Repairing kevlar/duraflex canoe

I recently bought a used Clipper Kevlar/duraflex canoe and was wanting to recoat the boat with an epoxy or other product. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what materials that I should use and/or the process used in applying it ? I have heard about West Systems 105 epoxy resin used with 205 hardener. Is this the best material to use for this project ? Any advice would be appreciated . Thanks Ron

I am not sure what is on your Clipper
but if it just clear coat over the kevlar,

I would use the 105-a resin, but I would use the 207-SA Special Clear hardner.

I have done the bottom of several of my Wenonahs with it, and they came out beautiful.

You can apply the second coat later the same day if you wait for the previous coat to harden to a firm rubber cure, or any time up to 15 hours later without surface prep.

Get the pumps it takes all the guess work out of the mixing portions.



jack L

Call Clipper
Why not give Clipper a call and ask them what is best for the job instead of guessing or assuming that one of us actually knows what we are talking about. PS - Don’t giggle when they say aboot.

The 207 hardener, for patches,
does have the advantage of being more resistant to UV.



I use 205 most of the time because it hardens fast. If the weather is hot, I switch to 206.



I would use fiberglass for outside patching, and Kevlar for inside patches. There are exceptions to this rule, and if you describe the damage you have to fix, I will describe exceptions.

Well, for patching, I say I know what
I am talking about. I have yet to see any manufacturer give as much specific advice as I provide, so, call away.

The OP is not patching
He wants to recoat the entire bottom



Jack L

I’ve done two entire bottoms, but
I don’t recommend it. And unless it’s general fuzzing he wants to correct, I don’t see the point.

I guess since you answered me,
I should answer you.

  1. The OP wants to do the entire bottom. The way I look at it, it is his business. He asked the question, and I was trying to help him.


  2. Any time any of my old boats gets to the point, where it has as many scratches, scrapes, and dings as it has clear coat, it is time to redo the bottom.



    Jack L

Check the posting time

– Last Updated: Jul-01-13 6:32 PM EST –

I agree that you know what you are talking about. I posted a few minutes before you chimed in...otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered saying anything... And I was more concerned with the guy coating the entire bottom rather than patching.

kevlar canoe repair
Clipper replied back and said that West System epoxy is sensitive to UV rays and that I would have to put several coats of urethane spar varnish over the epoxy. All of this composite canoe stuff is greek to me. I have been paddling ABS canoes for 20 yrs but my girlfriend just had to have a light boat

That is only true …
if you store the boat outside, upside down and uncovered.

In the water your hull is not exposed to the UV rays.

I did the hull of my comp cruiser five years ago with West Systems epoxy and other then some scratches it is as good now as it was five years ago.



Jack L

I’d be a little careful about
covering a composite canoe and leaving it out in the weather. It would be best to set up a rack and “tent” the cover so it doesn’t rest right on the hull. My earliest solo canoe developed hydrolysis blisters, and I think one reason was that I stored it outside with a tarp right against the hull. One of only two gelcoated boats I have ever owned. Vinylester and epoxy are much less likely to develop hydrolysis.



I don’t know whether there are vinylester based gelcoats, but any polyester gelcoat is susceptible to hydrolysis. West Epoxy makes a lot of money off FG powerboat owners who get massive gelcoat hydrolysis problems and have to rehab to sell their boats.



Clipper’s advice about urethane spar varnish for the inside is very good. West 105/207 is fairly UV resistant, but not to the degree of a quality spar varnish.

I don’t store my boats outside
and never said I did.



Jack L

Have you guys
started those anger management correspondence courses yet?