driftboat bottom alternatives

I was wondering if anybody knew of an alternative, other than Glovit (or however it's spelled), that can be applied to the bottom of a driftboat. Just curious.

Benny, there is a product called UHMW, ultra high modulous something or other, it is a plastic that is really slippery when it gets wet,if you search online you can find a it at about the same price as putting Gluvit, or epoxy with graphite in it on your boat.This stuff is supposed to be very tough and pretty inpervious to chemicals,water,abrasion and more. When i need to redo my bottom I am going to be putting this on my drift rig. Fishy..........

Coat-It
Epoxy base with teflon and graphite in it

Do some serious studying on UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) plastic. I put it on my wood boat and it was awesome, but it does have some drawbacks. On aluminum I've seen several mounting techniques, none of which impressed me much. UHMW is heavy! If I'm not mistaken, most of the boat manufacturers have gone away from using it. On aluminum I've seen builders weld rivet heads on the botton of the boat and them hammer the rivets flat once the UHMW "shoe" was in place. I always wondered what happens when you hit a rock right on one or more of the rivets, do they break and let the shoe come loose??? I know there are some quides out that that run them. Perhaps they'd like to shed some light?

I dont know much about the uhmw, or what ever it is. I have been told that graphite has dis-simular metals in it, and could cause electrolsis (spelling) in brackesh (again spelling) water. About 6 years ago I had the same problem. I was tired of the gluvit. I own a older driftboat (1986 fishrite) which is still in good condition. I had the bottom of my boat LINE-X ed. They are able to change the outter texture during application. I had them put it on a smooth as possible. It cost $350 about 6 years ago. The stuff is bullet proof, and shows no signs of quiting. I run the Trinity river in the fall, (lower flows) and have to bottom bounce several riffles. Once the LINE-X is wet it gets pretty slick. I would recommend it, if you can get past the initial cost.

Nice tip on the line-x, often wonder'd how that would work on a drift rig. 350 is a good pop,but if you only have to do it once or twice over the lifetime of the boat then it sounds like it would be well worth it.......Fishy............

I had UHWM on my 14' Willies which is sold now. I believe the material bouyancy offsets the weight, and it is very slippery. But, when you hit a rock just right it still can stick in the riveted area. UHWM is also very expensive. Willies offers it on new boats as an option for $400 I think.

On my other boats I have always used Coat-It which is superior to Gluv-It. Coat-It is less expensive, just as slippery, weighs less and draws less water than UHWM. And it is replaceable. The only downside is that every year you have to turn your boat over and re-coat the bottom.

To each their own
Good luck!

I read on a website that you can take thinner gauges of UHMW polyethylene, .030"- .093", and adhere it to the bottom as a tape. It says it was used successfully on ice boats somewhere. I wonder how long it would last at those thin of gauges though?

I have heard horror stories about sprayed Line-X type coatings peeling away in the middle of a drift after hitting a rock. It was relayed to me as trying to row with a piece of plywood attached to the bottom of your boat. Adhered UHWM gives me the creeps for the same reason. No thanks

I have followed buddies through tailouts on the same line, his boat had Coat-It where I drew more water because of the thickness of the UHWM, I had to walk and he didn't. Coat-It works just as well.

I HAVE UHMW RIVETED TO MY BOAT AND LOVE IT. IT'S ONLY A 1\4 INCH THICK. IF YOU HAVE A GOOD BOAT IT SHOULD NOT EFFECT HOW LOW IT SITS IN THE WATER. THIS STUFF IS AWSOME, AND IT WILL NEVER WEAR OUT , AT LEAST NOT IN MY LIFE TIME.
JUST MY 2 CENTS
NUT

I too was thinking about linex. I'm reastoring an old wooden drift boat and I put a gallon of a resin based /fiberglass mixture on the bottom and coated the bottom and 6 inches up the side with herculiner. it's a do it yourself bedliner product. it seems to be great.You can roll , brush or spray it on . The cost was only 80.00 plus a $20 rebate. I'd post a pic but haven't figured out how to on this site.

mkerley1:

Cool! Another one restoring an old woodie DB.

I am in the process of restoring 25+ yo. Don Hill design. The bottom is 1/2" + an additional 1/4" piece of ply. Made the determination not to use the UHMW, but will go with epoxy/graphite instead.

The boat is only 13', so re-doing the bottom every year is not a problem, especially since it will see a lot of service over the next year.

If you have some pics, feel free to send them to me at mikeblack@delblackassociates.com and I'll post them right up for you.

Not difficult, really, just read the Tutorial page for the board at:

http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/upform.html

One you get the picture uploaded, just place the URL between [img] and [/img]

Welcome to Piscatorial Pursuits!

Mike B

I'd install some glass panels in the bottom, so if you ever travel to France to fish, you can take a good look at their navy.

Good tip there Luke, tell us how you really feel..........Fishy......

I know several guides here in the Umpqua Basin that are running Line-ex on the bottom of their boats ...They havent had a lick of problems with the coating and they abuse their boats ... The Line-ex is gauranteed for life against but they havent had any problems in two years of hard service ......Von Warner