VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Being new to the windsurfing thing and all the different materials involved, is it necessary to rinse all salt dipped gear back at home?

...What do YOU do...?

Thanks!!

~the guy hauling and falling at Pipers

i rinse my suit and booties, the rest i don't bother. i do hang my sails (rolled up in the bags) where they can drip for a couple days. and open up the board bag.
btw welcome, great hear from a new guy!

You'll hear different opinions on what is good for your gear.

I always rinse and dry thoroughly all gear. This is probably overkill. Drying is especially important for wetsuits, booties and footstraps to prevent mold growth.

If there is sand on it, I wash it off. This isn't too much of a problem on the island since most of our beaches are cobble. Sand will scratch your sail window, making it hazy. I also like to rinse all sand out of my masts to that it doesn't interfere with the ferrule or grind away between the mast extension and the bottom of the mast.

It used to be said that leaving your sail rolled up still wet with FRESH water would make the window foggy, but if it was wet with SALT water it would be ok. I'm not sure if this is still true.

The pipers season is just starting. I love that place. Enjoy!

there is a thread on this stuff somewhere

salt water doesn't generally support mould, fresh water promotes it and sailcloth will develop it in summer within a couple of days.....so if you rinse, make sure the sail can dry and breathe

alu booms are the most critical rinse obvious in regard to salt corrosion

nice to rinse sails/masts in the ocean to get sand off due to grit
I have not had a window go cloudy on any sail, perhaps mylar used to do this

Rolled up with Salt Water will make it foggy, but the salt water will prevent things like mold and rot. Rolled up in fresh water is the opposite, no foggy window but mold and rot.

i think the best option is always rinse everything, as often as possible, in either fresh or salt water, wherever the wind happens to be blowing.

Friggin eh!

Much thanks for the help on that, guys!

Thanks for helping me prolong the use of my stylin neon retro gear long enough to get totally hooked!

Anything neoprene and my harness I rinse and dry.

Extension, u-joint, fins, boom I rinse if it's been in salt water. Probably not all necessary but easy to do as it's all in the rubbermaid tub.

Sails, masts and board I don't usually rinse unless it had to be packed up sandy or with weeds hanging off it.

A friend of mine is moving to Protection Island soon from Vancouver. Is it sailable there? Where would one windsurf if living there?

The same Spring/Summer/Fall NW's that we catch at pipers will blow past the east (outside) side of Protection and even down the channel of the harbor for bigger gear. Or just drive or boat up to pipers!

I'm yet to experience the big summer NWers, but I've been told by one of the few resident sailors that you can launch off of the NE shore of Protection. Apparently there's a bit of a dead zone, but you cross the line a couple hundred metres out and it gets powerful.

I hope to be at that confidence level by the summer....