Larry Eckart
Well-known member
Guys and Dani,
My Mad River Duck Hunter is 30-40 years old and has had many encounters with rocks in the rivers of North Carolina. I decided to put skid plates on her to afford some protection for future encounters with said rocks.
Skid plates are strips of Kevlar felt applied with epoxy. Nova Canoe and Old Town sell kits for this project. I chose to just buy the Kevlar strips and epoxy through separate vendors and save a significant amount of money.
Kevlar must be in short supply as I had to wait almost two months for the appropriate strips to come available.
It?s a simple project. I?ll run you through it.
First, you layout the Kevlar felt on the bow and stern, with the narrow end 10? below the gunnel. Run masking tape along the Kevlar, allowing ?? gap for the epoxy to hold properly.
View attachment IMG_2298.jpeg
Here is a close up:
View attachment IMG_2299.jpeg
The felt strip is removed and the area to be covered is sanded lightly. Then a light coat of epoxy is applied and the Kevlar placed on that epoxy. You need newspaper or a light plastic drop cloth taped to protect the boat. I didn?t take a picture with the protection covering.
View attachment IMG_2300.jpeg
A heavy coat of epoxy is then applied to the Kevlar strip letting it soak in. Any excess is squeezed off with your gloved hand. Tape is removed as the epoxy begins to set. The finished product looks like this:
View attachment IMG_2302.jpeg
I should be ready to do battle with the rocky rivers of Carolina.
If you look closely, you will see a shiny part of the canoe bottom. I had some serious gouges in the Royalex so I spread epoxy over the most significant spots. Later, that will be sanded and I will paint the whole canoe. Mad River doesn?t offer the exact paint anymore, so I will have to choose a different color or shade. I?ve always used Petit Dull Dead Grass for my boats but I?d prefer to stick with a dull olive or dull green as on the canoe historically. If you have any suggestions where to find this, let me know.
Thanks for reading,
Larry
My Mad River Duck Hunter is 30-40 years old and has had many encounters with rocks in the rivers of North Carolina. I decided to put skid plates on her to afford some protection for future encounters with said rocks.
Skid plates are strips of Kevlar felt applied with epoxy. Nova Canoe and Old Town sell kits for this project. I chose to just buy the Kevlar strips and epoxy through separate vendors and save a significant amount of money.
Kevlar must be in short supply as I had to wait almost two months for the appropriate strips to come available.
It?s a simple project. I?ll run you through it.
First, you layout the Kevlar felt on the bow and stern, with the narrow end 10? below the gunnel. Run masking tape along the Kevlar, allowing ?? gap for the epoxy to hold properly.
View attachment IMG_2298.jpeg
Here is a close up:
View attachment IMG_2299.jpeg
The felt strip is removed and the area to be covered is sanded lightly. Then a light coat of epoxy is applied and the Kevlar placed on that epoxy. You need newspaper or a light plastic drop cloth taped to protect the boat. I didn?t take a picture with the protection covering.
View attachment IMG_2300.jpeg
A heavy coat of epoxy is then applied to the Kevlar strip letting it soak in. Any excess is squeezed off with your gloved hand. Tape is removed as the epoxy begins to set. The finished product looks like this:
View attachment IMG_2302.jpeg
I should be ready to do battle with the rocky rivers of Carolina.
If you look closely, you will see a shiny part of the canoe bottom. I had some serious gouges in the Royalex so I spread epoxy over the most significant spots. Later, that will be sanded and I will paint the whole canoe. Mad River doesn?t offer the exact paint anymore, so I will have to choose a different color or shade. I?ve always used Petit Dull Dead Grass for my boats but I?d prefer to stick with a dull olive or dull green as on the canoe historically. If you have any suggestions where to find this, let me know.
Thanks for reading,
Larry