Stand Up Paddle Boards on a Catamaran

[Lagoon hound]

Originally Posted by makana

We keep a SUP board and a surf board in board bags secured to the port stanchion, 6 years no problems. I have a very high end bike which I've kept aboard for 9 years. When not in use it lives in the port bow of our boat. I remove the seat & seat tube as well as the front wheel then the bike lives in a standard sleeping bag ($20 -$30 US), which also protects it from salt water when transporting in the dinghy. I'm on my second sleeping bag, same bike.

Just a word of warning about storing board bags permanently outside, here in the tropics even in a thermo insulated board bag a surfboard can still get baked inside, I recently had to throw away my best carbon fibre surfboard due to "sun bake" where the temperatures inside the cover were so hot they actually softened the internal high density foam. If your cruising in the tropics, the best place is undercover , or v berth. Don't leave outside.

[paxfish]

Originally Posted by Lagoon hound

Just a word of warning about storing board bags permanently outside, here in the tropics even in a thermo insulated board bag a surfboard can still get baked inside, I recently had to throw away my best carbon fibre surfboard due to "sun bake" where the temperatures inside the cover were so hot they actually softened the internal high density foam. If your cruising in the tropics, the best place is undercover , or v berth. Don't leave outside.

Thanks for that bit of advice, Lagoon. I recently bought my wife a new foam core fiberglass SUP and I sewed up a light gray cover for UV/dirt protection. I went down to the pier yesterday afternoon to help her launch it, and man was it cooking in the late afternoon sun!

I'm going to have to figure out how to shade it, with airflow underneath the cover, if it is going to stay outside.

[thinwater]

Outside racks could work, if you don't have reacher or spinnaker sheets that run outside on the sides.

We stack them on the davits. Very easy ad never in the way.

[jbinbi]

Same question on mounting, but my interest is with kayaks. Are there any commercial mounts for them . See them on decks, thinking about over davits, but also thinking of putting solar on top of davits.

Sent from my A200 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by YPSILANTI

Hi Kenomac, I intend also taking very expensive bicycles with me. How do you protect them from the rust?

The two bikes you see in the photo have turned into complete rust buckets and will be tossed into the rubbish bin in three weeks time. They are only three years old. Even the steering wheels are frozen with rust.

Next season I plan to bring over one of my better carbon road bikes, a bike which cost nearly $10,000. I will need to take off the wheels and store the frame and the wheels in separate bags in the extra bunk room. Lots of WD40 followed by lubricant. The problem will then become winter storage for the bike, which may need to come home at the end if each season. I refuse to buy an additional folding monkey bike, which will eventually rust.

The only bikes which don't seem to rust on a boat, are the ones which are dry stored inside and never used.

The primary source or the rust seems to be the salt water getting on the bikes during transport to shore on the dinghy. Hopefully, transporting the road bike in bags will help solve this issue.

Ken

[Lojanica]

Aluminum and titanium perhaps?

[YPSILANTI]

Tks Kenomac, you reply is helpful.

[jbinbi]

I too have been considering how to keep my road bike on a boat. (though carbon, not 10k;-). I really think something like a serfas case is the way to go. I want the case as airtight as possible. Maybe even cutting the foam for inserts rather than just laying it in the case with foam on top and bottom. I would think just putting the bike in bag isn't enough. I would also be concerned with some condensation getting into the bag? I do 100 mi a week in the summer, and if cruising, would love to figure out a way to get my exercise.

[paxfish]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I will need to take off the wheels and store the frame and the wheels in separate bags in the extra bunk room. Lots of WD40 followed by lubricant.

Ken

Just say no to WD-40. It has the unique property of being able to "dry out" electronics, but then keep moisture next to metal in humid environments. I've had high quality steel rust in spite of being well coated.

I suggest using lubes that still displace water, but then leave a coating like Boeshield, Corrosion X or my favorite from the last several years, Amsoil MP HD.

$9 at Ace Hardware:

[Canibul]

After ten years living on this island and fighting rust and corrosion every day of it, I've come to appreciate WD-40 for what it actually does, as opposed to what the marketing people like to think it does. Even the grocery stores here sell it in gallon cans. Do some research on it. It was never intended to be a lubricant. It displaces water (WD) and is a mild solvent. It seems to lube things because it dissolves the old greases you spray it on. That's a momentary fix. You really want to follow up with a good lube and protectant after using it. I like Corrosion X myself, but there are other good ones.

We've been through four bicycles here. The only way to keep them from rusting up is constant maintenance. You can't ignore them for even a couple weeks after they've once been exposed to salt. What we lose first are typically small brake parts and other bits made of steel. The springs everywhere are steel. I think the answer might be one of the bikes that have enclosed drive shafts or a belt drive, or even an internal hub. A coaster brake would be useful. Other answer, go to local bike rental shops and buy used bikes cheap. Ride them til they need work, then give them away to someone who can use them and buy another one.

[paxfish]

Originally Posted by Canibul

After ten years living on this island and fighting rust and corrosion every day of it, I've come to appreciate WD-40 for what it actually does, as opposed to what the marketing people like to think it does. Even the grocery stores here sell it in gallon cans. Do some research on it. It was never intended to be a lubricant. It displaces water (WD) and is a mild solvent. It seems to lube things because it dissolves the old greases you spray it on. That's a momentary fix. You really want to follow up with a good lube and protectant after using it. I like Corrosion X myself, but there are other good ones.

We've been through four bicycles here. The only way to keep them from rusting up is constant maintenance. You can't ignore them for even a couple weeks after they've once been exposed to salt. What we lose first are typically small brake parts and other bits made of steel. The springs everywhere are steel. I think the answer might be one of the bikes that have enclosed drive shafts or a belt drive, or even an internal hub. A coaster brake would be useful. Other answer, go to local bike rental shops and buy used bikes cheap. Ride them til they need work, then give them away to someone who can use them and buy another one.

Yeah - WD sux. Here is a CorrosionX alternative that might be more available for some folks (Ace Hardware for example). Leaves behind a waxy protectant coating:

[Canibul]

I tested at least a dozen of those kinds of things. Went back to Corrosion X. I think I found one of the BOEshield ones was pretty good, too. Most of the "heavy grease" type metal protectors dry out and fall off. The ones that don't dry out attract salty gritty sand. Didn't try that one, but there ain't an Ace Hardware within 500 miles of here.

[SunnySky]

In terms of the original post, my first choice depending on the layout of your catamaran if there is any way possible despite their length would be to store them inside (which is why I personally went with the Uli inflatable paddleboard option). Alternatively, lashed down securely on the primary tender whether that is on davits or on the foredeck would be much preferable to the stanchions.

In terms of the off topic thread on electronics, there is nothing that is going to beat a good marine dielectric grease when it comes to preventively protecting clean electronics from corrosion. Under certain circumstances, PB Blaster has helped me give needed TLC to electronics that just got wet (but it will definitely mess up the screen of a cellphone if it gets between the layers of a screen).

David
sv Sunny Sky Hailing from Cold Bay AK

[Canibul]

Back to the SUP storage on a cat question: We just moved aboard two weeks ago and went back to the house to get the two 11.5 ft. SUPs yesterday. The last big pieces of moving a three bedroom house onto a 40 ft. boat.

Now I'm looking at where to carry these SUPs. The rigid and expensive racks that use the stanchions seem like a good idea, but overkill. Even the Garhauers are $115 and that's for two bent pieces of tubing with a collar on one end.

I was wondering about just splicing an eye in the end of about four or five feet of soft nylon line and using that the same way. It would duplicate the function of the Garhauer design, but be essentially a rope sling. Any thoughts on that approach?

[paxfish]

Sounds reasonable - Maybe some webbing versus a rope.

UV will eat it up if you don't cover the board. You can forestall the effects of UV with something like 303 spray every few weeks.