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Post by Jamie on Sept 26, 2008 13:05:58 GMT -5
For some reason Ken, you skid plate looks thinner than most others around.... maybe that's why it failed??? The kevlar I put on, and the skid plates Dave bought (I believe from OldTown..) appear thicker, therefore likely a lot tougher. I've never heard of anyone that actually wore out a kevlar skid plate, let alone in just one year..... You might want to leave whatever is left of your original plate and just sand down the area you need to cover over. Jamie Sounds good, Jamie. Unless it's the Old Town patch kit with the yellow fabric beaver tails and the black and white packets you knead together and brush on. That's what's on there now. My garage is jammed with my son's furniture while he is between houses. We're leaving for a two-week trip while they borrow our house, so I can't work on my boat till later next month. So hold that thought. Should I remove the remnants of the skid plate? I suppose, eh. I bet I can pry it off with a hammer. Ken
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Dave
Coureur des bois
Posts: 90
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Post by Dave on Sept 29, 2008 8:09:06 GMT -5
I gave my skid plates a good beating this year (obviously, not as much as Ken though!), and they show no sign of wear. And they were the old town disco kevlar ones. Just based on that picture you have posted though, the skid plates I put on didn't look like the one you have pictured. I think mine did look thicker than that, as Jamie mentioned.
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Post by Ken Corbett on Oct 31, 2008 21:40:22 GMT -5
I got some ABS pipe and some acetone, will mix them thogether once I find a way to pulverize the Abs pipe. This supposedly makes an ABS paint that will stiffen up my leaky hull after a few coats. I'll try this on my boat's stem.
My uncle gave me some Weldbond. I tried some on a piece of wood and it set up steel hard. I hope it adheres to Kevlar. I'll try it on the weakness at my boat's stern and compare the two ... as soon as I get my garage back.
I'll post the results here.
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Post by Ken Corbett on Nov 12, 2008 21:29:37 GMT -5
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tgneal
Voyageur
Little Falls - St. Croix River , NB
Posts: 229
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Post by tgneal on Nov 13, 2008 14:25:10 GMT -5
Hey Ken,
Nice looking repair job. Maybe you should now put a pair of skid plates over top your newly repaired bow and stern. This would help extend the life of your repair by protecting it from direct exposure to the elements.
Take it easy, Tom
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Post by Ken Corbett on Nov 16, 2008 11:08:49 GMT -5
Tom,
You're joking right? No more crappy skid plates for this dude.
Ken
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tgneal
Voyageur
Little Falls - St. Croix River , NB
Posts: 229
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Post by tgneal on Nov 16, 2008 12:36:33 GMT -5
Ken,
I guess you've lost faith in skid plates. The only thing to do then is to stop hitting so many rocks! You're taking that "Reach out and touch a rock" stuff too literally.
Take it easy, Tom
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Post by Hillbilly on Dec 15, 2008 9:29:55 GMT -5
my skids on my disco are starting to lift from the center of the boat to the ends. Any tips on a quick fix? I've only done many fiberglass repairs, the nashwaak eats it up. I have some industrial fiber cloth if any one needs a chunk, very ruugged stuff.
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Post by Ken Corbett on Dec 15, 2008 13:51:40 GMT -5
It's hard, in my experience, to stick anything onto the hull of a Disco. There's no cloth or glue I've seen yet that really bonds with their plastic. I repaired the inside of my disco, and it hasn't come undone yet. I haven't used it much, though. See www.nanookofthenashwaak.com/geartalk/discofix.shtml
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Post by Ken Corbett on Apr 27, 2009 6:05:58 GMT -5
My repair job with epoxy was a complete failure. So don't do what I did. Buddy says he can put on skid plates so they'll stay on good. I'm gonna give him a try.
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ldmrt
Voyageur
Posts: 124
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Post by ldmrt on May 2, 2009 10:16:17 GMT -5
Wow! those are some nasty scratches you've got going on there!!!
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Post by Ken Corbett on Jul 10, 2009 7:46:39 GMT -5
Well, I finally went to a see Jamie, he knows what he's doing, and he put on some skid plates for me. He did a great job, too, Thanks, Jamie!
Ken
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Post by Ken Corbett on Jul 10, 2009 7:49:57 GMT -5
Here's an article a buddy on the NPMB sent me on using old bicycle tires instead of skid plates.
Bicycle Tire Scrunch Pads You may have noticed that I have different-looking grunch pads on my solo canoe. They're not the usual Kevlar matting, but look suspiciously like bicycle tires. Well, that's because they are! I have used them on canoes for over 10 years and they work wonderfully well. They have lasted and , being flexible, they do not damage the canoe.
I first heard of this on a paddling forum on the internet, It wasn't difficult to do and the results are exemplary. One cavil if you try this: Use an OLD road bicycle tire with some wear on it. The new materials, especially the knobby mountain bike tires, like to grab kayaks and never let go…
Originally posted as a thread in a Paddling forum, then rewritten as an article in the Paddler, newsletter of the RI Canoe Association. Reprinted here with permission from the editor.
It is being uploaded for several reasons. One -- a member of this forum reported that when his Kevlar skid plate broke, the stem of his ABS canoe split also. Shortly thereafter, a member of the RI Canoe Assn. told me the same thing had just happened to him.
Two -- a couple of years ago a friend did not tie his brand new Dagger Impulse onto a trailer very well, and it got dragged about a hundred feet before he could bring the vehicle safely to a stop. The stem was ground down well into the foam layer. When he called Dagger for help they suggested bicycle tires, and specifically told him not to use Kevlar skid plates; the reason, they said, was that the Kevlar won't flex with the canoe.
Commercially available Kevlar grunch pads are wonderful protection when you drag your canoe across the ground. As protection when crashing into rocks they are counter productive. Kevlar felt, when saturated with resin, becomes inflexible. Unfortunately ABS is very flexible. The two materials do not complement each other; quite the opposite. *Usually* it is the Kevlar that breaks, taking the vinyl layer with it and leaving exposed ABS. Of course, the *whole thing* doesn't break, so now you have to fill in the gaps before you put another Kevlar grunch plate over it. By this time you have something so thick it begins to function as a skeg. Or you can spend hours, if not days, grinding the old pad off.
There are two solutions. One is Kevlar cloth, which is *much* stronger than felt yet remains flexible when saturated with resin. (Actually, the resin never saturates the fibers, just fills in the gaps.) The down side is that nobody sells ready-made cloth grunch pads so you'll have to make your own. Figure on using one razor blade per inch of cut. No joke!
The other solution is a 26-inch bicycle balloon type street tire. ( NOT a knobby.) Not only will the tire and canoe flex together, but the thick rubber will actually absorb much of the shock of the impact. I've used bicycle tires on all my whitewater canoes since 1983 with never a regret.
---- HERE'S HOW TO DO IT ----
> Step 1 - cut the tire in half so you have 2 semi circles. > Step 2 - cut the wire beads off the tire. > Step 3 - Using extra coarse sandpaper rough up the inside. Sand until the inner cloth belt is slightly fuzzy. > Step 4 - Trim one end of each tire half so it is rounded (no corners for catching on rocks) > Step 5 - Trace the shape of the tire onto the boat (only necessary if you're trying to be neat) > Step 6 - Sand inside the area you've just traced. Again using extra coarse sandpaper. > Step 7 - Wipe both the tire and the area of the boat that it will cover with acetone. Make SURE you wear rubber or latex gloves when handling acetone! Don't be cheap with the acetone. The purpose is to soften both the vinyl of the boat and the butyl rubber of the tire for proper adhesion. THIS IS A CRITICAL STEP and is even more important than sanding. DO NOT SKIP IT!!!!! > Step 8 - Coat one surface or the other with a marine grade epoxy, then carefully apply the tire to the boat. You will need to use duct tape to hold the tire in place while the epoxy cures. As you noticed while tracing the tire's shape on the boat, the tire does not conform easily. Wear rubber or latex gloves when handling epoxy.
>>>> Helpful hints -
Tear off several strips of duct tape at a time and hang them from the gunwales, so you don't have to keep stopping to do this. Have someone else at the end of the canoe opposite to the one you are working on; you need to apply quite a bit of pressure when putting the duct tape on, in order to flatten the tire, and someone will have to apply an equal and opposite pressure or you'll just chase the canoe all over the place; or make some kind of jig to hold the canoe in place. Do not leave more than a small gap between the strips of duct tape or you will wind up with a bumpy grunch plate; better yet, overlap them. Remove the duct tape as soon as the epoxy has cured, at least within 24 hours. Left on too long, the duct tape will never come off; quality duct tape is amazing stuff. If there is any adhesive residue from the duct tape, either acetone or lacquer thinner will remove it, but lacquer thinner is less likely to damage the canoe surface. >Step 9 - When the epoxy has cured and the duct tape removed use an epoxy putty, preferably PC-7, or PC-11, to build a sloping ramp up to the level of the tread. This will prevent the edge from catching and peeling. I forgot this on one canoe once and the tire did start to peel -- from the canoe being dragged on the ground, not from catching on rocks in the river!
That's about it. As soon as the humidity breaks I'm about to do my own latest acquisition (epoxy applied during extreme humidity will never cure, as I learned the hard way). It will be the 7th canoe I've done this to, and basically, the canoes wear out around the tires.
--Alan (I'll never use Kevlar pads again) August -- Editor, the Paddler, R.I. Canoe Association
Joe Pylka
So I have an old bicycle tire in my garage if someone wants to try it. I bet you can do both bow and stern with one tire.
Ken
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tgneal
Voyageur
Little Falls - St. Croix River , NB
Posts: 229
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Post by tgneal on Jul 10, 2009 14:44:10 GMT -5
Hey Ken, Jamie put the skid plates on my OT Tripper as well. So far they have survived a couple of trips down the Miramichi along a short trip down the Meduxnekeag.
I wonder if Jamie used some of the felt ,I picked up for him im Toronto, on your boat.
Tom
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