Durabak, Line-X or Rhino Liner???

B

Beartrack

New member
I typed this up once and on "Submit", lost it so let's try again. :-)

I'm looking into getting the cockpit linered. This is to help seal a few stress fractures in the surface to help prevent any water from getting into the core (after I have the current gas tank cleat holes repaired later this week for the water damage I found there several days back), plus to dress the cockpit up a bit. So I want to go in some color other than black, probably light grey or tan.

I'm looking so far into either Durabak, Rhino Liner or Line-X and while I did a search on this site, so far I can only find references to folks that planned on using one of them on their boat, but none that reported back on it later. So since they are a pricey step (the Line-X and Rhino both run about $1,000 to $1,500) I was hoping to get some input beforehand from folks up here on the site.

Here's what I've found so far in my research:

Durabak:
Pros: Can apply it yourself; Comes in a wide variety of colors; Can repair it yourself if needed; Comes in both smooth and non-skid versions
Cons: Having used in on a truck bed myself, I know it tends to go on very thin, even after 3 coats; Also not sure how well it actually waterproofs the surface as it seemed a bit porous on my truck bed and because of that not sure how stain-resistant it would be

Rhino Liner:
Pros: Softest on the feet; Comes in colors, They have a new mix called SolarMax that's supposed to be extremely UV- and fade-resistant that's not supposed to need any top-coat for UV protection; they also went to a Nation-wide warranty program
Cons: Expensive; their warranty apparently only covers application on truck beds and is not covered when it's applied on a boat!

Line-X:
Pros: Comes in colors, They have a new mix called Xtra that's also supposed to be super UV- and fade-resistant that's not supposed to need any top-coat for UV protection
Cons: Expensive; their warranty apparently only covers application on truck beds and is not covered when it's applied on a boat! Many of their shops only spray black so you have to go to one of their "Master Shops" to get it in any colors at all

Anyone had experiences with any of these 3 in their boats yet? Thanks for any info!
 
Wow, I was surprised to read Rhino won't warranty on a boat! I've lined my 2 truckbeds with Rhino and sons knocked a hole in the first truck bed clear through the metal -- they fixed it immediately under warranty -- wonder if that's one shop to another's call whether they warranty. If not, I wouldn't have anyone do anything that's not covered! -- The outfit in Sherwood had pictures of boats they'd done...looked great! That's the only variety of the spray in liners I have experienced.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Caty
 
Have you looked into a product called Kiwi Grip? I am going to redo the non skid in the cockpit of my 19. My brother has redone the decks of two sailboats, one 22 and one 30 feet. He is very impressed. Don't know if it will meet your needs, but here is a link.

http://www.pachena.com/index.html

Robbi
 
I've had both Rhino and Line-X, and can say with lots of experience and time with both in truck beds that the Line-X is superior for truck beds over time. At least the products they were selling 3-10 years ago were.

With that said, I think Rhino would be more owner friendly in a boat if carefully applied. The Line-X feels like 80 grit sandpaper on your knees if you crawl around and it does NOT change it's characteristics over time. The Rhino, OTOH, loses it's initial "sticktion" (ability to keep things from sliding around) in a few months here in SoCal as the material hardens over time, but it keeps it's finish nicely and is easy to crawl on.

One caveat with Rhino; it's nicest (small closely spaced splats) finish is very spray operator dependent and a poorly or sloppily sprayed bed or boat will be that way for a long time!

Good luck

Don
 
Twin Vee [one of our boat lines] has been using Rhino Liner with the white U.V. topcoat for a couple years now . Its nice on the feet ,seems to hold up well , although our charter fishing customers have had to reapply topcoat after a hard season of fishing . It is expensive , but makes a good, soft, strong, flexible surface . I have one customer that lined a flats type boat 3 or 4 years ago . Its the base product with no color, with no topcoat [sort of a gold color] and is still in fine shape . Thats the oldest one I know of . I would not hesitate to apply it to my own boat .
Marc
 
Robbi":1hb4zbwz said:
Have you looked into a product called Kiwi Grip? I am going to redo the non skid in the cockpit of my 19. My brother has redone the decks of two sailboats, one 22 and one 30 feet. He is very impressed. Don't know if it will meet your needs, but here is a link.

http://www.pachena.com/index.html

Robbi
Click to expand...

Interesting stuff - wondering what the difference is between this and Durabak? I've sent them an email and will report back if they reply. I did notice in their FAQ section though that they state it isn't intended to provide a waterproof barrier:
"KiwiGrip is not formulated to be a waterproof barrier. Seams will need to be caulked and taped as appropriate, and a waterproof barrier laid down if needed, before KiwiGrip is applied." ... so it might not be the right product for me since I'm hoping to provide an additional level of protection from getting water down into the balsa core.
 
A friend of mine, Charles Culotta, esq I believe is one of the first people to use similar materials on his CHB 45. His experience is at:
http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta ... kleaks.pdf This was in 1999 Passagemaker, and I have been on Charle's boat several times.

There is a lot of information on Trawlers and Trawlering because of the problem with leaking teak and fiberglass decks on Taiwan boats.

One of the summeries by Martin Veiner on June 7 2004, included the following comments: "Do contact Danniello corp for a
product that you can apply, 888 370 4333."

"Ultra-Tuff, a water based nonskid and waterproof coating.....Application was easy with a roller and
water cleanup. It costs about $50/Gallon and the coverage is about 50 sq
ft (2 coats) per gallon. web site: http://www.ultratuff.net/

"I just finished an application of Durabak, a similar compound with the
same roll-on ease of application. Mine cost about $140/gallon, and
required xylene, a difficult to find solvent." (Xylene is available at most hardware stores).

"Ultra Tuff (Tuff Kote) collects dirt. The decks do not wash off
automatically with a rain shower or a rinse down. This coating stains very easily, so I am finding stains just about everywhere. Dark bird poop stains the coating. The longer it is on the boat, the greater it stains. After you wash it off, there is a kind of purple stain on the coating. This seems to fade with time, but it can be annoying."

Several people have also complained about staining with the water based products. From what I have seen on several boats and heard from others is that the truck bed liner is tougher, and a better sealant, but that if you want non skid, then the Durabak or Tuff Kote is good, but not as thick, cheaper and easier to apply. But there are reports of the Durabak also staining and one person felt it remained slightly "tacky" even after a year. But ther.e are reports that some folks have no stains with Durabak and stains with Line-X--so go figure.

What I have done with decks in the past, is to fill all cracks with epoxy, after "V" out with a Dremel tool. Then roll on a coat of thick epoxy primer. Then a coat of two part Sterling (Polyurethane) with glass beads suspended (to give the non skid) and a second coat of Sterling with no beads. The boat I did this on, was 20 years old when I did it, this finish has been on for 15 years and had one more coat of Sterling after 10 years. The coats of Sterling were rolled on with a short hair roller
 
I have Line-X in my truck bed. When I researched the liners it seemed to be the best. I heard that the Rhino stuff is soft and tears easy.

Scott
 
thataway":2l1pjd06 said:
A friend of mine, Charles Culotta, esq I believe is one of the first people to use similar materials on his CHB 45. His experience is at:
http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta ... kleaks.pdf. This was in 1999 Passagemaker, and I have been on Charle's boat several times.
Click to expand...

Hi Thataway! The link seems be broken - at least for me tonight. All I get is "Sorry, the page you requested was not found. " Any chance there might be a typo in there somewhere?
 
I had Rhino sprayed on the deck plates last year with the light grey color-- Looked great!--- within two weeks they had turned an awful, blotchy green color--- kinda reminded me of when I used to get sea-sick.
When I took them back, the applicator said "yea- thats what they do. You need to pay more money and I'll respray the color and add a UV blocker."
I told him that he never said anything about needing a UV blocker over spray. He said "If I did you wouldn't have had the work done."
I'll never use rhino again!!
That and it added about 30 pounds total to the decks.
 
Yea...That is an awful looking color...kinda makes me think about you getting sea sick.... Those deck plates are in my boat now..(salvage from Fishtales).... I covered em up with matting as the color is plenty awful.... I was amazed at the Rhino dealers response...they were so casual about "sure they faded" and "if you pay us another $300 we'll respray with the correct stuff"

I totally agree Rhino is a rip off....probably a good product.. jerks for dealers....

Joel
SEA3PO
 
You might want to check out Herculiner.
Redfox used it on his cockpit. It comes in a few colors.
You can do it yourself for a couple hundred or so. They recommend uv coating over black.
Might get a quart and try it on a scrap or something.
Most auto part stores stock black. Other colors can be ordered online.


JT
 
Had Line-X applied to our 16 Angler when new in 2004, we use the boat for Scuba in the Ocean, tanks, weight belts, spearguns, still looks new, non-slip, great surface. Ours is black. Used a do-it-yourself kit, "Herculiner", about a hundred bucks, on a tri-hull prior to the C-Dory and it was the best part of the old boat. I'm a believer, will use it on next boat. Don't know about weight, the kit was one gallon and less then 15 pounds, spray-on finish might be heavier, maybe 20 pounds.
 
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