protects the structurally significant reinforced fabric against ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Plastic boats and the decks of most folding boats usually contain UV inhibitors which will prolong the life of your kayak for years.

Scratches and the inevitable scars of memorable adventures are normal. If however, a gelcoat scratch is especially deep and you can see the hairs of the fibers sticking up, then it is time for a small gelcoat repair. Kits are available. Use duct tape as a temporary measure.

Plastic boats can only be repaired by the manufacturer.

Folding boats need special care and should never be dragged on the beach. Sharp rocks and barnacles will destroy the hypalon hulls. Sand is particularly destructive to joints and ribs. The sand lies between the skin and the frame and abrades the protective surfaces allowing water to enter the wood or for electrolytic erosion of the aluminum.