Before every race I wax my outrigger with boat/car wax. The outrigger feels much smoother. Is it only mental or works it really well?
Which outrigger is faster, with or without wax?
(The skin of a shark is not perfectly smooth)
Submitted by Ronnie den Boer on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 6:44am
This has been discussed in detail before. I lost the link but someone will surely guide you to the article. It was on a surfski site. Concensus is that it does more to keep the gunk from building up on the boat, better for those people who neglect the wash down phase. I do it a couple times a year, every race may be overkill. Unless you wash the boat with dawn detergent to strip off the old wax, you may be caking on layers of it.
#1 Wed, 04/21/2010 - 9:47am
found the link: http://www.epickayaks.com/news/news/to-wax-or-not-to-wax
Should be what your looking for
#2 Wed, 04/21/2010 - 9:49am
Make sure to polish the knob thoroughly before racing.
#3 Wed, 04/21/2010 - 10:00am
agh, streak broken ...Was waiting to see if this one would slip all the way off.
aloha,
pog
#4 Wed, 04/21/2010 - 10:12am
I know Jc9 waxes before races. I know cause I have to help him wax those hard to reach places. Its pretty gross I guess, he's a pretty hairy guy.
#5 Wed, 04/21/2010 - 2:17pm
Ahhhh, the good old days. Been way to serious and informative here lately. On the plus side its meant more time on the water.
#6 Wed, 04/21/2010 - 2:50pm
i like to think i wax poetic before long races.
#7 Wed, 04/21/2010 - 3:46pm
One marathon canoe manufacturer has told me to wax my canoe to prevent leaking. The marathon canoes are not painted and the vacuum bagging has squeezed so much resin out that there may be micro-pin-holes. These very tiny holes may absorb water when the weight of a paddler is forcing the canoe against the water. The wax will "seal" the hull. Since most skis and oc1s I have seen are painted or have a gel-coat finish, this issue of leaking may not exist. But a smooth, clean, shiny hull just looks nice and will add some sun protection, even if it is not directly related to speed increases. And I would imagine a sun-damaged canoe may be slower, too.
#8 Thu, 04/22/2010 - 7:15am
I don't know why goto hasn't chimed in yet. He has regularly participated in our waxing sessions. I guess he's shame.
#9 Thu, 04/22/2010 - 8:01am
Not shame... I've just switched to shaving instead.
#10 Thu, 04/22/2010 - 11:58am
aren't you more the waxing idiotic jc9-0?
#11 Thu, 04/22/2010 - 7:06pm
Wax, Wax, Wax
Big goobs of wax all over the canoe.
Think of the top of a surfboard. It should look like that except on the bottom of your canoe.
If you don't have wax, crisco works in a pinch.
2 years ago when Lanakai paddled together to try to win Molokai from the Tahitians they used wax too.,
but that was for the ends of their "pornstaches"
#12 Fri, 04/23/2010 - 4:46am
Pornstaches...excellent work, Kona J.
#13 Fri, 04/23/2010 - 2:30pm
Not-Joking about staches-from two years ago
Log on to see photo
#14 Sat, 04/24/2010 - 2:17pm
Hilarious pic! Jim looks like a villain from a spaghetti western or something.
#15 Sun, 04/25/2010 - 1:32pm