How do I Care For My Kayak?

Your kayak should look beautiful on a day you fish. It should also delivers performance no matter if you go fishing frequently. But, how long? Like anything else, your kayak requires your attention at least once in every 3/4 months. Seeing the size, design, and construction of the vessel, you might feel the job has to be assigned to someone who knows how to do the job perfectly. But, you can do it yourself in just a few steps, and you need not contact anybody else for fishing kayak care throughout the year.

The procedures of caring fishing kayak

The following are the proper and perfect caring procedures for a fishing kayak. So you should follow all procedures of caring your fishing kayak.

Preseason care

Before the advent of the fishing season, every fishing kayak requires to be prepared. The techniques to ensure preseason care are discussed below.

Look into the hull for damage

Take care of your kayak’s storage before the arrival of the fishing seasons. If you find your kayak’s hull unshaped, you can easily get it back. For correcting the shape of a kayak, you can leave it in the sun.

Look-into-the-hull-for-damage

Inspect the rigging

Before using the kayak, please make sure that your kayak’s hardware, perimeter lines, and bungees are in all good shape UV radiation can deteriorate plastic pad-eyes and degrade bungees/lines.

Inspect-the-rigging

Look into the rudder

You should inspect the rudder or Skeg if your kayak has one. Check the deployment lines, stainless steel cables, pivot hardware, and pedals. Make sure to repair anything that needs fixing. Taking care of these components before hitting the water is wise.

Look-into-the-rudder

Replace the old parts

Before starting out for fishing, you should replace the old parts of your kayaks with new ones to avoid any unwanted situation.

Replace-the-old-parts

Refill energy gear

Check your first aid kit, bailout bag, and emergency repair kit to make sure everything is in stock.

Refill-energy-gear

In season kayak’s care

During the kayak fishing season, you should follow the guidelines below.

Use a kayak cart

While taking your kayak into the water, you should use a kayak cart. The bottom of your kayak will get thin if you drag your kayak on the ground.

Use-a-kayak-cart

Keep it clean

You should keep your kayak clean. Otherwise, it will look less than good. A clean and tidy kayak can bring you joy while fishing.

keep-it-clean

Protect it from the sun

While kayaking under the sun, you should ensure its protection from severe sun rays, so it doesn’t get faded. You can spray 303 protectant to shield it from damages caused by ultraviolet rays.

Protect-it-from-the-sun

Cover the cockpit

When your kayak is not in use, you should keep it covered to protect it from rain and critters.

Cover-the-cockpit

Care for off-season

After the course of the fishing season, the off seasons for kayak arrive. For this season, you need caring your kayak too. The following are the methods of off seasonal caring for a kayak.

Care-for-off-season

Clean the kayak after using in the fishing season for the further use of it. If you fail to clean it properly, you may not expect good performance from your kayak next year. So, fishing kayak care and maintenance are essential things to take care of.
After cleaning your kayak, you should dry it.
After the seasonal uses, you should take care of your rigging components.
After that, you need to manage the right storage components for future uses.

You may buy any popular kayak model for fishing, but you should not stop ensuring fishing kayak care if you do not want to lose your kayak’s beauty and performance in just a year after buying that at top dollars.