The bottom of your Drifty

[fishhunter]

Just thought I would let you guys know about a great way to coat the bottom of your Drift Boat. I had the old nasty varnish on the bottom and decided it was time to replace it. Talking to someone (I don't remember who) said to have it coated with the same stuff they use in the bed of trucks. They can even make it less gritty for a smoother ride. All the spray on liners are about the same, I had mine done for $135, which included them ripping off the old varinsh (they had to break out the heat gun) It was applied about 1/4 thick and looks great. I hit a rock a few weeks ago that just about knocked the fillings out of my teeth, it didn't even scratch it. If you do end up chipping it, it can just be sprayed right back on the damaged area. Seems to work great so far. Wouldn't be bad to apply it to jet boats either. Good luck!

[sea lice]

Is this stuff slick enough to allow you to slide off of or over rocks??? Bedliner spray I have seen isn't that slick....

[smilesforu]

Lice
That is the problem with the bed liner material. It may be cheap and thick but is STICKY...which is a major problem, just a matter of time. It would work great in slow rivers where you drag you boat on the beach, but do not do it on a boulder strew river.
Tight Lines

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Marty M
Steelheader.net (http://www.steelheader.net/)

[sea lice]

thanks for the clarification smiles...

[fishhunter]

Like I said, they can take the grit out and make it smooth as glass. It's much slicker than varvish. Hey smiles do you really go over alot of big boulders? Just wondering I steer around them myself. Anyone else have info relating to this method???

[Pete]

Fishhunter, I'm not sure you got smiles4U's point. There are lots of rivers where bumping and skinning over rocks is the only way to go. Steering around isn't an option. When the boat contacts the rock, if it's bare aluminum or plastic, the rock will grab at the boat and create a risk of capsizing. Bottom finishes like Gluvit permit the boat to slide smoothly over the rock without hesitations or hang-ups. I think the concern with truck bed coating is that they aren't brittle enough to slough off a thin layer as you go over rocks. I'll keep what I've got.

[Gizmo Man]

I too looked at the truck lining, when it first came out and thought the same thing..I would like to see it in action.

There is a hill that we slide our boats down when doing the Efork Lewis river. If that lining doesn't hang up going down this area that has several pointed rocks, it would be a good test.

FishHunter, how about when the water gets up to drift height, we give it a try.

When I recoat my boat bottom, I remove all the old glove it, Then using 2 gals, (actually about 1 1/2 I do the following:

I get the fiberglass weaving in 60" wide. I rough up the boat bottom, place about 1/2 gal of coat it (use it now than gloveit), I work the f/g cloth into it and smooth it out, I then add the rest of the coat it over the f/g. It works great. I get about 5-6 years out of a bottom this way.

If interested, give me a call and I can show or tell you the process in more detail.

Giz...

[smilesforu]

Thanks for clarifing Pete. I guess I do go over alot of big boulders, but just the tips of them http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Tight Lines

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Marty M
Steelheader.net (http://www.steelheader.net/)