Most kayaks and paddleboards do not wear out on the water. They wear out in the five months between the last paddle of October and the first of April: salt left to crystallise in a rudder line, an inflatable rolled up damp and opened in spring with black spots inside, a hull stored on its keel until it has a permanent flat, a pump battery left dead in a cold garage, a phone case with last summer's sand in the seal. The end of the season is one afternoon of work that decides what shape the boat is in when the season starts again. Here are the nine things that afternoon should contain, in the order to do them. 🛶
This applies to hardshell and inflatable kayaks, rigid and inflatable SUPs, and the pile of small gear that goes with them: paddles, pumps, leashes, buoyancy aids, and the electronics that have crept into paddling over the last few years. It is the winter twin of our SUP gear guide and the kayak packing list; those are about the day on the water, this is about the months off it.
Part 1: Nine things to do before the boat goes away
1. Rinse everything, especially what you cannot see
Salt is the enemy in winter storage because it never dries out; it draws moisture from the air and keeps corroding. Rinse the hull, deck and cockpit with fresh water, then the parts people forget: inside the hatches, the rudder or skeg and its cables, the footrest rails, the drain plug and its thread, the D-rings and the bungee anchors, the fin box on a SUP. Freshwater paddlers are not exempt: silt and algae dry into a film that holds damp. A hose and ten minutes.
2. Dry it completely, inside and out, and mean it
An inflatable SUP or kayak rolled up damp will have mould by February, and mould on drop-stitch fabric is permanent. Inflate it to low pressure, wipe it down, and leave it in a dry room or a sunny afternoon until every seam and the underside of every D-ring is dry to the touch, then deflate. A hardshell needs the hatches open, the cockpit up, and a day; sponge the last water out of the bilge. Buoyancy aids, spray decks and wetsuits dry on a hanger out of the sun, not in a heap. Dry means dry; "nearly" is where the smell comes from.
3. Inspect the hull and fix it now, not in April
With the boat clean and dry, go over it in good light. Hardshell: deep scratches along the keel, oil-canning (a flat or dent in the hull), cracks around fittings, a loose seat. Inflatable: check every seam, valve and the fin box under pressure with soapy water, and listen. Small repairs are an evening with a repair kit; large ones need a workshop, and the workshops are quiet in November and booked in April. A boat stored with a slow leak or a crack will have a bigger one in spring.
4. Loosen everything that is under tension
Rudder cables and skeg lines relax a turn. Bungees and deck lines that have been tight all summer are unhooked at one end. Seat straps and thigh braces are loosened. Hatch covers on a hardshell are left off or loose so the seals do not take a set, and the rubber is wiped with a silicone-free conditioner. An inflatable is stored either lightly inflated (best, if there is space) or rolled loosely, never tightly, with the fin out.
5. Store the hull the right way up, off the ground, out of the sun
A hardshell kayak is stored on its side or upside down on padded cradles or straps, weight on the gunwales, never on its keel and never hung by the grab handles; five months on a keel on concrete gives it a flat. A rigid SUP goes on its rail or flat on a rack, fin removed. An inflatable in its bag lives on a shelf in a room that does not freeze, because drop-stitch PVC stiffens and can crack at the folds in a cold garage. Everything out of direct sunlight, which degrades polyethylene and PVC even in winter, and a tarpaulin loosely over it, not wrapped tight, so air moves.
6. Look after the paddle, the pump and the leash
Two-piece paddles are separated, the joint rinsed and dried, and stored apart; a paddle stored joined for a winter can seize. Carbon paddles are kept out of the sun and off the floor. The pump is rinsed if it has been near salt, the hose and gauge dried, and it is stored indoors. Leashes are rinsed and hung straight; the coil and the swivel corrode first. Fins are removed, rinsed and stored flat.
7. Buoyancy aids, spray decks and the wet gear
Rinsed, dried on a hanger, zips and buckles worked, and stored somewhere they will not be crushed; a buoyancy aid stored under a pile of gear for five months loses some of its buoyancy. Check the whistle, the knife, the light and the reflective tape now. Wetsuits and drysuits: rinsed, dried inside and out, hung on a wide hanger, zips lubricated with the manufacturer's wax. This is also the moment to notice that the buoyancy aid is five years old and the foam is tired.
8. The electronics: dry, charged, and out of the shed
Paddling now comes with a phone, a GPS, an action camera, a fish finder, a VHF, an electric pump with a lithium battery, and a set of chargers. None of it belongs in a cold damp garage for the winter. Everything is rinsed if it has seen salt, dried, charged to about half, and stored indoors in a sealed case with a desiccant pack, contacts covered, batteries out of the devices where they can be. Lithium batteries stored full and cold age fast; stored half-charged at room temperature they lose almost nothing. The phone cases and dry bags are emptied, rinsed, dried with the seals open and checked for sand in the O-ring; a seal that held last summer with a grain of sand in it will not hold next spring. What the sealing rating actually promises is in waterproof, water-resistant or submersible.
9. The paperwork, the insurance, and the spring list
The last ten minutes: photograph the boat and its serial number for the insurance, check the policy still covers it in storage, note anything that needs replacing (the tired buoyancy aid, the worn leash, the fin bolt you lost), and write the list on a card that goes in the electronics case. In March the card is the plan and the case is already packed.
Sealed micro cases for the phone, keys and camera on the water
Part 2: Hardshell, inflatable, rigid SUP: what differs
Hardshell kayak (polyethylene or composite)
The risks are deformation and UV. Polyethylene creeps under its own weight over months and takes a set; composite does not creep but chips and crazes. Store on the gunwales or on edge, padded, indoors or under cover, with hatches loose. Composite hulls like a wax before storage; polyethylene likes a UV protectant and nothing else.
Inflatable kayak or SUP
The risks are mould and cold-cracking at the folds. Dry completely, store lightly inflated if there is room, otherwise rolled loosely with the fin out, in a room above freezing. Never store with the valves closed on a hot day and opened on a cold one; pressure changes stress the seams. Check the valve cores are tight before storage and again in spring.
Rigid SUP (epoxy or plastic)
The risks are dings that let water into the core and heat or UV delamination. Every ding is repaired before storage; water in an epoxy core over a winter is a ruined board. Store on a rack, out of the sun, in a bag if it lives in a garage, fin off.
Folding and modular kayaks
Follow the maker's storage instructions for the frame and skin; most want the skin dry and loosely folded, the frame rinsed and the joints lightly lubricated, and the whole thing indoors.
Part 3: Where the boat lives for five months
The good options
An indoor rack in a garage or shed that does not freeze, padded cradles, hull on its side or inverted. A ceiling hoist with wide straps. A club boathouse. For an inflatable, a shelf indoors in its bag.
The bad options
On the ground on its keel. Hung by the toggles. Under a tight tarpaulin in the garden. In a car roof rack all winter. In a damp cellar for an inflatable. In direct sun anywhere.
The compromise
If outdoors is the only option: on cradles off the ground, inverted so water runs off, under a loose cover that lets air through, hatches sealed against mice, and a check once a month for water and animals. It is not ideal and it works if the boat is dry when it goes under the cover.
Mice
A kayak in a shed is a mouse hotel: warm, dry, dark, with foam to chew. Hatches sealed, cockpit covered, nothing edible in the boat, and a look inside every few weeks. Buoyancy aids and neoprene stored in a sealed box, not on a shelf where they can be reached.
Sealed cases for the electronics, batteries and spares over winter
Part 4: The electronics box, in detail
What goes in
Phone case and dry bags, dried with seals open then closed. Action camera and its batteries at half charge. GPS or watch, charged. Fish finder head unit and transducer, rinsed, with the battery at half. VHF, charged, with the charger. Electric pump battery at half charge, separate from the pump. Headlamp and deck light, batteries out. Chargers and cables, coiled. Spare fin bolts, valve tool, repair kit, spare leash. A desiccant pack. The spring list on a card.
Why a sealed case
A garage in February is damp and cold; a cardboard box in it is a sponge. A sealed case with a desiccant pack keeps the contents at the humidity they went in at, and it is the one box in the shed the mice cannot get into. It also means that in April the whole kit is in one place, dry, and ready to go in the boat.
The battery rule
Lithium: half charged, room temperature, contacts covered, checked once mid-winter. Alkaline: out of every device, because they leak in the cold. The pump battery and the fish finder battery are the expensive ones and the ones most often found dead in spring.
Part 5: If you paddle through the winter
Cold water is the danger, not cold air
Water below 15 degrees causes cold shock on immersion, and below 10 it incapacitates in minutes. A winter paddler dresses for the water, not the air: a drysuit or a thick wetsuit, a buoyancy aid always, a helmet on moving water, and a plan for a swim that assumes it will happen. Paddle with someone, near the shore, in daylight, with the phone in a sealed case on the body and a light on the deck.
The gear that changes
Gloves or pogies, a warm hat under the hood, a flask, a spare dry layer in a sealed bag in the hatch, and the electronics in a case that will be opened with wet cold hands. The daily maintenance is the same as the end-of-season one, done more often: rinse, dry, check, because salt and cold together corrode faster.
Storage between winter paddles
The boat dries between trips or it grows mould even in winter. A week between paddles is enough to do the full dry; the electronics case comes indoors every time.
Part 6: Seven end-of-season mistakes
Rolling the inflatable up damp
Mould by February, permanent. Dry it inflated, then roll.
Storing the hardshell on its keel
A flat by spring. On its side or inverted, on cradles.
Leaving the paddle joined
It seizes. Apart, rinsed, dry.
Batteries full and in the shed
Lithium ages, alkalines leak. Half charged, indoors, out of the devices.
The tight tarpaulin
Traps moisture against the hull. Loose, off the ground, air moving.
Putting off the repair
The crack grows, the workshop is booked in April. Fix it in November.
The buoyancy aid under the pile
Crushed foam floats less. Hung or boxed, never loaded.
Frequently asked questions
Should I store an inflatable SUP inflated or rolled?
Lightly inflated if there is room; it avoids fold creases entirely. Rolled loosely with the fin out, in a room above freezing, if not.
Can a kayak stay outside all winter?
Yes if it is dry, on cradles, inverted, under a loose breathable cover and checked monthly. Better indoors; acceptable outdoors done properly.
What do I put on the hull before storage?
Nothing on polyethylene beyond a UV protectant; a wax on composite and epoxy. No silicone on rubber seals.
How should I store the electronics?
Indoors, in a sealed case with a desiccant pack, batteries at half charge and out of the devices, contacts covered. Check once in January.
Do dry bags need anything?
Rinsed, dried inside and out, stored open or loosely rolled, roll-top seals clean. A dry bag stored rolled shut and damp goes the same way as an inflatable.
Is it worth paddling in winter?
Yes, for the empty water and the light, if you dress for the water temperature and never paddle alone. Cold water, not cold air, is the risk.
Checklist: the end-of-season afternoon
- ✅ Rinsed with fresh water, including hatches, rudder, rails, fin box and D-rings
- ✅ Dried completely; inflatable dried inflated before rolling
- ✅ Hull inspected in good light; repairs done now
- ✅ Cables, bungees, straps and hatch seals loosened
- ✅ Hardshell on cradles on its side or inverted; inflatable indoors above freezing; everything out of the sun
- ✅ Paddle apart, pump and leash rinsed and dry, fins off
- ✅ Buoyancy aid and wetsuit dried on hangers, stored uncrushed, safety items checked
- ✅ Electronics dry, batteries at half charge, in a sealed case indoors with desiccant
- ✅ Boat photographed, insurance checked, spring list written and in the case
The short version
Rinse, dry, inspect, loosen, store off the ground and out of the sun, look after the small gear, protect the buoyancy aid, put the electronics in a sealed case indoors, and write the spring list. One afternoon in October, and the boat that comes out in April is the boat that went in. 🛶
If you want a case sized for your paddling electronics and spares, send us the list; we will tell you which one and cut the foam for it.
