Keep your country tidy
keep rubbish off the floor
Poor old Mother Nature can’t take it anymore
Leave things as you find them. It’s not hard to do
If your country’s tidy so are you
-badfinger

As some of us northern paddlers start visiting the local pools it’s a good time to remind each other to keep our kayaks nice and squeaky clean. For many of us getting access to the local pool dependent on the owners good will. Pools after all were intended for swimming, not for paddling. Of course as the sport has grown and we’ve come up with all sorts of ways to play with our kayaks in limited spaces, the local pool has become mighty tempting. Those of us who were the first to ask about it probably faced a lot of the same concerns about space, safety and cleanliness. In a pool you have to be very aware of swimmers. Sometimes the people in charge will rope off an area for you which is great, if not you should try to pick a small area and stay there. Be aware too that people, (kids especially) are curious and may get a bit close. It’s up to you to make sure no one gets hit with a paddle. Also be sure you are not too near the sides of the pool unless of course you are working on your hip snaps. You don’t want to be smacking into the side of the pool. Not only can you damage your kayak, but just the sound of it will make the lifeguards cringe. Just a hint that you may be damaging the pool will get you tossed out. The big thing of course is making sure your boat is clean. I don’t mean, generally clean, I mean “Ultra-Mega-Super-Clean”. Wipe down the outside of the boat. Take the bulkhead covers off and make sure no dirt is lingering around the rims. Flush out the cockpit and under the cockpit rim. Remember in some boats garbage tends to hide under the seat. Sometimes you can run water under there and think it’s clean only to have sand and grit come out after you’re boat has been soaking in the pool for awhile. The best option I’ve found is to take the boat to a car wash were you can use the high pressure hose to get in and under every little nook. Remember too to be careful if you are bringing a long boat into the building. We don’t want to break glass or scratch walls on our way in or out.

Now let me brag just a little. LOL! I’m lucky. I have kayaks a bit more portable than most. My 3 piece Alaw Bach is pretty easy to haul into the pool. Our local pool commanders are happy to see me coming in with something a bit more manageable this year. (Last year I switched back and forth between my Pyranha and my now sold, Anas Acuta. ) Also the Rockpool’s unique design helps immensely with cleaning. I just take the seat and the foot brace right out. Good thing too. You should have seen the crud trying to grow under the seat! Blah!!! I’ve also found that just using the center section of the kayak makes for a fun rolling toy as well. (I’ve got some video of that to post in the near future. )

Remember too when you go home you may want to rinse off your gear as well. I sent one old skirt to an early grave by not rinsing it enough. Neoprene seems to break down pretty fast in bleach water.

It wasn’t long ago that there were only a few of us weirdos looking for time in the local pool. These days there are a lot more paddlers looking for a bit of warm water to play in. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but please keep in mind that pool time is really a privilege and we need to be as respectful as possible if we want to continue enjoying a little warm water in dead of a northern winter.

Related Posts:

1. PFDs, Kayak Rolling, Tech Wars & Rain
2. A Community First. . .
3. no kayak, no problem
4. Long November
5. Broken Rolls