I recently discovered this and figured I would share. One thing that has always been problematic for me after paddling in the surf is dealing with all the wet sand that ends up on my boat between the beach and the car. I am not anal about my boats, but all the wet sand on my boat ends up on the roof of my car after loading it up and generally makes a mess. I have tried bringing portable sprayers and saw horses to clean them up prior to loading, but this has never worked well.
I recently discovered the simplest and most effective solution: a mason brush. You can get one at any hardware store. It brushes wet or dry sand off your boat and paddles completely and works better and faster than even a garden hose. Keeps your gear and your car a lot cleaner and saves the wear on your gelcoat from loading up a sandy boat.
Another nice thing about the Hullavator (which I now call the terminator given all the bug carcasses it collects on each trip) is that once my boat is secured in the cradles and hanging on the side of my car, I can wash off the crud with a gallon of water I carry for that purpose. But - that brush would come in handy for degunking boats kept on the beach. Great suggestion. Thanks.
but…the Mason’s brush will work BETTER than a gallon of water. It works better than a garden hose. It is hands down the quickest way to get the gunk off your hull. you would be surprised!
I also submit that the grouting sponges for about a buck at Lowes are great for sopping up water too. I was buying the large Ocelo in bright colors ($4-ish) until local kayak outfitter shared that tip. Plain tan in color but thirsty at better price.
@Overstreet said:
or… you put boat in the water, pick boat up, carry to car, put boat on rack and rinse car/boat when you get home.
Rinsing sand off your boat when you get home won’t prevent sand from getting on your windshield and scratching it up the next time you use your wipers. Much better to get the sand off the boat before mounting on the vehicle roof.
Sometimes picking my boat up from the water and taking it directly to the vehicle rack is an option, but not when the water’s edge is a slippery slope or the boat is too heavy for that operation or the boat still has gear in it that needs to be unloaded after the boat is moved out of the way of other people using the launch.
Thanks for that suggestion. My old boat hauling vehicle got several scratches in the windshield from sand falling off the boat after I put the sandy hull on the roof rack.
@Overstreet said:
or… you put boat in the water, pick boat up, carry to car, put boat on rack and rinse car/boat when you get home.
I usually do this any time the boat needs to be set on a dirty, muddy, sandy, weedy, or otherwise nasty unclean surface to be unloaded before going on the truck.
It’s also a good way to clean out the cockpit. If you’re in a situation where you can be in the water with the boat about knee to waist deep, just turn the boat on edge and let some water into the cockpit. Slosh around, then drain by holding the bow and turning upside down (the boat, not you, silly!). This gets most of the crap accumulated during your day or extended trip out of there before you bring it home to store it.
Once clean, pick up the whole thing, walk it to your vehicle and set it on the already-prepared racks. In most fresh water situations the boat won’t need any more attention when you get home. If the cockpit is left open and you have some distance to go, it might even have dried out completely on the way home. I’m guessing a rinse is recommended after paddling salt water, though as I often mention I do nothing of the sort and wouldn’t know.
