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Rubstrips?

Rrdstarr

Rrdstarr

Paddler
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Messages
504
Location
Victoria, BC Canada
Starting on my Pygmy soon and wondering if any of you have added this to your boat to preserve the finish and effort you have put into it?

http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/fitting_out/rubstrips.html
Rubstrip_2.jpg
 
For SOF-
One method suggested to me that I have used is to cut an extra strip of the material l used for the skin. After the skin has been sealed, add the extra strip along the keel, and use the same paint or varnish used to seal the skin to 'glue' the strip down.It soaks up a bit of extra paint as well, so it becomes a bit thicker, adding some measure of protection to the keel... It is not going to be as durable as the dynel method, but does act as a sacrificial layer that can readily be replaced or repaired as required.

kelly t
 
Almost ready to start skinning my Seabee's :)

Now, how about rubstrips along the gunwhales?
Stop the nylon from getting scuffed when coming up alongside other boats or a jetty or pier?

What have builders found to be the most suitable?

Any ideas?
 
Iwannapaddle said:
Now, how about rubstrips along the gunwhales?
Stop the nylon from getting scuffed when coming up alongside other boats or a jetty or pier?
Click to expand...


I've seen gunwale rub strips, and someone put them on the deck, as in a roof rack. :yikes: To me, both were incredibly ugly, and served no useful purpose. I do put rub strips at the stem and stern, and a 4' strip in the center, under the cockpit, and they all show some heavy wear, from rocky beaches and sand. i've never gotten a scuff from a pier or plings, though, and like the look of the skin better.
 
I was looking at some HDPE at Lee Valley today and was thinking maybe I could machine The HDPE into the contour and a deep V so that I could just plop it on with some marine Silicone. When it gets battered and too abused I could pull it off and put another on? Maybe far fetched for a wood boat.
 
I stole this picture from Mike Jackson on his SOF for sale!
But this looks great for a SOF where you have a flat surface to mount too!
Same concept for my boat except I machine the V-notch into it and secure it with silicone or something similar.
rubstrip.jpg
 
A sea kayak does not receive the hard docking contact that a power boat does. I suspect after a while you will regret installing a rub strip of plastic -- it will look kind of shoddy, and getting good adhesion to HDPE will be difficult.

Some boats might benefit from a "sacrificial" strip of a contrasting, harder wood (sapele, for example), which could be finished intact and then epoxied onto the sheer. Removing the wood strip later would be easy to do with a plane and a sanding block, preparing the surface for another, newer strip. I expect you might only need it over the middle 60-70% of the boat, as the ends will not contact a float or dock very often.
 
Why not just glass in a 1" wide strip of kevlar tape, after the hull is glassed? That should do the trick, and be much easier. By the time that gets worn, you could just sand it down, and apply another. Rub strips on sof's are sacrificial- they are apied with no adhesive, just screws, and, when they become worn to the point of not functioning, you unscrew them, and replace.
 
That is what I bought from CLC, Stumpy. It is a Kevlar equivalent that gets epoxied on. Same as the picture I originally posted.

From the CLC site:
A Rubstrip Kit including the Dynel fabric, graphite powder, FineLine Tape, latex gloves, and a 24oz mini-kit of epoxy is available in various options from CLC. The Rubstrip Kit can be applied either to a hull in progress or to any finished wooden or fiberglass kayak.


Yeah the HDPE will luck ugly on a wood Kayak.
 
Stumpy said:
Rub strips on sof's are sacrificial- they are applied with no adhesive, just screws, and, when they become worn to the point of not functioning, you unscrew them, and replace.
Click to expand...

On the first old SOF that I revamped a few years ago - it originally came with a whole batch of trim/rubstrips, although they were all cedar.
In my "in-experience" I re-fitted some of these.
Along the keel....
Along the gunwhales - these actually came in really handy for attaching the deck-cords/rigging

Cedar is definitely NOT the way to go from my experience - much too soft for this purpose.

Plastic/HDPE on a SOF? Kind of cheap-looking? :shock: Apologies to Mike Jackson

As AstoriaDave and Stumpy have suggested - something a little more "hardy" :roll:
A few strips of 1/4" x 3/4" Sapele or Oak

Yes, just that little bit extra weight once again
:oops:

I've seen gunwale rub strips, and someone put them on the deck, as in a roof rack. To me, both were incredibly ugly, and served no useful purpose.
Click to expand...
:shock: :shock: :shock:
 
Yeah, sapele, oak, teak, ash. Needs to be durable. Oak takes on a moldy look pretty fast. With sapele, can't see it, the natural color is so dark. Teak, if you can afford it. Offcuts might be the way to go if you can find some.
 
Sigh...............

Now what was I thinking - I was in South Africa last year - I could have picked up a few strips of Stinkwood from the Knysna or Tsitsikamma Forests and brought them home - may have been a little awkward though :)
 
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