"Rock-Proofing" a fiberglass boat?

J

Jon Frey

Member
Hello,

First time poster on this forum and I have a question for everyone about working on a fiberglass boat. I purchased an MLB Zach Taylor Wigeon last year and I've really enjoyed using it, especially on a larger river as a poor mans layout boat. Yesterday I used it on a smaller rocky river while the water was up to oar myself up to my spot and have a pretty decent hunt. I would like to continue using the boat for this even when the water level is down but I'm concerned that I'll beat the bottom of the boat to pieces coming into contact with rocks. I figure there is no way to truly rock-proof a fiberglass boat but I would like to make it so the boat can handle the occasional bump of a river rock. The boat will not be moving terribly fast as this river is not really a good place for running an outboard and oars seem to do the job well enough. I've thought about having the bottom of the boat sprayed with a Line-X truck bed liner, and I've also thought about purchasing some kevlar felt and epoxy and essentially making the bottom of the boat a large canoe skid plate. Has anyone tackled a project like this in the past and have some experience or does anybody have any suggestions?
 
I would think the LineX route would be one of the worst things you could do. The weight, and the drag caused by the LineX would be terrible.

I would go with something like 10 oz cloth and epoxy, or kevlar and cloth.

or just do this stuff AFTER you have hit some rocks....
 
A dealer in the LaCrosse area on the Mississippi River used to spray boats, but they had so many complaints as the finish did not stand up to rocks, gravel, and sand, that will no longer spray boats.
 
I would line x it. it dont weight that much maybe an additional 20 pounds? or sheetmetal shield of some improvisation
 
Jon,

I believe your worrying too much. From the way TDBs hold up on our rocky coast and the way my going on 30 year old fiberglass canoe has held up in the river, you shouldn't have much to worry about. There's no wood underneath that you need to keep encapsulated so at the end of every season or five do some light repair work where the gel coat has taken a beating. If your really worried, sell the boat and buy an aluminum sneak. That's the way I went, but even though it has oarlocks, I wasn't planning on only going rowing speed :^)

Scott
 
Maybe it's just me but I always thought fiberglass running at any speed and rocks just don't go well together. Sure I've bumped a few drifting, but for rocky water navigation I would rather be in aluminum.
 
Hello,

First time poster on this forum and I have a question for everyone about working on a fiberglass boat. I purchased an MLB Zach Taylor Wigeon last year and I've really enjoyed using it, especially on a larger river as a poor mans layout boat. Yesterday I used it on a smaller rocky river while the water was up to oar myself up to my spot and have a pretty decent hunt. I would like to continue using the boat for this even when the water level is down but I'm concerned that I'll beat the bottom of the boat to pieces coming into contact with rocks. I figure there is no way to truly rock-proof a fiberglass boat but I would like to make it so the boat can handle the occasional bump of a river rock. The boat will not be moving terribly fast as this river is not really a good place for running an outboard and oars seem to do the job well enough. I've thought about having the bottom of the boat sprayed with a Line-X truck bed liner, and I've also thought about purchasing some kevlar felt and epoxy and essentially making the bottom of the boat a large canoe skid plate. Has anyone tackled a project like this in the past and have some experience or does anybody have any suggestions?
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Is there a core in the hull that you need to worry about saturating? I'd find that out. If the hull is solid, it shoudl be plenty thick, if cored, find out what it is cored with and how much glass is outside the core. I wouldn't worry about it a whole lot myself and would fix the damage I did.
 
Another route to consider is a product called Keel Guard. This is used frequently on fiberglass boats to , well, protect the keel. Mostly for pulling fiberglass boats up onto shore and such but it also works well for providing some protetion against the occassional rocks. There are others out there similar to the Keel Guard product but I can't recall the names right now.

Another option is to use one of the 3M Hurricane/Helicopter blade/Wind Turbine/Paint Protection tapes. This is some tough stuff. If the boat is not kept in the water, this too could be a good option.

One more option would be to spray the boat with 3M Rocker Panel Spray. Very tough material. Make sure to get the one that IS NOT water borne

Mark
 
My Duck Wrangler 17 has liner sprayed from grass rails to keel. Previous owner had it done. Works really well with ice, it doesn't have any wear through marks anywhere on hull. I don't deal with rocks much, but Sand, Ice and beaching it on tumps seems to protect it. I like it but wouldn't pay for it out of my pocket. As for speed and weight i get 30mph gps, with 2 plus dog and gear pushed by a 50merc. Fast enough on smooth water. If it's rough out I go slower so I don't get the snot beat out of me anyway.
My question about it is it paintable? I would like to paint shade of brown to match banks where I hunt. It will look like a Island with fastgrass on top.

Gene
 
The best way to rock proof a glass boat is to slow down and acquire a lot of local knowledge.

No boat does well when slammed into rocks. Most hold up well to restrained impact. Shallow draft helps, too.
 
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