Protecting Hull Bottoms on the BeachBy David HallOne thing you can do to minimize your hull damage on the beach is to buy two 10-foot long pieces of PVC sewer pipe. These are very light weight and very cheap (about $5 each or less depending on the current price of PVC). These pipes come with one inch holes scattered along the length to make French drains. The holes are good because they allow the water into the pipe, but you don't need the holes. The way you use these pipes is when you bring your boat to shore, put one under both hulls at the water's edge. The boat will feel like teflon on teflon as you scoot the boat over the plastic pipe. Preposition the second pipe about ten feet in front of the first pipe on the beach. Pull the boat across the pipes from the front and you can easily get your boat about 20 feet from the shore and never touch the ground. Launching is just as easy reversing the process. David Hall |
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