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What do yall use to clean and protect your kayaks.


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I just did a search and there are thousands of old posts on the subject of Uv degradation. After an hour I gave up on trying to find even one incident where a guys kayak had structural damage from sunlight. But I had to share one of Shipwrecks responses "It takes plastic like 16 billion years to degrade. Dont worry you are good"

If it makes someone feel better to spray stuff on their kayak then go for it. It cant hurt and probably helps over decades.

BARRELL
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I just did a search and there are thousands of old posts on the subject of Uv degradation. After an hour I gave up on trying to find even one incident where a guys kayak had structural damage from sunlight. But I had to share one of Shipwrecks responses "It takes plastic like 16 billion years to degrade. Dont worry you are good"

If it makes someone feel better to spray stuff on their kayak then go for it. It cant hurt and probably helps over decades.

 

That is correct, it does take quite a while, but i plan to keep my yaks quite a while and pass them down etc.. it's important to me that I take care of them now.

 

Don't limit your sources to just this site, though.

 

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Pretty good but remember Kayaks and poly industrial tanks(especially the ones that hold powerful pesticides) are quite different and the tanks will usually last longer if you were to leave a typical yak and tank out in the elements. I was a licensed operator and i was in this field for 15 years so i can tell you yaks in general are not as resistant to UV degredation as most of these tanks. Keep that in mind:scared::scared:

 

The ending of the video just reinforces what was already known, UV degredation is a huge issue with poly yaks. The above tutorial explains why the guys i know will never take a yak that's been sitting out in the sun a few years offshore to go fishing. It's just way to chancy that a sudden crack would compromise their safety. Makes perfect sense to me.

 

And folks, if you really believe it takes a thin walled poly yak 10 years to show Degredation your really in major denial. Check out kayak sites that specialize in used yaks. This will show you how important people take this issue, everyone that i have seen says walk away from any yak that is heavily faded, fading is the first sign of degredation.

 

I have used protection for my yak since i got it and even though i have the same amount of hours that some other guy's have on the same year Hobie's as mine, their Outbacks show far more fading than mine just because they are ignorant to this issue.

 

Educated buyer's know almost instantly a kayak that has been looked after, and a kayak that has been neglected and faded. Guess which one sells for a noticeable higher price?

 

If you do research don't limit yourself to this site alone, there is tons of the latest info out there,but in the end you will find the identical answers that have been known for decades. Whether it's important to you is not my concern, but it doesn't hurt knowing the facts.

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Thanks for the responces guys.  I picked up a bottle of 303 and will be useing it in



the AM after a quik wash with a mild car soap.  Sorry for starting a heated thread though.


'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body......... but rather to skid in sideways with a cigar in one hand & a Scotch in the other......... body thoroughly used up & totally worn out.........screaming 'woo hoo -- what a ride !!'

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Thanks for the responces guys.  I picked up a bottle of 303 and will be useing it in

the AM after a quik wash with a mild car soap.  Sorry for starting a heated thread though.

 

 

 

NorsekJ, believe me no need to say sorry in the least ;) These type of heated exchanges are pretty common (more so on other boards) and as long as it doesn't get too hot and lead to personal attacks the Moderators are very fair and won't get involved.

 

Think about it, if everyone agreed would these discussions be as nearly entertaining and helpful. People want feedback from as many angles as possible and in the end they will determine what to believe.

 

When you have witnessed something, and than someone else see's it completely different , it's difficult to understand how someone else can't see what you see, and sometimes(alright most of the time ) assume they are wrong. It's not the case though, a different viewpoint doesn't mean the other person is wrong. We all know it's impossible to have everybody agree on things, and i respect others point of view( although i admit i can be stubborn)

 

This site is very lucky to have Barrel, he has been in this business a long time and helps countless people :th::th:

 

 

On another note , that stuff is not cheap but if you read people that have used it and are familiar with it, most think it's by far the best available of it's type. Enjoy yourself in 2012 and remember safety first.:wave:

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Cleaning to control parasitic species is always a good idea, especially if you're moving around from one body of water to another often. And UV degradation of plastics is real, not imaginary, at least at high enough levels of exposure. But if you have a day job and use your yak mostly on occasional weekends and vacations and only in the warm part of the year, and if you store it in the garage or under a tarp the rest of the time, are you really at any serious risk of UV degradation? I doubt it. I think it all depends how often you use it and where you keep it the rest of the time. If you leave it out in the sun all year, even when you're not using it, you might need to be more concerned.

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