Do you guys have any experience with waxes such as OnitPro for the bottom of my race board? Do these products really make you go faster (the manufacturere says 15% faster)? Can I just use car wax?

If you check out the OnitPro website, there are a number of top paddlers who recommend the Xtreme Cream and Blue Goo products.  According to  Erik Nordskog, of OnitPro, they do not pay paddlers for these endorsements. We did not contact the paddlers on the website but we are fairly certain we will be getting an email  within hours of  posting this if any of the pros have negative comments about OnitPro or if these are paid endorsements. (NOTE: so far we did not receive any negative emails). Additionally, we know of a very well respected shaper and industry insider who swears by the stuff.

That pretty much sums up the anecdotal evidence of it’s value.

Before we get to your answer, we have to start by saying that  we do not have a great way to test any of these products. In order to do any sort of objective testing, you would need to  do side by side comparisons (using the same board, prepared the same way, paddled by the same person, in the same body of water then do some GPS testing over time in water with the same exact currents and surface conditions). That is too many variables for us to control. Failure to control for all those variables could mean that a benefit is not detected. Paddlers should remember that a !% increase in speed could be significant.

Another option would be to pay to have studies done by scientists who study this sort of stuff. For example, you could go to a place like the David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, MD where scientists would compare OnitPro coated surfaces to a highly polished sheet of steel by towing flat plates down the tank

Given that we do not have a great way to objectively test vendor claims and we do not have the funds to fund this sort of research, we turned to our friend and theoreitcal wave physicist Douglas Dommermuth (who studies the interactions of boats with the surface of the water) to see if there was at least a theoretical basis for using these products.

According to Doug:

1. Don’t ever use “wax.” Don’t even think about it. Although waxes may make your board feel slippery to the touch (like your car does after you wax it, waxes, like carnauba, WILL slow you down. This was not a topic for discussion. Waxes are to be avoided at all costs.
2. Products like OnitPro are polymers and there is a theoretical basis for polymers to decrease drag. Moreover,  Doug knows of some testing that was done on commercial polymers. Some worked. Some did not. Some were speed dependant.   He did not have experience with OnitPro.  Doug mentioned that “you don’t want to be on the “it does not work side of things.”
3. A factor that may be as important as a polymer treatment for  your board is the cleanliness of the bottom of your board. Oils and grime may decrease laminar flow and increase drag.  Your board should always be clean before you paddle AND your board needs to be free of oil and grime before you apply any polymer treatment. (More on this in a minute).
4. If there are any dings or scratches in the hull of your board, you need to get those fixed and smoothed. Even small imperfections can dramatically alter the way your board performs. Again, laminar flow is critical.   A ding, divit, or scratch may have more of a negative effect than any positive effect from a polymer product.
5. Woolite may make your faster.  Apparently boat racers apply a thin layer of Woolite to the bottom of their boat immediately prior to racing. The surfactant effect of the Woolite disperses water and can decrease drag byt keeping the grime and oils off your board when you first put it in the water.  Although we have not heard of this in the paddle world, if you want to give it a try, apply a very thin coathing of Woolite with a clean, damp, rag, to your highly polished board just before you put it in the water. Let it dry and you are good to go.
6. Keep your board clean: The topic of cleanliness came up over and over again in our discussion. Oils and dirt can slow you down. At a minimum,  clean your board with normal dish soap and a microfiber cloth after you paddle.
7. Paddlers should be reminded that technique, board selection, and fin selection will likely have more of an impact on your racing than a polymer treatment. Polymer treatments are only one piece of the puzzle. Don’t skip the basics.

As  you can see, there theoretical and scientific basis for the claim that polymers can reduce drag. If you are going to use OnitPro or other polymer, do not skip the cleaning step. Although we know of some paddlers who skip this step, now you know that the cleaning step is as critical as applying the polymer.

When we contacted  OnitPro about this article, Erik Nordskog added that you should consider the environment when cleaning your board:

“… the environmental factor is a big deal! Don’t use oils, detergents, etc on your board or the bottom….be careful what you use to clean your board as well. Many products are harmful to the surface of the board and will degrade the materials and will get into the water system. All our products are water based and friendly to the environment!

Don’t use any Nano technology on water crafts. Nanotechnology is really harmful to the environment and humans! The particles are so small, (Nano), they get into the blood stream and never leave and they have now found this stuff in our Oceans. The fish are eating this stuff and we are eating the fish! It never leaves your body once its there. Say No to Nano for these applications.

Dish soap can clean certain things off your board, but can do harm to deck pad and glue and not get everything off the board.”

As far as our personal experience with polymers goes – it is limited to OnitPro. When we use it, subjectively the board feels smoother and it seems to glide better. Although we (again subjectively) feel that there is something to this stuff, we have no real data to back our impressions. The only significant thing we have to add is that we feel frequent application (more frequent than the vendor recommends) is beneficial.

Full Disclosure: Riding bumps did not receive financial compensation from OnitPro or other polymer manufacturer. Matt Wright received a free sample of XtremeClean and Blue Goo. There was no commitment to use the product or write an article at the time the product was received.