Bryan wrote:
I brought a piece of carpet (about 3 ft x 5 ft) to the lake to make a soft
landing for my bow. It worked great. Until,

it was time to carry it from the beach to the truck. We are talking
water-logged and heavy. Too heavy for 4 12 year old girls to carry
together.

One friend says he leaves the carpet at the lake and brings a fresh piece
(of carpet) each time he goes camping. It would be easy and inexpensive
because I can raid the dumster at my local carpet store anytime I need to,
but I don't like the idea. I'm sure most of the carpet pieces folks use at
the lake end up on the bottom sooner or later; do we have the only lake with
indoor outdoor shore to shore carpet?

What lightweight alternatives can you think of for frequent beachings on
crunchy shorelines? Something inexpensive, lightweight, foldable or
rollable for compact storage or carrying, and waterproof. Not for everyday
use unless ...

The rubber mat in my storage locker (for ski's, oars, pfd's) seems just
about right, but are pieces like that readily available and inexpensive?
And do I want to land my bow on rubber?



I have a beach able sailboat and was thinking of tying two or three
smaller fenders together end to end. I would loop them under my bow when
coming up to shallow water and hopefully they would act as a bit of a
roller system to save the fiberglass.
Too bad the 'pool doodles' aren't a bit tougher. You could run a line
through a couple of them for same effect.