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View Full Version : Any Suggestions on Rock-Proofing?



ol' Feller
06-22-2009, 11:46 AM
<p>Now that I&#39;ve had my U12 out a few times&hellip;I was checking the bottom of the hull for wear patterns and, just like my canoe did, the front and rear &ldquo;points&rdquo; (bow and stern) are showing that they&#39;ll be taking a real rubbing and beating&nbsp;from rocks with my type of floating and use.</p>
<p>I put a kevlar skid kit on my canoe (Royalex hull)&nbsp;way-back-when, and it has done&nbsp;GREAT at protecting from rubbing and scraping&nbsp;on rocks and hits. I called Native and asked&nbsp;what their thoughts were on&nbsp;a skid kit (trimmed to fit). Native said they didn&#39;t know of any adheasives that would acceptably hold for a long period of time to their hull material (polyethylene), &hellip;other than that, skid kits are no problem. BUT&hellip;if I did try something and it goobers-up the hull, it&#39;s my problem and, understandably, not covered by any warranty.</p>
<p>Here&#39;s the info from the kit I used on the canoe, but I&#39;m a little uneasy about taking a torch to the hull of my U12:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p><a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(&#39;/outgoing/www.oldtowncanoe.com/pdfs/Kevlar_Skid_Plate_Kit.pdf&#39;);" href="http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/pdfs/Kevlar_Skid_Plate_Kit.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/pd.....te_Kit.pdf</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;Being a new boat, I&#39;ll probably not do anything until (hopefully) I get it used enough and banged up enough to have to do something.
<p>All this got me wondering if anybody out there has used anything with any success on poly hulls. Thanks!</p>
</p>
<p><a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(&#39;/outgoing/www.oldtowncanoe.com/pdfs/Kevlar_Skid_Plate_Kit.pdf&#39;);" href="http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/pdfs/Kevlar_Skid_Plate_Kit.pdf" target="_blank"></a></p>

PawPaw
06-22-2009, 01:10 PM
<p>I use the "KC Welder" which I use on my Ocean Kayak Drifter which is the same material you have on your Ultimate 12.&nbsp; I do however prefer the plastic that Ocean Kayak will send me free if I call them.&nbsp; The rocks have eaten up my Drifter bottom and I weld on it all the time.&nbsp; I bought the 80 watt Pro model.&nbsp; It is fixed with a stainless steel screen and welded over with plastic.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.urethanesupply.com/kcwelder.php" target="_blank">http://www.urethanesupply.com/.....welder.php</a></p>

ol' Feller
06-22-2009, 01:43 PM
<p>Thanks Pawpaw, ...I&#39;ll hang on to that.</p>

FlySlingerCole
06-22-2009, 02:55 PM
Good info, thanks!

blake
06-23-2009, 12:14 AM
<p>I doubt you will find an adhesive that will stick long term, like pawpaw said plastic welding is the only way to really get poly to bond.</p>
<p>Until you poke a hole (or the plastic gets so soft that it feels like a hole would spring any float), then I would not worry about scratches and gouges. &nbsp;</p>