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Installing Skid Plates
By Mike McCrea
Instructions for installing skid plates on Royalex (ABS) or
Polyethylene (Disco-type)* canoes
1) Purchase skid plate kit.
2) Read and follow the directions.
Really, that would do it. There are a couple of hints and
suggestions, and some variations in the instructions that
come with the kits from different vendors though, so...
For starters, you will need the following:
The skid plate kit (with parts "A" and "B" of the resin and
the two kevlar felt skid plates)
Sandpaper (60 or 80 grit)
Rubber gloves
Mixing containers (unless the "A" can is sized to
accommodate adding the "B" can)
Cheap paintbrushes
Tongue depressors or flat mixing stick
Rubber kitchen spatula (the kind you use to get that the
last dregs of mayo out of the jar)
Rags or paper towels
Big piece of cardboard X2
Masking tape
Alcohol
Marker
Ok, set the canoe, gunwales down, on a set of sawhorses and
set all your parts and equipment out on a nearby table.
Now to the actual instructions. Wipe down the bow and stern
stems with alcohol. Next you need to mark the location on
the hull where the skid plate will be positioned. The skid
plates are positioned with the narrow end towards the
deckplate and the wide end towards to bottom of the boat
(duh).
Interestingly, the instructions for Mad River skid plates
recommend positioning the skid plate six inches below the
bottom of the deckplate....Old Town's instructions
recommend positioning the skid plates fourteen inches below
the deck plates. Soooo, position the skid plate somewhere
between six and fourteen inches below the deck
plates...this obviously depends on the depth of the
stems...whatever looks right to you...maybe higher in the
bow if you tend to smash head on into vertical
cliffs or wayward kayaks :-)
You may want to position the stern skid plate lower to
offer more protection to the bottom of the hull along the
keel line. If you sometimes run your canoes "backwards"
don't bother adjusting the position of the stern skid
plate. If you sometimes run your canoe hull-up you don't
need skid plates, you need a better brace.
With the skid plates in position tape them in place with a
few small pieces of tape and trace the outline of the
kevlar on the hull. Make this tracing 1/4" or so larger all
the way around than the actual outline of the skid plate.
Take the felt off (try not to fuzz up the edge of the
kevlar when removing the tape) and sand the area inside the
traced outline with 60 or 80 grit sandpaper. Sand until no
"shiny" patches are left...you don't need (want) to sand
through the vinyl, just rough up the surface and get rid of
any shine. Clean the area again with alcohol.
If you are not putting the skid plates on immediately clean
the area with alcohol again just before you do install
them; any oil, dust, whatever will interfere with the
adhesion of the resin.
Tape along the edge of the outline with masking tape. And
cover the rest of the exposed hull by taping a cut up trash
bag or newspaper over the sides (I always manage to spill
or drip some resin onto the hull...especially when I skip
covering the sides...it never fails - if I skip it, I drip
it...if you do drip it somewhere you can remove the resin
drips with acetone or lacquer thinner while the resin is
still wet.
Mix the resin. A word of caution: Some skid plate kits (Old
Town's, for example) contain two cans of part "A" and two
cans of part "B", some skid plate kits (Mad River's, for
example) contain only one larger can of part "A" and one
larger can of part "B"....I always feel somewhat rushed
mixing one large batch of resin for two skid plates...look
for a kit with two cans of "A" and two cans of "B". Or be
prepared to work fast.
When mixing the resin the use of the rubber kitchen spatula
will help get every last drop of resin from both cans into
the mixing container (again, some vendor's "A" cans are
large enough to accommodate simply adding part "B" to mix,
if not just dump both cans into your separate mixing
container). Mix parts A and B THROUGHLY with the tongue
depressor or mixing stick. You now have about 20 to 30
minutes before the resin starts to set (less time if it is
warm out, more if it is cooler...don't install skid plates
if below 60f, or if you can't maintain a temperature of
50-60 degrees overnight. And don't work the resin in direct
sunlight. DO work somewhere with plenty of ventilation. And
wear glasses. And gloves. Don't run with scissors!
Lay one skid plate out on the big piece of cardboard
(hopefully the "big" piece of cardboard is a bit longer and
a bit wider than the skid plate). Pour or brush some of the
resin onto the fabric of the skid plate. Continue to
pour/brush until the felt-like fabric is saturated. This
should take slightly more than half the resin mix.
Pick up the fabric (carefully, it is now heavy and
saturated with resin) and position it on the hull, wetted
side down, starting with the narrow end. Smooth it out using
the rubber spatula or cheap paintbrush. Get out all the
wrinkles and air bubbles, working from the middle outwards
towards the edges. While you are working out the wrinkles
and air bubbles you'll also be pushing the resin underneath
up through the fabric. Brush a little more resin onto any
areas that look a bit thin/dry (don't over saturate with
resin though, that'll just add weight, not strength).
Once all the bubbles and wrinkles are gone "fair" down the
edges of the skid plate using the rubber spatula and/or a
tongue depressor. Once any rough edge or loose bits of fuzz
are gone wait a bit until the resin has begun to set up and
then "bevel" down the edges of the skid plate with a tongue
depressor.
If you want to smooth out the rough surface of the kevlar
felt now is the time to use the plastic wrap or wax paper
trick. Or not, the river bottom will smooth out the rough
surface over time.
After any drips have stopped running, but before the resin
has set completely, remove the trash bag or newspaper and
pull the masking tape off. What nice clean lines you have,
Mr. Skid Plate.
The skid plate resin should be dry to the touch in about 4
to 6 hours and (essentially, more or less, I still wouldn't
boat it for a few days) completely dry in 24 hours.
Miscellaneous notes:
Some vendors now sell pigment to add to the resin mix to
match your boat's hull color.
Since you will have some extra resin left over (especially
if you scrape out every drop with the rubber spatula) you
might want to have a use at hand for this resin
before it sets. Do any of your boatin' buddies have old
skid plates on their boats that are getting frazzled?
Invite them and their boat over on skid plate installation
day to lend a hand in return for a free shot of your excess resin.
If you have any cracks in the plastic or holes in the hull
you can use the same skid plate resin to repair these
problem areas. There is plenty of extra resin in the kit to
permit swiping a little for other repairs, and you can
always cut a patch-piece of kevlar off one end of the skid
plate fabric (you'll ruin a pair of scissors doing so, but
you can cut it).If you cut a piece off remember to round
off the edges of the patch piece of fabric, and to round
off the end of the cut edge of skid plate too. If the
hull crack is lifted or doesn't conform to the curvature of
the hull epoxy it back in place with a dab of PC-7 epoxy
before patching. There are also small kits of
Royalex putty for filling dents and gouges...why bother?
Dents and gouges are a sign you actually use your canoe!
* Polyethylene (Discovery-type) canoes - IMPORTANT - You
MUST polarize the surface of a polyethylene hull where it
is sanded. Using a handheld propane torch, make certain
that the blue tongue of the flame sweeps over every inch of
the sanded surface. This doesn't involve melting the
plastic or even getting it very hot, but the blue part of
the flame should hit every bit of the sanded surface. If
you are not sure you got it all, wait a half hour and do it
again.
If you skip this step on poly boats the skid plates will
eventually just pop off like the husk from a nut. If you
perform this step properly the skid plates may someday
still pop off, ‘cause nothing sticks to polyethylene
forever...but, we put skid plates on a Disco174 over 10
years ago and they're still firmly attached after many hard
impacts...so, on poly boats, flame it throughly.
You are now free to move about the river, smashing into
rocks and running over kayaks at will.
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