The folks at Perception told my sister in Arizona that if she stores her plastic kayak indoors all summer without air conditioning that it will warp. They said hanging it in a sling somewhere in her house might help but they wouldn’t guarantee it and she can’t anyway evidently. I was aware of the problem with direct sunlight but I didn’t think just heat would do it. What is a person supposed to do if they don’t have an air-conditioned building in which to store it?
specifics
If you’re talking about the rafters of an uninsulated garage where 120 degree temps is common then sure it’ll warp if left flat on it’s bottom or set across rafters. Suspending it by it’s ends is just as likely to increase it’s rocker. You don’t need an airconditioned building,just put it on edge with some support at the ends and side.
indoors
Actually, it gets that hot in their house if the air conditioner is not left on and that is where she plans to keep it. I’ve passed along your advice. Thank you.
In Phx I have my Perception poly
boat laid on edge right on the garage floor. It seems to be the coolest spot to find. I rotate it a little every so often and it doesn’t seem to disort any worse than prior to moving to the oven state.
I don’t think it even got to 120 degrees this year. What do general rotomoulded boats melt at?
Does she have a basement?
That’s usually the coolest place.
If not, could she rent a basement storage area?
Just heat and more heat.
No basement, I’m afraid. No garage either. They are down near Yuma and it gets over 120 degrees in the summer in their house. They spend their summers up here in Washington but can’t haul the kayak.
I guess there are advantages to being up here in the frozen north.
if that’s what the good folks at…
…perception told her, i would believe them. they made the thing after all.
if you do a search you may find a few threads complaining about the plastic used in a certain company’s boats.
also, if you do a search on storage, you’ll find some good advice on how to store kayaks. on end or on its side seem to be the conventional wisdom with any support points positioned beneath bulkheads.
i wish her luck.
except
the good folks at Perception might be anyone. Back when they had the thick/hard plastic seatbacks they sent two e-mails from customer service and regional sales to folks in my basic kayaking classes saying that they had no problem with the seatback preventing re-entry. It’s something that came up in classes often so I said “send an e-mail to Perception and see what they say” Which is absolutely 180 degrees from reality with a plastic Shadow where the seat back can get knocked out of its notch and fold onto the seat preventing a person from sliding into the cockpit.
The recomendation to suspend a plastic boat from it’s ends in high heat sounds like a good way to make a banana out of it.
Store on its side or hanging
by several strap slings…preferably not in the garage.
I lived in Tucson and stored my boat outside in a very shady spot next to my house, raised up of the ground on its side leaning against the house. Cover with heavy duty UV protective tarp but let air ventilate underneath so it does not superheat. (Watch our for rattlers, packrats, bark scorions etc when you move the boat). It easily gets to 118 in Yuma and much hotter in garages and enclosed areas that become ovens. I heard of someone in Tucson that had a Seadart that became flat stored in a garage.