Just thinking

[HughK]

The other weekend we were out for an old fashion leaf peeping trip and came back down Rte 202 by the Quabbin Reservior and went down through Gate 8 where the large boat launch area is.

Asked the Ranger if we could put kayaks in here and she said "no". There is an issue with zebra mussels hitching a ride as well as milfoyle and other nastys. So to prevent the introduction or spread they won't allow car top carrier boats and the motor boats go through a decontamination process. Though there is an area at the top of the Quabbin where you can put in.

Has anyone here thought of this or take any action aside from letting the kayak air dry on the ride home? Obviously with motorboats the concern is with foreign material on the motor and water that may be held in the motor, but the kayak does really have a place for mussels to hide.

I was wondering if even without the restriction on other bodies of water, some type of washing off using a spray bottle with a weak bleach solution makes sense, or just makes me feel better.

Thoughts?
Hugh

 

[DougPaul]

Has anyone here thought of this or take any action aside from letting the kayak air dry on the ride home? Obviously with motorboats the concern is with foreign material on the motor and water that may be held in the motor, but the kayak does really have a place for mussels to hide.

Perhaps inside the hull? Particularly if you leave wet airbags etc in.

Doug

 

[Fitz]

Zero Contact

I think the canoe/kayak restrictions were in place long before people worried about milfoil and zebra mussels. I think it comes from a Zero Contact idea. They don't want humans contacting the water in a drinking water supply. The thought is people would be wading to launch and occasionally tipping over in the water supply. Meanwhile you can drive your polluting stinkpot all you like.

Whatever.

I wash the inside and outside of my canoe after every outing to try and prevent transport of milfoil seeds, potential zebras and other nasties. Takes 5 minutes and makes a lot of sense.

 

[spider solo]

We wash our boats every time we paddle, usually wash our paddling clothes as well. Esp any boots or booties that we wear into the water.

I have been to at least one launch where they had a diluted bleach solution right there at the launch for people to use. I think that particular place was worried about an invasive called "rock snot" .

For me it is the portages I worry about the most, as I haven't found a way to actualy wash your boat from one body of water to the next. I mean I can clean up any big obvious stuff and sponge it down a bit, but it's the same footwear and what not from one to the next.

One thing we sometimes do is alternate between fresh and salt water. If we paddle fresh water, then the next time I'll try to paddle salt water, but that only works for us cuz we live so close to the coast.