kevlar maintenance

[josh H.]

Hi, My father in law and I pulled out our wenonanah marathon boat for another summer of flatwater racing. The boat is made out of kevlar. The coating over the kevlar has deteriorated so that the cloth is in risk of damage. What do you use for the clear coat if that is what you call it. I know this is not a whitewater boat but I know how much most of you love glass. Thanks so much.

Josh Hastings
joshleprell@yahoo.com

[Sir Adam]

On a whitewater boat I'd "paint" (after sanding lightly) a light coat of WEST systems epoxy on-it will protect the cloth. Be sure to keep the boat out of the sunlight whenever possible. You can order WEST systems stuff from John Sweet (link on the home page). When you call up to order, you can also ask him if he has any other recommendations.

[PAC]

Make sure to lightly sand to get a good bond then apply the West Epoxy. If you can, try to use the slower hardener. It provides a longer pot time to work with and use only the amount you are comfortable working with (if it starts to "cook off" on you toss it and mix a new batch). Using the slower hardener also means you have to keep the application area cleaner and off limits longer - but not rushing means you can tweak the quality!
When I apply a thin gel coat I use a gloved hand (latex) verses a brush, or other applicator. Not sure if thats best but makes me feel part of the finish work - go figure!
Make sure you have health and safety protection in place to be safe - eyes, lungs, etc. of you and others! Tape off and drop cloths along with good venting. John Sweet can best educate you on this - see the link from the site to his (Repair).
Best of luck, have fun and paddle hard!

PS: I just applied a gel coat on the Apple MaxII (old C1) the other night in hopes of taking it out tonight for a down river race (most likely it's last but work may not allow this!!). This poor boat is so butt ugly even the new gel coat didn't help (its looks) - hopefully it will help on leakage.

[Mike W.]

My old Wenonah Marathon does not have a gel-coat. I think it's just the foam core, Kevlar & whatever epoxy is there to stiffen the Kevlar. Whatever you do, don't put on more than you need to. If yours is the old Marathon like mine, you are already at a weight disadvantage to the newer V1-A, not to mention the Savage River models.

For small holes (particularly below the water line), you can put a little epoxy on it, put a piece of mylar over that, duct tape over that to keep it smooth, then let it set up. Remove the duct tape & mylar, put her in the water.

Just as another source, you may want to check over at the Marathon Canoe Racing Message Board. Warning: Unlike this fine board, you will get bunches of pop-ups there.

http://www.sportsonly.com/a/7263/

Mike W.

[josh H]

Yes, our boat has no gel coat, no foam core. I contacted John Sweet co. and they suggested the west systems epoxy. Thank you all for the info. Maybe some day I will be a glass boat expert. For now I am a plastic Atom man.
josh