I have the chance to get a 09 model Ocean Kayak Prowler 13. It is 5 months old, at a great price. heres the thing though. The owner never sprayed it with any UV protectant, like 303, and it sat in the yard in the wide open, exposed directly to sun for the 5 months he owned it. It is not faded at all, it looks good, but will the direct sunlight and lack of treatment for 5 months take alot of life out of the plastic? Would you buy it? Thanks for any help.
5 months is not long enough to
cause serious damage. Usually long-term UV damage show as a chalky surface instead of a strong color and/or a shiny surface. Also, most boat makers put some UV inhibitor in their plastic.
If you buy it, consider quality yacht/speedboat waxes with UV inhibitors as an alternative to 303.
I agree
5 months shouldn’t be enough time to be an issue.
I agree. It also depends on where
that sun was. South Florida or new York can make a big difference.
virginia
Virginia, from late July through now.
Would you buy a sun baked kayak?
– Last Updated: Dec-30-09 11:27 AM EST –
Why would I buy what I already own?
would I buy…
an OK Prowler 13? heck no… 
sun baking isn’t going to hurt it in 5 months in VA. I’ve seen boats that sat out for years and YEARS in the tropics that were fine. sure they all heva so much time in their lives but they also are chuck full of UV protection in the plastic…at least ‘ours’ are.
steve
303 is a cosmetic gimmick
It really does not penetrate the plastic to have much of an effect beyond the surface. The plastics are formulated with UV resistant materials.
My first two sat outside
For six years, year round. My poly yak still looks fine and my QCC faded almost imperceptibly but is still good. I wouldn’t worry about it. After all, aren’t they made to be outside?
303: I don’t use it on my boats due to the “oil slick” it leaves in the water when I paddle. I also doubt it really does a whole lot to help.
Got two canoes that sit out
24/7. At least two decades later, the OT Discover shows no fading or problems. The Mohawk Solo 14 looks like chaulk over light blue hue that used to be teal. Isn’t a darn thing wrong with either of them except they don’t look as pretty as the day I came home with them.
My plastic rec boat
has been stored outside on a boat rack in Florida sun for over 9 years now. No problem.
My kevlar Vermont Tupper canoe, on the other hand, luxuriates on classy Talic Seahorses in my dining/living room.
16 years??
A friend of mine has a couple old school WW boats that have been sitting outside for a very long time, I’m thinking about 16 years, and they are fine. Uses them at least every other weekend all summer long and never seen a bit of 303.
303
303 or the others do work for awile. There’s no reason for them to penetrate the material not what it’s for. If the surface is more glossy after treatment it’ll reflect more UV, pretty simple.
Bill H.
IN A WORD: YES
Our boats aren’t ‘sun-baked’, but they do sit outdoors all year-round, mostly shaded, under the palms in the back yard. Never seen the inside of a garage, barn, shed, whatnot, since we’ve had’em. The plastic SOTs are 10 years in our care, and we got them used… -and they’re all fine.
We do give them a shot of 303 from time to time, and yes, it IS a surface treatment, but that’s also where the sun seems to hit them most of the time anyway, so I think the stuff does just fine.
http://www.topkayaker.net/CGI-BIN/yakalbum/cgi-bin/album.pl?photo=Misc.%20Member%20Photos/DigiPix2005_0123_115759AAS2.JPG;photo_height=-1;photo_width=-1
Get the boat, clean it up, put a little 303 on it from time to time, and enjoy for many moons as you
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Miami
Fine so far. I have a poly WW kayak
that old, stored in the shade, but if I had kept it in sun all that time, I would be expecting it to crack any time now.
It isn’t the glossy surface, and if you
buff down the 303 like they say to, it won’t be as shiny. It’s molecules in the 303 that intercept UV. Magic.
I again suggest looking at the yacht waxes with UV inhibitor in them. They don’t wash off in water, they slide even better on abrasive surfaces, and they seem to last longer.
FP303
The stuff’s been tested in independant labs, there is nothing in it that absorbs UV, that’s just the manufacture’s hype.
Same as 90% of the protection you get from varnish on wood surfaces, it’s the gloss that reflects the sun and thus protects the underlying surface. Once the surface starts to dull the UV protection decreases and the surface degrades faster.
Bill H.
Months?
If it’s a good price and the boat you want, buy it!
My boats live outside and when not in the water they are on a rack or on the car.
The oldest is 20 years old and she is fine.
Oil canning is what I would watch for, then deep scrapes.
Right now we only have 9 hours of sun so we are not in Florida.
If the price is good buy the boat if it is the type of craft you are after and enjoy.
Half baked kayak…
I would prefer a half baked canoe to a half baked kayak.
BUT, if Scarlett Johannson came with the half baked kayak, and the price was right, I might consider the kayak.
BOB
Cite your sources. This is important
because most people, including most people on this board, believe that 303, McNetts, Armorall intercept UV.
Are you also planning to assert that sunscreens for skin work by being glossy and reflecting light, rather than selectively absorbing UV?
It would be surprising if there were several different effective UV screens for human skin but none for boat surfaces.