Kevlar skidplate repair

-- Last Updated: Aug-04-08 7:44 PM EST --

The rear skidplate on my (old)Oldtown Crosslink canoe has worn thin and now has a hole tore in it. Any ideas for patching it. Thanks.

If it’s really crosslink and the skid
plates stuck on this long, you should be grateful.



If the hole or tear isn’t too big, you can patch with cloth and resin. No particular reason to use Kevlar cloth, unless you want to pay more. I’d just use glass cloth. And you’ll need a thin, quality epoxy that will soak the glass thoroughly and stick well to the Kevlar mat in the skidplate.



Your cheapest dodge is to find someone that has West epoxy already. Next cheapest is to get a West repair kit. To go whole hog will require West 205 resin, 105 hardener, and metering pumps.



You’ll need to clean up and rough up the area to be patched. I’d use at least three concentric layers, the first being the largest, big enough to span the entire cleaned and roughened area. Then the next smaller, and the smallest. The smallest should be just big enough to span the torn-open area, or perhaps a little bigger. Incidentally, the patches should be bias-cut, that is, with the fibers running diagonally to the axis of the boat. They’ll conform better that way.