Darkside
Well-known member
My buddy Vince and I took a long weekend road trip from PA to Missouri. We went out to put UHMW/Poly on a pair of RiverPro hulls. Being new to tin-boats, Kevin and I battled over UHMW posts in the past, and this may not sound strange but he's been down this UHMW road before and felt the performance hits by adding poly were too substantial to make it an option he was comfortable with.
Regardless, he gave me the opportunity to come out when the boat is little more than an empty shell so we can flip it over so I could add the poly was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. And by the way, I did check the weather when we arrived- No hell did not freeze over LOL.
We arrived Thursday morning, had breakfast at the Waffle House and then went over to the shop. After visiting and catching up with Kevin, we nosed around the various bays and work stations and even snuck outside to see what unnamed boat projects (new and old) they had laying around the grounds. That might have been the most interesting part for me. Kevin had us unload our tool boxes and gear (saws, drills, drivers, hardware…) and showed us the work area he had set aside for us. A moment later the guys were breaking for lunch and Vince looked at me… “it’s lunch time already and we haven’t even started yet” how time flies... our time was limited so we went right into work mode.
Between Vince and I we had installed UHMW on 5 boats (now 7) and since one was Vince’s 2007 LoPro, we had a real good idea of what we wanted to accomplish. Due to the complex shape of the bottom, the plan was simple – cover the middle (lowest 3’) of the hull and the four turning strakes with 1/2" poly. Kevin’s previous attempts were covering the whole bottom and I think he was interested in our approach and hopeful the performace going this route held.
They also had a clever way to pre-shape the UHMW to match the delta pad and the deadrise of the hull and we banged our heads together and came up with a great way to match up the front/closed edge of the turning strakes.
I am not saying that RiverPro will be adding a poly/UHMW option down the road, but the seed is planted. And since I strategically left the paper pattern guide behind when we left – IF Kevin wants to consider a one piece application with bolting the UHMW in place or using vacuum + glue process he has a test case that should protect the most vulnerable area of the hull. I can say that while we were installing the UHMW, a few of the RiverPro build techs were watching us and asking questions. There was some give and take and we all learned from it.
This boat will have the optional ¼” HD Skid Plate that mine has on it now, only it was welded inside rather than outside. It will have ½” UHMW Poly and new ¼” vertical trussed stringer supports (for a lack of a better name) that KT and the guys added.
Hoping it will fair well when i get it back here to the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers.
Regardless, he gave me the opportunity to come out when the boat is little more than an empty shell so we can flip it over so I could add the poly was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. And by the way, I did check the weather when we arrived- No hell did not freeze over LOL.
We arrived Thursday morning, had breakfast at the Waffle House and then went over to the shop. After visiting and catching up with Kevin, we nosed around the various bays and work stations and even snuck outside to see what unnamed boat projects (new and old) they had laying around the grounds. That might have been the most interesting part for me. Kevin had us unload our tool boxes and gear (saws, drills, drivers, hardware…) and showed us the work area he had set aside for us. A moment later the guys were breaking for lunch and Vince looked at me… “it’s lunch time already and we haven’t even started yet” how time flies... our time was limited so we went right into work mode.
Between Vince and I we had installed UHMW on 5 boats (now 7) and since one was Vince’s 2007 LoPro, we had a real good idea of what we wanted to accomplish. Due to the complex shape of the bottom, the plan was simple – cover the middle (lowest 3’) of the hull and the four turning strakes with 1/2" poly. Kevin’s previous attempts were covering the whole bottom and I think he was interested in our approach and hopeful the performace going this route held.
They also had a clever way to pre-shape the UHMW to match the delta pad and the deadrise of the hull and we banged our heads together and came up with a great way to match up the front/closed edge of the turning strakes.
I am not saying that RiverPro will be adding a poly/UHMW option down the road, but the seed is planted. And since I strategically left the paper pattern guide behind when we left – IF Kevin wants to consider a one piece application with bolting the UHMW in place or using vacuum + glue process he has a test case that should protect the most vulnerable area of the hull. I can say that while we were installing the UHMW, a few of the RiverPro build techs were watching us and asking questions. There was some give and take and we all learned from it.
This boat will have the optional ¼” HD Skid Plate that mine has on it now, only it was welded inside rather than outside. It will have ½” UHMW Poly and new ¼” vertical trussed stringer supports (for a lack of a better name) that KT and the guys added.
Hoping it will fair well when i get it back here to the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers.