Great find!
And since we are on the topic of wear and tear - especially exotic composites, I’m looking at a 3M material (3M Venture) to put on the deck where boats being rescued and paddles being parked can scratch the deck AND I’m looking at putting a sheet where my wet, sandy heels are constantly moving against the kevlar hull of my CD Prana.
Has anyone tried this material?
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/ibgbkdpr2295/
Sand and heels will destroy it I’m sure it’s a thin film. Would help with a paddle on deck. I usually only take a spare paddle on deck in cold water. I put automotive door edge guard on the blade side that hits the deck.
Tip of paddle on right side you can see it. You could add more on the blade. You could rip it off or paddle with it in an emergency. Could also put clear protection on that deck area.
Hey PD52!
it is a thin film but is designed to protect cars against rock chips. It’s pretty cool in that it is applied with just water and a light soapy spray. Even if it lasted only a season or two it is really cheap. You typically see it on the leading edges of high-end cars to prevent rock chips.
I like your idea of the door guard edge on the spare paddle but I was thinking about protection when you have to fish someone out of the water and need to quickly secure their paddle - and not scratch your deck - yes, I think the 3m Venture film would be good here too.
Helps but sand & heels would chew it up fast. Just like vinyl wrap on cars I guess maybe little thicker.
I put gorilla tape on the heel spots. It lasts a while and you can see if it starts to peel off. Not sure you’d be able to see that with clear film.
Try non-skid boat tape.
I used Prostripe Black Tread tape (part# R82403) on my Anas Acuta after restoring the gelcoat. This tape is commonly used on car bumpers and sills. It’s non-slip, but not abrasive. It holds up well to abuse on a kayak deck.
Looks nice too!
Thanks!
To answer the original question, every manufacturer will have their own layup recipe. But it is common to reinforce the cockpit area of Kevlar or carbon/Kevlar boats with layers of fiberglass. (Often the outer-most layer of these boats is also fiberglass.)
I’m just shocked somebody wore through that many layers of fiberglass with their heels.
Great leg drive!
Great neglect!
Speaking of wonders–I wonder why anyone would allow sand into the boat when you have water all around you to wash the sand off before you put your feet in the boat.
launching in rough water you’re bound to pull sand in with your feet. Even calm beach if you walked in water it’s in your laces and shoes.
Any hints on how to rinse the sand out of your water shoes while getting into the boat?
If you paddle to and from a beach, you are going to get sand in your boat.
If you swim in beach break you will be getting sand out of your boat for about a year.
It’s kind of a ridiculous question. The real question is how can you not end up with sand in your boat? It’s virtually impossible if you paddle coastal waters. Perhaps if you only launch from paved boat ramps and never get out of your boat until you return, you could keep it sand free, but that’s not realistic anywhere I’ve paddled.
That would certainly require a Gatorade bottle…
Sand free 
If I don’t make a landing which is 80% of the time. You can get most of it off if it’s calm at the beach. Pull one 
in at a time and shake it in the 
Or get a SOT and wash it down the scuppers.
Edges scraped, patch sanded, recoated with epoxy. I think I’m done. Technically, there are now six layers of cloth in isolated spots.
On the keeping sand out of the cockpit, I’m one of those dang foot danglers (after getting in) so it’s generally not a problem for me, even in Maine.
Someone else has already made my point, about how to avoid sand in the boat, but to expound a little. I always enter the boat from the left side, always in the water deep enough so the boat doen’t touch the bottom.
Right foot first after a quick slosh to assure no sand, etc. My posterior follows and drops into the seat. The left leg remains outside the boat until wet shoe, or boot is sand free. The whole process takes less than maybe five seconds. The point is that the feet don’ t get to come into the boat until they’re clean.
