For the guys who put kayaks in the bed or on the roof

What measures do you take to prevent rust from the saltwater?

I'm about to pull the trigger on a little "Solo Skiff" which is basically a Kayak/Microskiff hybrid that has an outboard motor on the back of it.

I plan on using a bed extender to transport it to launch and load at boat ramps, but don't want to risk my tailgate/undercarriage rusting out over time. Any ideas on how to keep this from happening? I do have a spray in bed liner, but I'm afraid that won't be enough to keep the saltwater from eating up my tailgate over time.

Is there any sort of affordable unit that I can keep in the back of the truck to be able to spray everything down with freshwater before I load back up?

 

Here's the ghetto way if you don't come up with anything else

 

Fluid film on the undercarriage would help a ton, but lemme as you, how heavy is this kayak with the outboard motor on it? It can't be that heavy if you're able to load it up in the bed so why not just muscle it out?

Update: just saw it's about 150 lbs. either muscle it out, get someone to help you or just get a tiny trailer for it. All of the above would get you out of having to spray down your truck every time you head out there.
I'd still get some fluid film on the undercarriage if I were you.

If you still insist on backing up your truck to unload your skiff, I'd do the rebreather mod.

 

Law I have to ask, what do you mean by "muscle it out" lol.

 

Lift with your legs and pull, brother!!

 

Yep thats my plans. Already got the bed extender and the boonedox landing gear in my shopping cart. Getting it into the bed isnt what I am worried about, I just want to keep from developing rust over time! Looking for a way to spray it down with freshwater or something before I load it on the bed extender. Im thinking loading it up directly from the saltwater will cause some of that saltwater to drip down onto my tailgate,undercarriage etc so just trying to prevent rust.

May end up just getting a small trailer made for it so I dont have to worry about the truck rusting out.

 

http://www.googleadservices.com/pag...ahUKEwiKl-LYssnPAhUJ72MKHQTrDBcQvhcIKg&adurl=

 

Fluid film and where my buddies and I unload our boat, there's usually always a hose connected to a pump.

 

I have a feeling Mike's not always going to use a boat ramp though with that cute little skiff. Mike, what's one of those cost anyways?

 

Sweet thanks guys something like that is exactly what I was looking for. I plan on giving the truck a good bath after every trip anyway but just want something to spray the boat off before I load it up so I can cover all my bases.

exactly, many of my backwater spots dont have a decent boat ramp for miles so id love to be able to back my truck up anywhere next to the water and drop in a lot closer to my spots.

The hull itself is about $1750 brand new which is close to most good fishing kayakd, add in a little 5hp outboard and im looking at about 3k for the setup.

Its not for everybody though, i have noticed a few guys that buy them and realize they are a little too big for such a small skiff and then end up selling them for a decent ammount.

Theres a full setup on craigslist that has only seen the water one time that I have my eye on for about $2700.


Seems like a lot for a 1 person skiff but not having to spend 2 hours cleaning/hosing stuff down like I do with my current boat and only spending $5 in gas whenever I go out instead of $40 definitely appeals to me. And theres times where I just wanna go out for an hour or two and catch dinner but dont feel like hassling with the big boat.