Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: old town canoe skid plates any ideas?
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Beaverjack |
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Cedarboy |
CB |
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Bannock |
Wenonah sells a skid plate kit for $80. Call them first to make sure it is for royalex. Otherwise shop arround. There are cheaper ones out there. You'll also find kevlar pads for about $25 apiece. However they do not come with resin. You have to get that on your own. |
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Bannock |
Cool! I learned something and that's always cool. :) |
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BWPaddler |
quote PineKnot: "You could simply use felt soaked in epoxy for your skidplate. Match the felt color with your canoe. Once the epoxy/felt cures, it's hard as a rock. Cost is very minimal compared to the more common kevlar plates. Not sure what injury you are trying to address, but I can vouch for the homemade felt/epoxy stuff. I just used a boat that I got from someone else who had used maybe furniture pad felt (thicker than really needed IMHO) and epoxy to make skid plates. We were HARD on that boat, and the skid plates came home with maybe one tiny scratch and zero structural issues. Not the prettiest things in the world, but darn effective and cheap. ALSO, I just added some strength (I hope) to my other kevlar boat and mixed epoxy with aluminum powder (strength) and graphite powder (black color) and got a nice thick paste which I simply PAINTED over a tape-blocked skid plate area. It finished up real nice and I think will give some added protection to those vulnerable areas. Good luck! |
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cowdoc |
It may or may not wear faster than the kevlar felt....if it does, you can redo it many times over and still be cheaper. Beav....the red canoe is a kevlar mad river...works great. Bannock....I've done a half dozen or more canoes and it's working great. |
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BeaV |
Thanks, BeaV |
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blake8411 |
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cowdoc |
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PineKnot |
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Bannock |
quote Royce: " Skid plate kit Since it does not mention royalex, it may not be compatable with royalex. |
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blake8411 |
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badatpickingnames |
I've settled on g/flex epoxy, and plan to mix in some graphite for the color and smoothness properties. One main question I have is how much g/flex do I need to buy for each kind of material? I haven't found a reference that makes me comfortable. On the first canoe, I need at least one pretty long repair. No idea what the previous owners did, but the damaged area extends 36" back from the box. At any rate, if the final material patch is one square foot, is there a ratio I can use for the g/flex so I order the right quantity? I don't want to be stuck in the middle of the job and run out. But I also don't want to order the two gallon kit if I only need the 8 oz kit. Since I have three canoes I could use it on eventually, I don't mind moving up to the next size kit if that makes economic sense, but I also don't want to be left with more than I'll ever use. When using g/flex for skid plates, is the best practice to thicken it, or just apply as is? Thanks for any input! |
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Royce |
From the web page "Affordable & easy to install on your Kevlar, Duralite or fiberglass canoe. Skid plate size is about 28" long and covers heaviest wear zone. Kits includes 2 felt strips, west system epoxy, sandpaper, stir sticks, brush & instructions." |
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Bannock |
Those of you that have done it, it works ok for you? Man, if it is as good as kevlar felt then that is quite the discovery. |
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BWPaddler |
The stuff in cowdoc's pics is much thinner than what was used on my boat, and it still looks pretty good. Yes, I believe he used regular old felt from fabric store - but I'll let him speak for himself. If you look at the Souris River redrock store and find the skid plate repair page, you can imagine how easy it would be to do with regular felt the same as kevlar. |