Finding

[tx river rat]

I have been touching up several of my older boats and thought I might share some of my findings.
I build my boats to use they get run through rocks ,gravel bars, logs, I drag them over all the above plus concrete boat ramps. I am rough on them.
My boats all showed the same wear patterns , the heaviest wear was on the stern , the glass and cloth was worn through ,and that was three layers of cloth. That leaves my hull open to water intrusion. Also wear on the bow from landings on gravel bars etc
My T-V was repaired a year ago with three layers of cloth and glass then an external stems then another layer of glass and cloth ,this was also the way I built my last boat, The Northwind.
Both these boats have seen harsh conditions and looking at the bottoms on both boats the glass and cloth over the external stems is worn through and the wood of the stem is taking the wear.
There is no intrusion of water into the hull.
This is the only way I will build a boat from this point forward and I am adding the to the Freedom I am refinishing . I very strongly recommend this process on your boats.
Ron

 

[seedtick]

The old folks would often put what they called a batter board - for obvious reasons, so it would get battered up, at each end of their boats. It protected the leading edge of the sides and bottom from getting banged up. It was considered a replaceable, wear item. Much easier to replace a batter board that fix the sides.

Not a real good picture, but you get the idea. It's a solid piece for a straight stem and laminated pieces for a curved stem.

They also considered the top outside rail a replaceable item and , in instances of heavy use, would build a boat with an outside chine

 

[Kayak Jack]

My wear patterns and conclusions are similar to Ron's. The last 2-3 feet of the keel is where the most wear and tear occurs. Little wear on the front end of the keel. I guess I must drag a$$% a lot, ehh?