How to Clean and Store Your Inflatable Boat

Proper care and maintenance greatly extends the life of your valuable boat. Whether it’s coated with Pennel Orca® (Hypalon) or other synthetic rubber, urethane or PVC, it pays to remove dirt and other environmental contaminants, using Inflatable Boat Cleaner, before storing it. Then, following manufacturer’s recommendations, put on a coat of 303 Aerospace Protectant.

For storage, leaving your raft, cataraft or inflatable kayak softly inflated and out of the sun is a good move. If you don’t have the room, loosely roll or fold it and, again, keep it out of the sunlight. And a word of warning, some rodents love to burrow into a stored inflatable. Just about every year we hear from customers with horror stories of massive damage caused by those furry critters. Store your craft rodent-safe or employ attack cats.

In this video, Josh from NRS Repairs gives you step-by-step instructions for cleaning and storing your inflatable.

Wet the surface with water before spraying on Inflatable Boat Cleaner. Let the Cleaner set for a minute or so, then scrub with a rag, sponge or brush. Work on smaller sections at a time. Clean the floor, being sure to work along the edges of the floor where sand and debris accumulate. Then work on the tubes, section by section. Rinse with water and dry with a rag. This is a great product for removing dirt, frame marks and general river crud.

Flip the boat over and repeat the cleaning process. This is a good time to look for any damage that has occurred during the season. Abrasion through the outer coating, or “scrim shots,” can be permanently protected with Gear Aid Aquaseal Repair Adhesive.

Now spread on 303 Protectant; wait five minutes and wipe off excess with a rag. 303 really protects against UV damage, which can totally ruin your boat’s material.

Finally, when storing your boat protect it from rodent damage. Those critters can burrow into a stored boat and completely destroy it!