I have an Eddyline San Juan that is in great shape, except that it needs paint and new front deck bungees.
I tried to remove the bungee end stops from the deck, but the inside ends of the bolts are buried in the front bulkhead, so I can’t get at the nuts holding them on. The bulkhead is thick foam, and I could probably carve out access to the nuts. Is there a better way?
As for bottom paint, I have read about using epoxy mixed with silica and graphite. The silica sounds great as a hardener, and the slickness of the graphite sounds good too. We beach on rocks every time we go out, so durability is the most important thing to me. Has anybody gone this route, and how did it work out?
Thanks for the help!
Can you send pics? I have always just cut out the bungie and restrung new. Have never removed any hardware to do that, or deck lines, so I am having a tough time decoding this.
……and typically there are nut plates or inserts that don’t require holding the nut.
“…As for bottom paint, I have read about using epoxy mixed with silica and graphite. The silica sounds great as a hardener, and the slickness of the graphite sounds good too………”
You are not describing “paint” or painting operations. Your boat is a fiberglass boat with gel coat likely. Has it been painted?
@PatrickC said:
As for bottom paint, I have read about using epoxy mixed with silica and graphite. The silica sounds great as a hardener, and the slickness of the graphite sounds good too. We beach on rocks every time we go out, so durability is the most important thing to me. Has anybody gone this route, and how did it work out?
Thanks for the help!
That is not “paint”. It will be thick, heavy and require A LOT of sanding to get it smooth and it is BLACK and a real mess to work with. I’m not sure it will even stick to ABS.
I have done it to a racing sailboat as a possible performance enhancer and to a couple of wooden kayaks just because it was on hand. It’s really not worth the effort, cost and mess if you were to do it right.
What are you trying to accomplish with the bottom recoat? If the goal is primarily cosmetic, you might simply want to paint the bottom with a color that approximates the existing gel coat. Paint will tend to get scratched off but is relatively easily reapplied periodically.
If you go with paint, the most durable will probably be a two-part polyurethane like Interlux Perfection. One part polyurethanes are a bit simpler to work with and provide equally good cosmetic results but are slightly less durable. Interlux Brightside is a popular choice. I have come to prefer Petit EZ Poxy since it has a nice gel coat-like sheen. These paints can be applied with a foam roller and tipped out with a disposable foam brush.
If you are looking for something to add durability to the bottom of your hull, epoxy will provide more than paint since it will bond with the polyester gel coat and any exposed fibers of your composite layers. But to get good adhesion you should probably go ahead and first sand your entire hull bottom to slightly roughen the gel coat.
As for adding graphite powder to the epoxy, in theory the graphite makes the surface more “slippery” and affords some abrasion protection. The graphite will also render the surface opaque and afford some protection against UV degradation of the epoxy. Although I have not applied an epoxy/graphite mixture to an entire hull bottom, I have used it frequently when applying abrasion plates and keel strips to canoes, and when I say frequently I mean scores of times.
You do not mix in so much graphite powder as to make the mixture thick or heavy. Adding so much graphite as to make the mixture thick would impair the cure of the epoxy. Epoxy manufacturers can usually tell you the volume or weight of graphite powder you can safely add to a known volume of mixed epoxy. If you use a mixture of epoxy and graphite on the entire hull bottom, you will likely need to make up multiple batches because you might not have enough time to apply it to the entire hull bottom before the epoxy kicks. If so, you should measure out by volume or weight the amount of graphite added to each batch to keep the color consistency uniform. Depending on what epoxy and hardener you use, an epoxy.graphite mixture is really no harder to apply with a foam roller and/or brush than polyurethane paint. If you want something easy to apply you can use a low-viscosity “penetrating” epoxy.
If you need to wet sand the cured epoxy/graphite mixture, which might not be necessary at all, you will produce dark water. When I do this type of thing on my backyard patio and simply rinse the hull with a garden hose and periodically wash away the water. The dark colored water is simply water with graphite particles mixed in, so it won’t permanently stain anything.
Here is a photo of a Curtis Dragonfly canoe that I applied abrasion plates to using West Systems 105/206 epoxy and graphite powder to give you an idea of what it looks like:
Thanks for all the feedback. Here is a pic of the deck fittings I’m talking about. It’s my understanding that they are not reusable, but I haven’t tried. I did try unscrewing them, and they just spun.
The boat is fiberglass, and has a gel coat. There are scratches, and some minor damage to the finish. I’m looking for a finish that is as durable as possible, with less concern for asthetics. Pblanc, thank you for all the great info and the canoe looks gorgeous!
Those are not remotely similar to deck fittings I have dealt with, looks to be a pretty old boat. I suspect that you need to find the plastic fittings on the end of the bungies rather than removing the screws. Check sites like this to see if you can find them. http://topkayaker.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_133
As to rocks, I take fiberglass boats in Maine. Mine are not cared for like some here, but they still work. What you mostly need is a keel strip, which covers the area most likely to be on a rock when you move a boat. Try KeelEzey (sp?). A little fussy to apply but it’ll get you a couple of seasons before needing a redo.
Weight becomes factor. I knew of one guy who reinforced the hell out of his hull. If we drew straws the loser had to help him carry it.
Celia, those two fittings are the two ends of the one bungee. You’re right about the age of the boat; it was built in 1993. Weight is definitely a consideration. The kayak weighs 90 pounds empty (it’s a 20’ three-person boat).
It also has a fairly flat bottom for the aft two-thirds or so, so it’s going to need a large skid plate. I feel like I may as well do the whole bottom, but I’ve never done this before.
Thanks for the link and the KeelEazy recommendation. I’ve never seen anything like that. I’ll check it out.
I’ve seen these fittings before and it’s the collar that holds the bungee in place in the fitting, by pressing two tabs into the cord when the collar is pushed on. You should be able to twist the collar and back it off. Once that’s done, the tabs will be obvious and you need to gently pry them outward until the cord is released. Pushing the cord through first (if possible) may help open the tabs. You must replace the cord with the same size or the fittings won’t hold it.
Do a Google search for “bungee cord end fittings” and you’ll find sources for these fittings and instructional videos like these that explain how they work. The videos are for hooks, but your screw fittings work the same way.