cleaning old saddles?

[John Leonard]

I've got an older pair of yakima saddles with the grey rubber pads that are leaving black streaks on my boats. I don't mind so much on my older boat but the spots are actually building up on my surfski and are a pain to clean off.

The pads don't look dirty but something is coming off of them.

Has anyone cleaned up an older pair of saddles or replaced the rubber (yakima no longer makes the parts for them)? Anything work particularly well for cleaning them?

Thanks,

John

[bob budd]

I have to admit to being a bit nervous to open this post, given the author.

What is probably happening (and you may have realized) is that the rubber on the saddles has degraded and is coming off as a gummy or powdery residue. My old neoprene shirt has reached end of life and leaves "ring around the collar" (flash back to 70s commercial). I don't know if 303 would reduce the reside by restoring the rubber or not. As for cleaning, I can't think of anything that you wouldn't have tried like gunk off, rubbing alcohol, paint thinner, etc. but others may find these suggestions work for their stubborn stains.

Good luck.

[Brian Nystrom]

I agree that they're probably breaking down and IMO the easiest thing to do is to cover them. Linda made some covers for our racks from fleece and elastic and they've held up for several years.

[subaruguru]

Hi John,

I use the old Bleche White spray-on tire wall cleaner with GREAT success on nealy all surfaces that have stains and scrape marks (esp black shoe sole marks, which are exactly what's marking your hulls).

Each spring I generously splash 303 on my saddles to keep them from out-gassing due to ozone and uv.

If your saddles have degraded sufficiently to be nonrestorable an easy way keep using them is to wipe the surfaces with a non-acqueous solvent (rubbing alcohol or lacquer thinner) and then apply strips of 2" wide industrial Velcro, either the fuzzy loop or harder hook side depending upon whether you want a bit of friction to hold the hull or a bit of fuzzy softness. Neither will mar the hull. It's tough stuff, as I use it to make quick keel-end strips to good effect.

The Bleche White is FAR faster than 409, Fantastic or other milder soaps from removing coffee stains and even grease marks from car seats, as well dirt around cockpit coamings, etc.

The 2" wide industrial velcro I generally get at HD for about $33/20ft roll. I need to buy more soon, so let me know if you want a few feet. Even if you lay two pieces wide (4"), you'll probably need only about 6' for 4 saddles, or 3' if you use BOTH the hook and loop sides for no waste.

Best,

Ern

[NPSheehan]

I bought some Collinites No. 920 Fiberglass Boat Cleaner to take the saddle marks off of my hull caused by my weathered Yakima Hully Rollers. The Collinites cleaner worked great for all types of grime and marks. Then I thought Hmm I wonder if it will work on the saddles/rollers. Low and behold with verry little effort they were like brand spanking new. So now I use it on the kayak as well as the saddles/rollers. A good coat of wax on the boat will also make the marks easier to come off.

http://www.collinitemarine.com/products.htm

Available at West Marine and other marine stores

Collinites 920 at West Marine

Neil

[John Leonard]

Thanks, I'll give the fiberglass cleaner a try, but they may be too far gone for that. I took another look at them and they are getting pretty soft with little chunks pulling off.

The velcro is brilliant Ernie... Never would have thought of it and that's probably what I will end up doing.

John

[Brian Nystrom]

Thanks, I'll give the fiberglass cleaner a try, but they may be too far gone for that. I took another look at them and they are getting pretty soft with little chunks pulling off.

The velcro is brilliant Ernie... Never would have thought of it and that's probably what I will end up doing.

John

While that definitely is a good idea, you need to have something solid to stick it to. If the saddles are gooey or they're falling apart, the Velcro is not likely to stay stuck. If you wax them or coat them with any type of preservative, you'll also have adhesion problems. If you can clean them with a solvent as was suggested and get them down to a solid surface, you should be OK. If not, you'll need to try something else.

[djlewis]

I love my felt Yakima saddle pads -- http://bit.ly/4dlA5w

In fact, they also make the kayak slide one and off so nicely that I ditched the rollers in back, which were marring my boats as the saddles are yours.

Oh, are you worried that the boat will also slip n slide while you are driving? Well, just learn how to thread the tie-down straps properly through the saddles. Gives a nice, snug fit, with a minimum of hull-bending pressure.

Most folks just ignore the lovely strap channels under the saddles and bind the straps straight to the crossbars. But I think that's harder and less secure than using the saddles the way they are designed, and tougher on the hull.

--David

[John Leonard]

These are the old style saddles that have the removable rubber pads, presumably to make them easy to replace if they still made them. Easy to remove but leaves a bare, hard plastic cradle.

That might work David, a bit different shape, but probably workable. I'm not worried about the boat moving while driving, I'm more concerned about putting the boat in bare plastic as the gelcoat on my ski is pretty thin.

John

[Pintail]

Of course, this problem would never have occurred if you had only looked after your stuff in the first place....

[glad]

I've got an older pair of yakima saddles with the grey rubber pads that are leaving black streaks on my boats. I don't mind so much on my older boat but the spots are actually building up on my surfski and are a pain to clean off.

The pads don't look dirty but something is coming off of them.

Has anyone cleaned up an older pair of saddles or replaced the rubber (yakima no longer makes the parts for them)? Anything work particularly well for cleaning them?

Thanks,

John

Hi John - I have had this problem even with new saddles.

To prevent the skid marks, I use these cute little saddle covers-made of fleece with shock cord in them. I originally got them at the Kayak Centre in Wickford. They are also useful because the boat slides easily for positioning and for removal.

To clean the marks I just use one of those scotch guard scrubbies - not the super heavy duty kind. And I just rub the material off the boat.

Karen