@Overstreet said:
I live in Florida and the only vehicle rust I ever got was after a trip to snow country with road salt.
Ok, so they don’t rust, but what about mold with all that humidity?
@Sparky961 said:
Score one (more) for fresh water paddling.I’m still finding signs of my salt water excursion in Nova Scotia early this fall. For you people that paddle salt water all the time, it must be really hard on your paddling and camping gear.
It’s not. The first thing that wears out is booties. And when they do you are thankful
Mold happens when there is inadequate air circulation. Put damp stuff in a dry bag and yah. Ick
@Sparky961 said:
Score one (more) for fresh water paddling.I’m still finding signs of my salt water excursion in Nova Scotia early this fall. For you people that paddle salt water all the time, it must be really hard on your paddling and camping gear.
E
Some care takes care if it all with no problem.
It is hard on pot metal and aluminum zippers. You can rinse all you want to but there seems to be a chemical reaction between those and salt air
@Sparky961 said:
@Overstreet said:
I live in Florida and the only vehicle rust I ever got was after a trip to snow country with road salt.Ok, so they don’t rust, but what about mold with all that humidity?
If we’re talking about the vehicle shut up too long clean it then put one of those mold treatments from the Marine dealer ie West Marine.
Ok I got it and it’s comoact works good to rinse a kayak bought 7 gallon jug on eBay. Should be plenty. Will take small pail with soap and brush. Soap it up and rinse it.
Can screw hose to soda bottle so I’ll premix some soap and water in a 2L bottle. Uses 1/2 gallon per minute.
Salt water does not promote mold and mildew, but fresh water does. That’s why people with skin-on-frame kayaks with wood frames don’t - or shouldn’t - rinse the insides with fresh water. It pretty much guarantees that you’ll end up with mold inside. This is also the reason that historic wooden ships’ decks are washed down with salt water after they’ve been rained on, it prevents mold formation.
Salt can obviously be hard on metals that are not salt-resistant, but it has no negative effect on fiberglass, rubber or plastics. UV light is the real danger to these materials. FWIW, we’ve never had any issues with the roofs of our cars rusting, but we made it a point to rinse sand and salt off of the roofs after paddling. If it was really a serious problem you’d see a lot of cars with rusted roofs just from all of the road salt used around here.
Most garments and neoprene items aren’t harmed by it either as long as they’re rinsed after salt exposure. The minor staining that you sometimes see after rinsing is purely cosmetic.
If you must spray then do what the Florida boat trailer people do and get a 1 to 3 gallon garden pump up sprayer at the hardware store. Fill with water and use at the take out. The Florida boat trailer worriers are concerned about brakes and lights on the trailers. Either way they are going to be a maintenance item.
Personally I don’t do that. I wait till I get home and use zip wax car wash soap on the whole assembly if on the beach prior. I generally agree with bnystrom.
If I don’t do it before loading my Excursion is a message. Small sprayer is not good and rinsing sand.
Worked great we did 3 kayaks and some gear and used 6 gallons of water. Boat and truck were clean the next day. I didn’t even use the soap water mixture in the bottle. Very happy with it.