Why did WS texture the hull?

Wilderness Systems has started texturing the hulls on (at least) their SOT’s starting in 2008. Is this so the boat will stick to your roof rack better or what??? ;-/



I can’t figure out what advantage the texturing offers the boats.

The cockpit and stern bay are also textured, but I’m not sure they haven’t always been that way.



Anyone know the answer?



-T =)~

maybe less prone to showing wear n/m

possibly to keep down glare…
couple of mt plastic sea kayaks have the decks sorta pebble-finished for this reason

Couple of educated guesses
The textured tooling allows for better release of the boat from the mold. The texture does NO HARM to the kayak at all and hides minor dents etc. Smooth tooling surfaces require a lot of maintenance and unless finely sanded will yield a dull finish with sanding marks. So, less tool maintenance, nice look, no ill effects… Constant tool sanding wears a costly tool out sooner.



I think a smart move on their part.

that one confused me too
didn’t the decks used to be textured and the hulls smooth or are they both textured?



I wonder if it’s one of those oopsies and someone decided it wasn’t worth correcting.

Thanks, salty. Interesting view.

doubtful Lee
If the foundry messed up on that it’s not that hard to sand out the texture. I’m sure Confluence would demand such. I don’t know mind you, but I do know the industry and the process of rotational molding.

it seemed confusing that’s all
for the hulls to be smooth with textured decks then the opposite(IIRC)

Hmmm
Are the decks entirely smooth? I missed that…

if so, I’m curious as well. I see zero issuw with a textured hull and given the application even think it’s smart, but I was assuming deck texture as well. What does the company say?

I would sure texture the decks, to cut
down glare and mask paddle scars. Some whitewater poly boats are textured, but others are highly polished, I think to look snazzy in the stores.

gotta check
yes the hull’s a no-brainer. ez to maintain but not sure what transpired on deck tex



steve

The deck is smooth.

– Last Updated: Nov-21-08 11:10 PM EST –

Only the sides, rear bay, cockpit and hull are textured, the rest of the boat is smooth.

Actually that's not quite correct. The upper-sides of the boat where it says the make and model are also smooth, but the sides of the boat (where the sides are vertical) are textured like the hull.

The top and sides of the console between your feet is also smooth.

-T

Rough texture
on P&H Cappela is our least favourite to clean as dirt, oil, grime etc adhere to it and it is not so easy to clean off as a smooth surface. Just another reason to upgrade to a composite material in future!

sticky
How about so it sticks to land (like boat ramps) better and thus is easier for novices to enter?

Beat me to it … would have added

– Last Updated: Nov-22-08 12:02 AM EST –

non smooth tooling cheaper to buy and faster to pop out boats.

Edit, But don't know why they would do it : )

Textured Hull
I’m not sure where I read this but I seem to remember a similar discussion after Folbot changed from a smooth to a textured fabric. The gist was that there was less friction with the textured hull as it created a small amount on turbulence which overcame the surface tension of the water. Seems feasible.

as a retailer
if you got a product with a noticable difference mid-production don’t you think it would be wise of the manufacturer to send out some kind of marketing blurb explaining the change? My friends at the shop pointed it out and we all wondered why it was changed given the general prevalence of smooth hulls and variation on textured/smooth decks. Prijon boats which have a noticable textured deck have smooth hulls.



Kinda reinforces the impression that greater product knowledge in paddle shops as a selling point compared to big box stores isn’t a priority to WS.

Mold maintenance.
Textured molds require less maintenance than smooth polished molds. Also textured surfaces cover lots of surface imperfections such as scratches,dings and mold

repairs in the finished product. At least that is how it works in the rubber molding business.

I’m not buying this one . . .
I heard a similar thing, but understood that only came into play at very high speeds (like ski-boat fast). Some of those boats have dimples like golf balls. Some ww kayaks with planing hulls also have strange bottom designs to be more “loose”.



Here’s why I don’t think it applies:



WS rec boats are not the pinnacle of speed research. If the most innovative racers aren’t doing it, then it probably isn’t faster.



This is weird, though, and I am curious.

I’m telling you it’s for glare…
or used to be …LeeG that;s why the hulls were smooth and the decks rough finished in the early 2000’s for the Perception Eclipse,Shadow .Corona, Sole’ anyways…