An ink that won't rub off the kayak?

I like to put 20" and 22" marks on the side of the kayak so that small fish never leave the water to get measured.
The trouble is that the black Sharpie ink always rubs off. Is there something more permanent someone could recommend?

I put a sticker boat ruler on my paddle that's clipped to the side. Same effect. Squid ink stains good lol

I too will be interested if anybody has found anything that works. Sharpie lasts for a while, but slowly fades out.

My Bending Branches paddle has measurement marks on it and I used it to roughly measure the fish.

Squid ink stains good lol

Hah, that's exactly what I thought when reading the title!     Still have squid stains from years ago...


I'd bet that Gorilla Tape could last a while? 

They make paint markers. Forney is 1 brand. Lasts about a year or so.

Also, you post hella early every day, what ya doing that gets you up at 4:30a that isn't fishing?

Sharpie makes a "pro" marker that is more permanent than the normal Sharpies.  Made for industrial use, might be worth a try.

crazy thought but what if you lightly etched a couple markings and filled in with ink? it might be less susceptible to rubbing off

I just re-do mine every year, or whenever they need it.

I just re-do mine every year, or whenever they need it.

Right. No sense over-thinking this, I guess.

crazy thought but what if you lightly etched a couple markings and filled in with ink? it might be less susceptible to rubbing off

.

Not Crazy, This is my Method as well

HDPE welding rods are thin plastic sticks like spaghetti, comes in lots of diff sizes and shapes. Get a contrasting color (black?) and heat weld a couple pieces to your kayak to make lines. Any place that fixes kayaks can do it, too, probably won’t charge much if anything since it really is that simple to do.

HDPE welding rods are thin plastic sticks like spaghetti, comes in lots of diff sizes and shapes. Get a contrasting color (black?) and heat weld a couple pieces to your kayak to make lines.

This is a great idea. Of course, then I'll have to remember which spaghetti piece is which length...

I do the keep-it-simple approach of just adding new Sharpie over the fading 15" and 22" marks once a year.