Hey all,

Just after some info on how people clean and maintain their boards and rigs after a session?

I have been just hosing everything off after each outing, is this going overboard?

Really it doesn't matter either way,the big thing is not to leave a wet board in a board cover in the heat as there has been on occasion people saying that bubbles have formed on the skin of the board,also if it really hot best not to leave the vent plug screwed down when in a van etc,however a lot of people do without issue.
Also with sails there is some merit in not hosing them down as the salt stops mildew from forming,however if you dry them out its not a problem
So I guess its a matter of how particular you want to be with your gear

^^^ +1

I hose out the boom every 6mths or so, maybe sails if they get salty/cloudy enough that they are hard to see thru. Mast if it gets sand in it.

That's about it

^^^^ând he pokes the sand out of his eyes with his finger through his nose?

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lotofwind said...
^^^^ând he pokes the sand out of his eyes with his finger through his nose?

Sorry but thats bloody funny

Maintenance??? What's that. I'm with Mark, in salt water, I don't bother with the sails, I just roll them up wet. Everything else gets the same attention to detail. The only real maintenance I do is oil the pulley on my mast base.
I should mention that my boards are at least 10 years old and don't look so pretty anymore.

Man. I've seen Japanese guys dismantling, cleaning and wiping down their booms before placing into their car. Everything is hosed and thoroughly cleaned. Those guys are neat.

Personally I do nothing. You can tell because sail bags don't zip up anymore.

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Iceman said...
Maintenance??? What's that. I'm with Mark, in salt water, I don't bother with the sails, I just roll them up wet. Everything else gets the same attention to detail. The only real maintenance I do is oil the pulley on my mast base.
I should mention that my boards are at least 10 years old and don't look so pretty anymore.

I guess like me if you dont hose em down (understand sails) you use a crappy old car....cos that salt wreaks havoc on the duco etc....my goto car for surfing and now windsurfing is a 1998 Commodore wagon...dont even have to put em on the roof for the short trips....just check em in...the handholders on the side allow me to occy the nose to prevent it sliding and causing damage to the occupants.

I take a 20 litre Gerry can full of water and a watering can. I wash my board, extension, boom and myself while everything is still wet. When I get home I put my boards on board racks to dry. I roll up the sails wet with salt water but give them a wash with soapy water and dry them properly every 2 months or so then polish them with Mr Sheen making sure to keep it off the stitching. Makes the water bead off nicely and my sails look sweet but I'm OCD apparently

I used to rinse everything off in fresh water after windsurfing and let it all dry but I couldn't be bothered to do it now. Maybe I'll give my sails a clean soon as I like them.

Thanks all, was just a bit concerned as the gear is probably the oldest used in this forum lol, what is the best way to get a bit of mould of newer sails? they have a bit of delam in them but for my purpose they are still perfectly usable and look forward to trying them out (Thanks to Cruiser1755, I still owe ya a couple).

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evlPanda said...
Man. I've seen Japanese guys dismantling, cleaning and wiping down their booms before placing into their car. Everything is hosed and thoroughly cleaned. Those guys are neat.

Personally I do nothing. You can tell because sail bags don't zip up anymore.

Ah... so thats why mine died..?

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qldnacra said...
I take a 20 litre Gerry can full of water and a watering can. I wash my board, extension, boom and myself while everything is still wet. When I get home I put my boards on board racks to dry. I roll up the sails wet with salt water but give them a wash with soapy water and dry them properly every 2 months or so then polish them with Mr Sheen making sure to keep it off the stitching. Makes the water bead off nicely and my sails look sweet but I'm OCD apparently

If you lived locally you could look after mine..

If it's hot outside and I want a post-sail beer, I'll wash.

If it's freezing outside I won't wash and I'll take the beer in to the shower with me. Then the wettie will be the only thing washed.

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MikeyS said...
If it's hot outside and I want a post-sail beer, I'll wash.

If it's freezing outside I won't wash and I'll take the beer in to the shower with me. Then the wettie will be the only thing washed.

^^^^ Same thing but I try not to leave anything in the direct sun...

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jusavina said...

MikeyS said...
If it's hot outside and I want a post-sail beer, I'll wash.

If it's freezing outside I won't wash and I'll take the beer in to the shower with me. Then the wettie will be the only thing washed.

^^^^ Same thing but I try not to leave anything in the direct sun...

Its ok to leave the sail out to dry off a bit isn't it? c 30mins or so as you talk..

Only worry about washing stuff if i know im not going to use it again for a while.
Generally i rinse the sand off when i bring it out of the water then let it dry - more to stop water and sand getting into the car.

There's no question washing off with fresh water extends the life of just about everything. I think it depends on your attitude to gear. If you're an upgrader you're not going to see any benefit, but if you're a keeper you might get a couple of years more use out a component. In fact one of the reasons I joined a yacht club is because they have a lawn and a hose :)

The vent plug thing varies by board size. If I leave my 420L black-hulled raceboard on the roof rack on a hot day with the vent plug closed it'll just about blow my hat off when I open the plug, which is more pressure than I care to have rampaging around looking for a weak spot. On my wave board though the vent plug seems to be there mainly for decoration.

I never realised there was a windsurfing season

Edit- I just realised I can't read doh - session not season - whoops

I feel that my gear is in very good condition, even the older stuff. All I do is towel it dry after a sail. Only wash bits I see sand on.

Every couple of months when I go up the coast it gets a full hose down and only because it's convenient. Ie. the gear stays rigged on the lawn for the weekend and theres a hose near by. When I use fresh water I always make sure gear is fully dry to avoid mould.

now you guys are all making me feel bad..... I rinse all my gear after each session, attach the sail to a tree and let it dry, hang the boom to the van door.....board is left to dry in the sun, I then go bird watching along the beach....

Mind you my gear stays all year round in the van and is used at least 3 times a week, I wouldn't want salt water to drip in the car....

Seems like that once every six months I take my board out of the shed and rinse the dust off in the ocean, then stick it back in the shed to collect more dust.

I remember on another thread someone posted the question 'where can you wash off your gear at Currumbin?'

...and someone posted back 'in the fkn water!'. That was pretty funny.

I've never heard of any evidence to suggest that washing your gear makes it last longer. Removing sand minimizes scratching but salt doesn't hurt at all. The thing that kills sails is UV.

Drying your sails in the sun is about the worst thing you can do to them. That really does shorten their life disproportionately because the UV they get lying flat in the sun is much worse than the exposure they get when they are upright and being used.