Like any other useful things in our life, whether it’s our car, motorbike, or home – your kayak can also use routine maintenance, enabling you to use it for many years to come without any kind of damage.
Maintenance of your kayak is essential and out of all the aspects of maintaining it, keeping it dry is the most basic yet mothst significant part.
There can be many reasons why you may forget or choose not to dry out your kayak, like no clean water sources nearby on the beach or you are too exhausted after a long day on the water.
But, whatever the reason is, you should never skip drying it out. We are here to tell you just how easy it is to perform the tasks with some easy steps without having any expertise.
Let’s begin!
How To Dry A Kayak – A Complete Walk Through
Cost: 0 Buck.
Time Needed: 10 minutes
York kayak is not a regular object that you can dry however you seem fit. However, there are specific methods to do it just the right way.
As you are here reading this, we assume you have no idea how to dry a kayak or try to get a better grip.
After going over various techniques with kayak experts, we came up with two fast and easy ways to point you in the right direction.
These are the most known methods and effective at the same time. The only key difference is that one takes more time but dries automatically while the other needs manual drying with less time.
4 Easy Steps On Drying A Kayak
The discussion below will give you a proper idea of how both drying work and things to look out for drying.
Let’s take a look.
Common Stuff To Follow
There are two basic ways to dry your kayak, but whichever method you follow, there are certain things you need to do first.
You can start by taking out the removable parts like seats, support, subfloor, and bags, and if these are wet, dry separately.
Now when you are done removing those, you are left with the body of your kayak with no extra parts to make the drying process difficult.
So the next thing to do is undoing the valves to the deflate position and then just wait for a bit.
A large number of pumps we use to inflate our kayaks have the deflate option if you want to speed it up.
But if your pump doesn’t have that option, there is no need to worry there because kayaks deflate very quickly under their weight.
Method 1 – Automatic Drying
Automatic drying is you just follow the steps mentioned above, then tip your kayak upside down or sideways and wait for the extra water to drain out. After that, just let it sit under the sun till it’s scorched.
Though it may take more time, we recommend using this method if it’s a sunny day as it has less chance of missing out on any spot and kills the bacteria if there is any.
It’s totally fine if you don’t want or have time to dry out on the beach just after your kayaking is done.
You can just get home safe first, sit around for a bit and then follow this process. Few hours or even a day is not going to create any mold.
Method 2 – Manual Drying
This method, too, as it sounds, is pretty self-explanatory. This time instead of using the sun, you use towels to soak the water off the kayak.
Nowadays, PVC and Hypalon are the two most common materials used to build kayaks, and both of these materials don’t absorb any water.
You can just rub off the water using a couple of towels. We suggest using some old ones.
If you are someone who doesn’t have the time to dry out under the sun, have a pressed day ahead, or may forget to dry it out when you get home, this is the method you should go for.
After you are done put the wet towels in a waterproof or garbage bag, so it doesn’t spill any water inside your car.
How Dry Is The Right Amount Of Dry?
As we have already gone through both the techniques, maybe you are asking the questions of how often you need to do this maintenance are how precise it needs to be. The answer to these questions depends on how often you go kayaking.
If you go kayaking regularly, you don’t need to worry about drying precisely or if there are little pebbles or sand that remains inside every time you use it.
But for someone going now and then, it’s mandatory to dry it thoroughly.
Also, if you use a kayak once in a season or thinking about store it after the end of the season, you can use a vacuum to clear out the sand or dirt inside and check the curves and folds for water one final time.
Additionally, in case you notice some mold growing inside. At the same time, you take your kayak out, you can use the white distilled vinegar and cleaning vinegar which has an extra 1% of acidity to kill the mold effectively.
FAQs
1. Does The Drying Process Need Any Kind Of Tool?
No, it’s completely tool-free.
2. Does The Drying Process Vary From The Different Build Materials Of The Kayak?
No, the techniques are the same, no matter what the kayak is made of.
I am new to kayaking and have never done any maintenance before. Is this technique easy and safe enough to try by myself?
Absolutely. It’s relatively simple and easy so that anyone can take good care of their kayak.
Conclusion
Your inflatable kayak is not something that comes cheap, or we are used to buying it every time we go kayaking. In this case, a little bit of maintenance, the most basic of them all, drying, can help you go a long way with a kayak and make it seem like a new one every time you use it.
Always remember, it’s pretty usual that after a kayaking session, you will end up with some sand, dirt, or little stones inside your kayak.
Still, the water and moisture are the real enemies of your kayak as they are the reasons behind the mold and eventually wearing out your kayak.
Now that you understand how to dry your kayak, we hope our techniques keep your kayak looking new for years to come and have countless trips with the same one. Happy kayaking!
