Other Riding on shallow rocky river... Rhino line hull?

[LeadvilleOne]

UHMW (very similar to HDPE as sportfish258 mentioned) is a good choice for abrasion resistance. I have not applied this to a ski but have seen this used on several Aluminum river jet boats where it is through-bolted with flat head screws and nuts inside the hull. I don't use the UHMW but have 1/4" steel plate down the keel of the boat protecting the aluminum. Steel is overkill for a ski and the practice of through bolting any material is notorious for eventually taking on water. My experience on a ski has been damage to the intake grate. For small rocks, the pump will process anything passing the grate so I'd consider building a steel grate with tines on edge similar to a river jet. Hope the info helps.

 

[topvolts]

Caught an edge below Calgary in sept. I found that getting under boat and than cracking thotttle wide open can help to limit hull damage!

 

[sxipro02]

I and another local member have done the rhino liner thing. He rhino lined a sxr lower hull and liked it. Ski still barrel rolls off boat waves without issues. The weight added isnt much and honestly cant tell when riding it. I did mine myself using dupont roll on bed liner. It has a bit of texture like rhino but nothing too bad, I removed most of the heavy texture while rolling it on and sanded all the texture off about 3' in front of the intake grate so cavitation wouldnt be a issue. It didnt add much weight to my ski and the only draw back is getting it off the trailer the first few times. It sticks pretty good on carpet. It is also very easy to touch up with the spray can. I like it.

 

[aytee]

you guys put way too many give a hoots into the bottom of your hulls.. first off "rhino liner" is a trademarked brand name... much the same as "line-x"... some bed liners can be thinned and sprayed at different pressures to achieve a much smoother finish.. but the problem with all of them, they are only as strong as their substrate.. it won't add any strength to the hull, just add abrasive resistance... but will also add a non slip surface to the bottom, so have fun trying to move it anywhere without actually lifting it..

 

[rapiddarby]

I've been revisiting this idea lately... I think the donor hull is a good idea and I've always wondered how I could make a plastic shell the exact dimensions to fit over the hull with a small layer of foam in between for absorbing some impact . I am a white water kayaker so I've always wondered how I could mold an exact hull out of the same material used in a white water boat - VERY durable. I know the sucking up a rock thing is always an issue, but if I'm not as worried about that as I am about impact with an unseen rock. I can avoid the shallows, but not sure about an unseen rock just under the surface.

 

[Vortex]

I've been revisiting this idea lately... I think the donor hull is a good idea and I've always wondered how I could make a plastic shell the exact dimensions to fit over the hull with a small layer of foam in between for absorbing some impact . I am a white water kayaker so I've always wondered how I could mold an exact hull out of the same material used in a white water boat - VERY durable. I know the sucking up a rock thing is always an issue, but if I'm not as worried about that as I am about impact with an unseen rock. I can avoid the shallows, but not sure about an unseen rock just under the surface.

Get a free form factory hull, they have a video of it being smashed with a sledge hammer with no cracking.

 

[Quinc]

Lawlor posted his hull for sale on FB for 3500$

 

[Storbeck]

Aluminum seems to hold up pretty well on these little jet boats.

I would pay particular attention to what they do for the intake grate