How to Store a Paddle Board for Winter

With the first snowflakes of the year hitting the ground, many people are wondering how to store their paddle board for the winter. The options for storage during the off-season are pretty straightforward, but here are a few best practices for both rigid and inflatable SUP Storage.

Rigid Fiberglass Boards:

1. Choose a location that won’t have the risk of water freezing on it. Unheated garages, boathouses or sheds work great, just be sure it’s not getting buried under the snow. 

2. Choose a rack. A racking system, like the Paddle North Wall Mount (pictured below), makes storage much easier. Laying the board on its side in a U-mount wall rack, leaning the board on its side or propping it vertically against a wall, or suspending it from the ceiling are all viable options. Bonus: the U-mount also reduces the possibility of your board taking damage (falling and hitting sharp/hard objects).

3. Fins In or Out? Leaving the fins in for the winter will not hurt the board. The reason most people take them out is to have a narrower profile against the wall, increasing space for other winter toys. If you take the fins out of the board, it is possible to get 2-boards into one Paddle North U-mount wall rack. For a refresher on installing and removing fins, check out our guide.

Inflatable boards & docks:

4. For inflatable boards, you can store them either inflated or deflated.

If it's going to be COLD (like an unheated garage, cabin or shed) we don't recommend having it rolled tightly in the bag. To avoid any potential forming of creases/fold marks, leaving it unrolled (either inflated or deflated) is best practice. If it is stored in above freezing temperatures, it is ok to store it deflated and rolled in the bag.

However you store your board, keep it in a safe spot so you are ready to go when the weather heats back up. As soon as the ice melts, we will see you out on the water!

This edition of How To: Paddle North is written by Cory Alford, content provider and Operations Manager for Paddle North.