[alanw]

Yea and you know that plastic cannot be eroded by salt water so rinsing it off after each use probably has no effect on how long it lasts. The rivets and other hardware are what rinsing off will help prolong the life of.

Dragging damage and especially sun damage are what kills yaks early.

One post I read suggests hitting a yak with a hammer (not too hard). Brittle areas will crack or break while soft new plastic will just bounce back. I'm not planning on banging on my yak anytime soon though