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Permalink Reply by tungsten on July 10, 2015 at 8:33pm

I tested it a couple years ago,out gassing was a problem and when cured was brittle.Did very well in abrasion though just didn't like the hard hits.Covering glass with it has been done also but unless you can find it in gallon buckets it would be a little $$$.

Stick to hard but flexible coatings.

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Permalink Reply by Richard on July 11, 2015 at 9:16am

I have used bed liner for 4 years now and find it is working out fine. The product has improved over the years. At one time 3 or 4 coats was needed where as now it contains Kevlar and only one or 2 coats is needed depending on instructions. It is also tintable. Cost is $60.00 for a kit that will easily do a 16 ft. MacKenzie or around $80.00 for the tint ones.

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on July 11, 2015 at 4:55pm

Richard,

Can you tell us what brand of Bed Liner you have used with the Kevlar in it?  Did you brush it, spray it or Roll it?  Was it applied direct to the wood, epoxy? 

Sounds like this might work...

Dorf

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Permalink Reply by Richard on July 16, 2015 at 12:01pm

I used Gator Guard II made by Dominion Sure Seal Ltd. which is a Canadian company. It is a 1.7 liter/0.45 gal. kit. It comes in black or white and when it sets up it dries with a non-slip roughness. I passed a paint scraper over it and made it smother. I mixed only part of it up and rolled it on. It is applied over both wood, some epoxy patches and some previously applied bed liner. I tested it by dragging the boat over my trailer plywood floor and it held up well.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Elder on July 16, 2015 at 11:59am

Always looking for something better than expensive epoxy with graphite & glass.  What is the brand?  I can't but wonder if adding milled Kevlar fiber to bed liner makes sense.  Kevlar is usually little more than an expensive Yuppie magnet for our kind of boats.  Best used on the inside of a sandwich structure to control ultimate failure through puncture.

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Permalink Reply by Don Hanson on July 25, 2015 at 10:40pm

"Yuppie magnet"  Good one!  

Kevlar does work, however...My first ever drift boat, built back in Jackson Hole, was a cedar strip glassed over clear,  without any internal structure and had kevlar inside on the bottom...the only thing that saved it, often....When running some of the shallower sections of the Madison you could see the bulges as we ran across shallows with  boulders and rocks...they would actually almost knock a standing casting fisherman as the boat crossed the rock and the bulge went by inside, but it didn't break through or leak...at least when the rock was round....One guy could carry or hand-load that boat, a 14' Eastside take off....didn't have the durability, but boy was it fun to row and pretty as hell....I've also used kevlar in eps sailboards with good results...it is hard to wet out and hard to cut and hard to sand....but hard to penetrate...

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Permalink Reply by Ants Uiga on July 17, 2015 at 12:35pm

I read the discussion on the other forum and was amused by the one poster who was a 100% advocate for his actions. Over the years of using different materials, it becomes apparent that every material and technique has benefits and limitations. The hard sell and presentation of a single viewpoint does not convince me. It seems the old wooden powerboat on which the techniques were applied could use best materials (epoxy) to address the problems, but the value of the boat would not support the investment in a strong repair.

It wasn't the first time that
"cheap - dirty - maybe fixes it" was tried, and it won't be the last. If the repair fails 50 feet from the launch, the personal risk is merely an inconvenience. Two or three miles away from shore and much greater risk is at stake.

Thanks for the reference.

Ants

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