On Fri, Jun 06, 2003 at 03:00:23AM -0700, Dave Kruger wrote: > 2. The main value of gel coat is two-fold: <..snip..> > B. It protects the underlying FRP from __abrasion__ damage. > > B. Is very important -- any time you cut into the glass/resin layer, > you are damaging both the rigidity and the strength of the boat. On > an extended trip, it would be easy to eat all the way through the > glass from running the boat onto the beach. Even boats with gel > coat can have this happen. I've seen it in abused rental boats. Your point re: abrasion resistance is well made. What I'm curious about, however, is just how much of an epoxy skin-coat would you have to apply in lieu of a gelcoat top layer to get equivalent abrasion resistance? Are there epoxy resins applicable to boat use that can provide the same abrasion resistance as the fairly think gelcoat in conventional use, but do so with a thinner and lighter result? As an example, how abrasion resistant is your typical wood kayak (stitch-n-glue or strip-built) as compared to a gelcoat topped composite model? Anyone out there know? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Jun 06 2003 - 05:57:48 PDT
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