skid plates?

Advice
#1

The vinyl layer on the royalex canoe I am buying has worn through on the bow and stern. I have read up on this site about skid plates. Is there any alternative to skid plates-(SHOO GOO or JB WELD)? Are these safe aternatives to protecting the royalex from abrasion and UV damage?

thanks,

AK

#2

Any thing will work, but…
…that is a heck of a lot of shoegoo.

Why not do it right and use a skid plate?

I run a kevlar canoe in the New River canoe races every year, and prior to the race, I make a temporary skid plate out of duct tape. I put it under the bow and stern, and believe it or not it works like a charm.

You could do the same, and then put a epoxy coating over it to make it permanent.

Cheers,

JackL

#3

Make it thin
What ever you use make it thin. Typical kevlar mat skid plates are thich enough to effect the flow of water around the stems. A thin layer won’t last as long but it is intended to be sacrificial anyway and renewing it isn’t all that bad.

#4

Kevlar mat skid plates are a convenient
but inferior alternative to layering bias-cut S-glass using epoxy resin. But the Kevlar looks studly and is easier to apply.



If you don’t hit things that often, just get some paint, perhaps preferably color-matched “ABS” paint, clean and lightly sand the area, and paint it over to protect the ABS from sun. The vinyl never really protected the ABS from impact anyway.

#5

Bedliner
I talked to an outfitting/river runnning company in the area, and an employee advised me they use the roll on expoxy that you would use for a truck bed liner. Can’t say from experience how it works, but the employee sounded sold.

#6

good ideas!
Thanks

-AK