Maas Boats - Boat Care > Care & Maintenance

CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF YOUR BOAT

Make the hull as smooth and shiny as possible right before a race.

Whatever you do -- don't varnish your hull. Yes, someone did this. Once.

There has long been a debate over whether waxing your hull is faster than just cleaning it. The fact that there is a debate sort of tells you everything you need to know. It doesn't make your boat any faster. What you do want to do is make sure that the first 2 feet of the hull at the bow is as smooth and free of dings as possible. What this does is preserve the laminar flow along the hull as long as possible.

The single best article I've ever read on the topic of go-fast hull preparation was written by Greg Barton of Epic Kayaks. If you aren't familiar with the name, Greg won two gold medals in sprint kayaks in the Seoul Olympics which, along with his other accomplishments, makes him an absolute legend in U.S. paddling. He now runs Epic Kayaks and for Epic wrote this article explaining everything you really need to know in clear terms.