Handy hints

There is a treasure trove of handy hints among our members. If you have one, don't keep it to yourself! Share it with us. Acknowledgments will be given unless you wish to remain anonymous.

Reduce rust

Many paddlers have found by bitter experience that rust appears around car windscreens and gutters when using their boat in salt water. It is not sufficient to hose the car off when you get home. By then it is too late. The salt water has probably already seeped in around the windscreen sealing rubber and will not flush out. There it does a great job of converting metal to rust, remarkably quickly.

One suggestion is to make up a hose of around 2 metres in length with an outdoor screw tap fitting and a nozzle. Many launching points have a tap which can then be used to hose down your boat before putting it on your car.

An old towel is worth carrying as well. This can be used whether or not a tap is available. Even if there is a tap, it is worth drying the boat to ensure that absolutely no remaining salty residue makes its way onto your car.

Keep it cool

Try filling 2 litre plastic recyclable milk bottles 95% full (to allow for expansion) with water and putting them in the freezer the night before a trip. They can then be used to keep food cool in an insulated bag and/or provide cool drinking water. The bottles can be crushed to take up less space on the way home.

Float your boat

With the improving quality of Chateau Cardboard wines, you may want to invest in a useful flotation device. Wash out the empty cask and use it as positive buoyancy and the ends of your boat or in sea kayak hatches (particularly if the hatch has a leak). If you capsize, for each litre of air in the cask there is one less kilo of water to empty. The cask weighs very little and can be deflated to make room for gear if you need it. Pubs and clubs often use 10 litre casks. If you ask nicely, they may be happy to save their empty ones for you.