About a year ago, I installed a skid plate kit on a Roylex canoe (Argosy). The back plate cured good, but the front one didn’t really harden. Maybe I didn’t get it mixed well, I don’t know. Anyway, I’d like to fix it. Should I strip it off, and if so, how? Can I scab a new kevlar strip on top of it and get it to stick? Any help will be appreciated.
Try a recoat
Before I peeled it I’d mix up some quality epoxy and coat the outside and cover it with plastic wrap. I’ve help a couple of projects this way, where first time epoxy users didn’t mix well or got something else wrong.
Hope it works.
what kind of resin?
Was it Epoxy, Polyester, Vynalester, or polyurethane? Did the skid plates come from a kit or did you put them together? If it was Epoxy or polyurethane, you’re best off removing the skid plates as they’ll never set up. If it was one of the esters, given enough time, they’ll eventually set up. Recoating them with a slightly “hotter” mix will seal the stickiness and will prompt the uncured resin to kick.
I once used poor math and did a dozen canoes, both ends, with half as much hardner as needed. But given a recoat and about a month of warm temperatures, everything set up and you would have never had known about my goof.
Personally, I would scrape it off and
– Last Updated: Nov-05-08 9:30 AM EST –
leave it off. Argosy is too nice a hull to be hampered by skid plates.
The Argosy has enough bow rocker that it may not need a skid plate for a very long time. I have a well-used ten year old whitewater boat that still doesn't need skid plates at the bow or stern, though I did put a 2-layer S-glass skid plate under the solo pedestal after the vinyl wore off the outside of the hull.
And, to repeat a suggestion, a much neater job can be done with bias-cut S-glass or E-glass and epoxy resin. Using such cloth results in a lower profile, better compression strength, and a smoother wearing "plate" than one made out of Kevlar felt.