Give Mud And Scratches The Boot

You’re packing up after a glorious day’s fishing. It didn’t matter that the rain never let up because you were catching, but oh dear, your peg’s like a battlefield with mud everywhere. Everything’s soaked, your nets stink to high heaven and it’s all got to go in the back of the family car. Yeuuuk!. Back at the car you strip off your now dripping wet outer gear, the muddy wellies and throw them in the boot for good measure. Oops! And you’ve just caught one of the seatbox legs on the paintwork leaving yet another scuff. How many is that now?

Sound familiar? Don’t know about you but it’s the story of my life. Scratches around the tailgate hatch, damp, stained carpets and that peculiar aroma that says ‘an angler owns this car’.

Battered

Okay, it’s not so bad if you have two cars, one for the family and one for your fishing, but when you come to trade it in, that’s when the crunch comes. When the buyer opens the boot you see his nose twitch, the little chips and scratches are glaringly evident and no amount of scrubbing on your part has made the carpet look good. A closer look reveals scrapes and scratches along the verticals, too, where bank sticks, landing net poles and rod tips have caught. Your trade-in value is sinking like a stone. Don’t believe me? Well you wait and see..

I don’t normally feature non-angling related products on this web site but I’m going to make an exception. I’ve just changed my faithful old fishing companion for a newer, more practical model but it came with a stern warning from ‘she who must be obeyed’. You will not mess up this car…, or else!

I think she meant it.

A dilemma, but then I remembered a recent trip with Dave Harrell. He had a rather nice shiny new SUV that remains as immaculate inside as it is outside thanks to a plastic tray that fits inside the boot when the back seats are down. So I set about looking for something similar.

What on earth did we do in the days before Google? Within 10 minutes I had a choice of bespoke liners to choose from and after much deliberation I decided on the Boot Buddy Versaliner because it appears to be completely durable, versatile and extendable. The added bonus is it works equally well with the back seats up or flat.

Boot 1 web

The Versaliner comes in two semi-rigid sections, one sliding over the other so it concertinas into the boot compartment when the seats are up or extends to the full length of the luggage area when the seats are down. The whole floor is covered and the sides reach up to window level meaning everything in the back is protected, plus it’s 100% waterproof and wipes clean.

Boot 2 web

It seemed a shame not to go the whole hog so I ordered a heavy duty rubberised non-slip mat and a padded flap to protect the bumper from getting scratched when loading and unloading. These were optional  extras but I can safely say now that the car’s happy, I’m happy and most importantly, ‘she who must be obeyed’ is happy. What’s more it will probably pay for itself when trade-in time comes round

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You can order Boot Buddies for most makes of vehicle. They’re perfect for transporting dogs and other animals, too. Check out the web site: www.boot-buddy.com

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