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UHMW Bottom Protection The UHMW skid shoe is the best thing that has ever happened to the wooden drift boat. Ultra high molecular weight plastic (UHMW) was designed as an abrasion resistant surface for use in the lumber industry. Chains and conveyors ride on this material, outlasting steel in that application. Attached to wooden drift boats, this slick stuff makes your boat impervious to the abrasion of river rock and gravel bars. The first time I put UHMW on a boat I slipped it off the trailer, leaving it on a concrete launching ramp. I left to move the trailer and when I looked back it had started sliding down the ramp so fast I had to turn and run after it. The skid shoe is attached to the bottom of the boat with stainless steel screws. The same simple tools used to build the boat are used. The plywood boat bottom is properly sealed before the UHMW goes on, eliminating any moisture problems. The water that enters between two layers when you're on the river will flow out again when you drain your boat on the ramp. No caulking or sealer is used between the UHMW and the boat, as nothing will stick to UHMW. We recommend UHMW for all boats twelve foot long and greater. We sell four foot wide by ten foot long (five foot wide for the seventeen foot and larger drift boats) sheets of brown UHMW. There is enough to cover the whole bottom on a twelve or fourteen footer, and nearly enough for the sixteen through seventeen and one half models. The UHMW for those models fits from the forward-most frame (the knee brace frame) all the way back under the transom. The cutting scraps generated from cutting out the silhouette of the bottom must be used on the last foot or two under the transom area behind the main sheet. A UHMW piece to fit forward of the knee brace rib called a "front triangle" is available if desired, for total bottom coverage. Two pages of instructions and enough stainless screws to do the job are included to install UHMW. The UHMW "kit" also includes two 10-foot strips to cap off the edges of the plastic. These are screwed to the chine battens (the oak strip on the very lowest edge of the side). Extra strips, if desired, beyond the two which come with the "kit" are sold separately. The addition of one extra (optional) strip will completely cover the chine batten. Please Note: Full sheets of UHMW are too large to be sent by UPS and instead must be consigned to a freight company. Therefore, it is rarely economical to ship a UHMW sheet unless it is being included with a full driftboat kit. UHMW kit for 12, 14, 16'...................$275  UHMW kit for 17' & 17 1/2' .............$300 Extra 10' UHMW strips (each)...........$12  "Front triangle"....................................$29  Anchor bangplate.................................$19 To order call (541)746-5287 or e-mail at: mckenzie@gregboats.com

To order call (541)746-5287 or fax at (541) 744-2190 or e-mail at mckenzie@gregboats.com