Wear points

Yesterday on my first trip out, my brand new Dory suffered a few dings. This was expected, I never intend my Dory to be a garage queen. But at the same time I want to keep her as pretty as possible. I have identified 3 areas that look like the worst culprit for buffs and scuffs.

The first one might surprise you, the upper edge of the transom. I have chosen to car top my Dory, Getting it up and down from my truck rack is not that bad, except the transom scuffs on the ground. I have a 2 part fix for this I am going to be implementing. I will wrap this edge in leather. Also I am building a small dolly for the transom to roll on during the loading process.

The other two areas of concern are the bottom of the boat and the lower edge of the bow. Both scuff along the bottom of the lake when I am beaching. In fact the dory glides so far after each oar stroke that I came in a little hot on my first beaching and scuffed the bow pretty good!

I had read that someone used truck bed liner on the bottom of there boat. I like this idea. Does anyone know if the product sold in your average home improvement store is any good? Or would I be better off finding one of the professional applicator and see how much they would charged?


8 replies:

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RE: Wear points

Congratulations on your launch, Mike! Feels great, doesn't it?

In the meantime, be aware that covering a part with leather can entrap water, Make sure that the part is thoroughly waterproofed under the leather and that the fastening method doesn't penetrate the waterproofing.

I had the same transom issues with my brand X sailing dinghy and solved it with a piece of copper flashing.

Enjoy the new boat,

Laszlo

 

RE: Wear points

Congrats on the launch.  Time to start planning your next build.

Suggest that you take a look at a product called KeelEazy.  I used it as bow/stern rub strips on my wife's Frej and along the shear of my race boat to protect against paddle strikes.  It is not cheap but goes on easily with a heat gun and is easy to remove if you don't like it.  It comes in various sizes and shapes. 

   

RE: Wear points

Copper would be really cool looking. I don't have any experience with copper. I do on the other hand have experience with leather. Thanks for the heads up I will be sure it is well sealed.

That Keel easy looks like it might be an option, I will do some investigating. Thanks for the suggestion!

RE: Wear points

  Doesn't the copper also trap water?  How do you insure it is sealed correctly?  I have a fairly long roll of copper which is about 14" wide and I have been thinking of a use for it.  Thought about attaching a strip on the bow, keel and leading edge of the rudder but unsure how to attach and prevent water penetration.  Any suggestions?

RE: Wear points

Copper absolutely can also trap water. That's why I sealed the top of my transom and used drill-fill-drill, though I used ring nails instead of screws.

I wouldn't put it on the rudder or keel. For one thing, it's hard to get really smooth, so it could disturb the flow.

Laszlo

 

RE: Wear points

   Laszlo, reading your post it sounds like you applied copper to the top of your transom, am I correct?  If so, do you have a photo you could share?

 

RE: Wear points

Yes I did, no I don't, but if you can wait til the weekend I'll take one and post it. The boat is currently hanging from my garage ceiling for winter storage and it's a bit of a hassle to get to it.

Basically, I cut a strip of copper and folded it into a u-shaped channel and attached it over the top of the transom to protect it from bumps  against the ground when cartopping and against the bottom of docks.

Laszlo

 

RE: Wear points

Put a piece of carpet on the ground under the transom.    

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