I have an Airis Inflatable by Walker Bay. It’s a Sport 11" and since WB made inflatables then stopped and then made them again…I think I might be in the first class or second (grin) My issue is I now have a Lexus (small) that doesn’t have a roof rack. I see ads all of the time where someone with a sports car takes out their inflatable, pumps it up and goes kayaking. My question is, is there a way to wash the kayak down before deflating it and putting it back in the trunk? Thank you all for you feedback in advance.
Why not just bag it. You will have to inflate it to dry at home before actually packing it…wash it then.
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roym, thanks for taking the time to respond. I know I have that option, but I salt water kayak. I’m guessing I need to put a few gallon jugs of water in my car to at least rinse the kayak off, then deflate it and put a tarp in the trunk, then throw the inflatable in the trunk.
Washing is just about dirt (algae etc.). But more importantly is drying, especially in all the little greases. Bring 2 thick towels. Dry the boat before deflating. then again after deflating (to reach the cracks better). If you store the boat too wet, things will grow.
Use old towels, and they need to be washed afterwards. But I went all last summer and just left my IK in my trunk. Most IK come with some sort of bag.
At the end of the season, clean and dry it thoroughly with soapy water. then dry it thoroughly. You don’t have to do that every time you boat as long as you dry it (s. above).
Do NOT just leave the inflated boat in the sun to dry! It can over-pressurize and the little crannies won’t dry.
Lurker, thank you for your advice. I wash my kayak after every use. I do leave it outside in the sun to dry but I let out some of the air but still keep it inflated to let the crevices dry. Other than a couple of jugs of water to rinse it, I don’t know what else to do until I get it home. I thought of using one of those spray bottles that you use to spray weedkiller, yet that will take forever and probably not hold enough water. My last car was a Volvo and I purchased a roof rack. There is no roof rack for my Lexus. Again, thank you for your thoughts. I live in Newburyport, MA (an old Seaport town) and like to kayak in the inter-water ways around Plum Island. There is a slight chance that the new bathhouse might have outside water or maybe an outside shower which then would solve my problem. I just posted this question to see if there was something out there that i wasn’t aware of to help me “rinse.” :o)
Lots of sprayers to chose from. Here is just one from a quick search.
GoSpout 2.0 Gallon Portable Water Tank Black / No
View all photos
Pressurized
The GoSpout features two gallons of water that you can pressurize in just a few pumps with the built in Pump Cap (or from a garden hose if you add the optional fill valve)! Throw this handy container in the trunk or carry it down to the beach or to any outdoor activity. It’s …More
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THANK YOU Roym!!! I never knew of such a thing (I also don’t feel as stupid for posting my question). I just watched a YT video of a demonstration and it is exactly what I need. The guy washing his hands in that one pic is the guy from GoSpout doing the video.
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When done paddling it is a good idea to rinse off the kayak to keep salt water out of your car. It’s very corrosive. A couple of gallon jugs of water should be sufficient. When you get home reinflate it and use a hose to thoroughly rinse it again. Leave it inflated to dry but do not leave it out in the sun to prevent fading and UV damage.
rstevens15,
Thank you for taking the time to respond. As you can see with the other reply, “roym” did redeem himself with the wonderful recommendation versus his former comment of me just sticking it back in its bag. The kayaks are hard enough to put back in the bag when they’re clean, never mind salty. lol I think I’m going to go with a “shower” system similar to what roym suggested and then obviously have a couple of gallons of water on hand. I know if I paid enough money, Thule would make me a roof rack. My last Volvo S70 didn’t have an OEM roof rack. When I drove up the seacoast of NH, I saw a surfer shop and low and behold there was an S70 out front (the owner’s) and I went into the shop and I asked is that your S70 and she said yes. I want your roof rack, can you do it? She said “yes, give me 30 minutes” :o) My Volvo had holes (how can I explain this?) up under the front and rear door panels. i.e. open the doors, and you’d see where there was an indention for a roof rack. Why did Volvo make my car this way and yet didn’t sell an OEM RR. But I digress. Thanks rstevens15, I apologize for the rant. But you have to agree, it shouldn’t be this hard. (I’m exhausted!!) lol
Hmmmm…Redeemed myself…interesting.
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You actually saved the day. :o)
Here we have quite some algae and when I pull the boat out, it looks quite green on the outside. But the towel cleans it all up fine. Obviously the towel needs a wash…
If the towel can’t remove it, it probably can’t be removed with just some sprayer and would need some harsher method. At the end of the season some more thorough cleaning with soap water helps.
I would just try that before over-thinking it and going to more complicated procedures. I haven’t paid attention, but don’t recall seeing anyone washing their IK. IMHO, getting it dry to prevent mold is much more important. and the greases that trap the mold-water are inside the boat. So those areas don’t really get dirty from the lake water.
Actually that cleaning and drying of the INSIDE of the IK was one of the 15 reasons to switch to an iSUP this year. I never was bothered by cleaning and drying the outside since that is easily done.
I kind of forgot if you already used that boat. if not, I’d recommend just doing what I did and see how it goes. if it is for saving your car, put the boat in a blanket. i just started last year and part of the first few trips was to set up the logistics to set up and put back down everything with the least hassle.
Less time cleaning the boat = more time boating
Hi Lurker,
I have a special spray which I think I purchased at West Marine. I inflate the kayak and put it on two kayak stands. Since I initially ordered an Airis Sport 10 (older version) they only had a Sport 11’ available at the same price. There is one review on Paddling.com of the Airis Sport 11 and that is me. After the kayak is put on the stands it gets a thorough wash. What I sometimes use is “Barkeeper’s Friend” which is great for non-stick cookware, stains off of surfaces without damaging, as well as I’ve used it on my car to take away scratches. This is non-abrasive, but does well with algae stains (as you mentioned) and even stains you get when you accidentally plow into a dock when you are in Chatham (Cape Cod) harbor. :o) I’ve included a pic. Airis changed things again, and not necessarily an improvement. With my kayak, I have a sealable dry storage, built into the kayak and it is behind the “helm” lol Some pics show it is in front and it is not. The newer Airis Sport no longer has the built in dry bag., but does have the foot spikes.
