How To Keep Your Gear In Like New Condition

We love our watersport and hate when the boating season comes to an end and we can no longer spend every weekend enjoying our time on the water. How can we keep our gear looking like new year round? How you store your gear has a big impact on its lifespan. It really doesn't take much to keep your gear performing like new.

Your Wakeboard's edge is critical not only to how it performs, but how it ages. You don't want to stand it up in a corner on a hard surface. That is an easy way to crack the joint where the top and bottom of the board come together. If that happens, you board will come apart. Always place your board binding side down. You could even go one step further and entirely remove your bindings to dry separately from the board.

If you are anything like me, your rope gets pulled into the boat and laid on the floor in a heap after use. Make sure to take the time to coil the rope after each use being careful to loop it in 1-3 foot long sections. To make coiling easier, give your wrist a little half twist as you are coiling. It will make the rope want to wrap around itself.

After your adventure on the water, your wetsuit needs drying before it is stored. The proper way to do this is to lay it inside out on a flat surface out of direct sunlight. doing this will maintain the seams and material. Once it is dry, you can hand it up on a hanger like a normal suit. Better yet, find an actual suit hanger with broader shoulders to help hold the shape of the suite better.

The last piece of gear is your life vest. Did you know that drying your life vest in direct sunlight can actually break down the fibers in the vest drastically reducing its life span? You also do not want to just stick in a storage compartment to dry. Doing this will create some not so pleasant smells and mildew problems. The best way to dry your vest is letting it drip dry in a cool dry area making sure it is vertical to allow the water to drain from the bottom.

With these tips your gear will continue looking and acting like it did the day you bought it. Do you want to learn more about keeping our gear like new? Click here. Also, don't forget to leave a comment telling us your tricks to keeping your gear like new.

Do You Store Your Boat At Home?

It is the time of year that most boaters start to get a little depressed because the boating season is winding down. Winterization and storage options occupy our minds. There are my options for your winter storage needs ranging from having the boat here at the marina to storing it yourself at your house. If you choose to house your boat in your driveway, then you will need to know the basics for the use of a tarp. That is where we come in.

There are many reasons to store your boat at home, the biggest is convenience. You can work on your boat whenever you have a free moment. No need to spend time driving to and from and no more frustration if you left something at home. There are some challenges to storing your boat at home over the winter months. The first being how do you keep it out of the elements? A tarp.

Using a tarp can be tricking and here are a few tips to make it easier for you.

Sharp Edges

On your boat you have sharp edges that no matter how many times you’ve tried to cover your boat with a tarp they inevitably rip the tarp. How do you prevent it? When you are covering your boat, first put old pieces of carpet or rags over the sharp edges and secure them with duct tape. The carpet rounds the edges which will protect your tarp.

Securing the Tarp

The best way to secure your tarp would be to wrap the bungee cords around the bottom of your boat. Doing that would make it very difficult to get in and work on your boat during the off season. The easiest way would be to fill a few milk jugs with rocks and water and tie them with rope to a few points of the tarp to hold it in place. When you want to get in the boat, you just need to undo a few jugs and not have to worry about exposing the hole boat.

Tarp Support

You will need to support your tarp at its low points or it will collect water which could completely compromise the tarp. The easiest way to do this would be to place a step ladder on the deck of your boat to keep the tarp supported.

You now have the knowledge to better prepare your boat for winter storage at your home. Just remember to get proper ventilation under the tarp otherwise; you could end up having a mildew problem on your hands. Would you like more information on tarp tactics? Click here.

What Makes a Ski/Wakeboarding Boat?

We know what a boat is, and we know that there are many different styles of boats. Do you know what makes a regular power boat a ski/wakeboard boat? We will go over what extras make a regular power boat a ski/wakeboarding boat.

Ski/Wakeboard boats have an inboard propulsion motors which deliver power to the rider on the water. That power translates into speed that the can be used to make tricks and land jumps. Even though ski boats and wakeboard boats look similar, the riders have opposing goals that they require from their boats.

As a waterskier, you want acceleration and as little wake as possible. What gives the skier the ride they are looking for, is what goes on underneath the water. The shape of the hull and the placement and configuration of the engine, drive shaft and propellers is what cause the inboard ski boats to have very little wake.

A wakeboarder on the other hand wants as big a wake as possible as while you cross from right to left following behind the boat. How do they get the big wake? The wide, deep hull and the V-drive engines set close to the transom allow the boat to carve steep wakes.

You can turn any power boat into a ski/wakeboarding boat, but you can also get the most out of your watersport experience by having a boat that was built just for your specific enjoyment. Now we want to know. What tows you on the water?