Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Bottom repair line-x

It's been 10 years since I finished my Tatman boat and it's still going strong. However, the UHMW has seen it's last days as it has become brittle and beaten over time and over a few rocks. I am considering to recoat plywood with epoxy and then have line-x XS-350 applied to the bottom in lieu of replace with UHMW. Does anybody have any experience with line-x in this application and/or any advise?

Thanks...Jonathan

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Permalink Reply by Eric Mikkelsen on July 28, 2010 at 8:34am

Johnathan,

How does the graphite bottom compare to the UHMW? e.a.mikkelsen@gmail.com

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan on July 28, 2010 at 9:30pm

Eric,
I have about a season of floats on it ~10 and the kevlar/fiberglass/epoxy/graphite is holding up great. Taken several hits on the bottom and dragging over gravel beds with minimal scaring. It behaves as though it is a very solid with minimal deflection. Chine solution is holding up very well as well.

Jonathan

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Permalink Reply by Eric Mikkelsen on July 29, 2010 at 7:35am

Thanks Johnathan,

Was there any particular reason you decided not to use the Linex?

-Eric

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan on July 29, 2010 at 5:48pm

Eric,
Primary drivers for me to go the route I did versus Linex was cost, repairability and, although unproven, weight. I thought either solution would be very dependable from an impact and abrasion resistance standpoint. I also went the way I did based on a bit of experience in that I have worked with epoxy in the past on other projects so had a decent understanding of it's properties, values and working characteristics thereby I knew what to expect so wasn't intimidated by the scope of the project.

Jonathan

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Permalink Reply by Justin Richey on July 29, 2010 at 11:50am

I was just wondering what the cost ended up being for your project.

thanks, justin

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan on July 29, 2010 at 5:50pm

I don't have the receipts in front of me but I believe I spent in the neighborhood of $300-$350.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Podesta on August 1, 2010 at 2:26pm

You can get a spray on truck bed liner called Raptor. Comes with free spray gun and two part unmixed epoxy. You attach the sprayer to any compressor with at least 40 PSI capacity and spray on. There are several posts about the stuff on montanaboatbuilders blog. Its about $100. Save yourself a bunch of money and do it yourself. There are also the roll on applicaitons. Raptor is supposed to be tough as nails and seems the best route vs paying $400-$600 to line-X to do it for you...