[quote=fulcrum][quote=makinmajik]First, thanks for the thread, I was about to convince myself to blow off flipping my P-16 over to put a wear strip on the keels. I can feel glass mat on the bottom center of my keels and you can see light through them. I plan to put Marine Tex on the keels in the center area to about 1/8" and sanding that smooth. I have white hulls so it should be a reasonable solution both from a cosmetic and functional basis.[/quote]
Well, first off I'm not anything near an expert on this. I haven't tried it out yet.
But I think that the microsphere epoxy mixture will likely wear down pretty quickly. After all, that's what its really designed to do-- to be easy to sand. So its probably bettter if it gets a layer of gelcoat or marine paint over it.
I heard Marine Tex wears well, but I already had epoxy and wanted to avoid buying another product. The microsphere mixture is really easy to apply. Its just like spreading icing on a cake.
I got the epoxy from www.uscomposites.com. It was $35 for a system with a quart of epoxy and its hardener. Way cheaper than the $60 for the equivalent West System from my local West Marine.
Also, I laid down a glass "wear strip" which serves the dual function of keeping the two molded halves of the nacra hull bonded together. I think other models of cats may be made differently and don't have the seam on the bottom. For better wear resistance I could have chosen kevlar, but I've heard that the epoxy doesn't sit as well in it. Also, I wanted to get the job done now and I didn't have time to wait for it.
I can say thought that this operation was much easier than I thought it would be. I tested the hulls by putting water in them and they seem to be watertight.
I haven't decided, but I think I'll coat the hulls either with Interlux brightsides or with gelcoat. I think I've got to redo the whole hulls. I'll have to brush either on as I don't have spray equipment. It seems like gelcoat would be the "right" way to do it, but brightsides would produce a nicer finish for less effort.
I'll post some pics of the work in progress soon.[/quote]
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