Folbot deck waterproofing

[RangerTim]

Folbot deck waterproofing

I have an early 2000s blue GII that had little if any of the waterproof coating on the deck underside. Odd, because the deck fabric still has most of its color so UV degradation is unlikely. Did this boat come this way from the factory? Was the undercoating misapplied by the vendor and lost its grip? I'll never know. I have not seen this before and own many Folbots.

If my use of this boat were only paddling I would not care much but I am outfitting this as a sailboat (previous owner had installed Balogh rig). Waves will regularly wash over the deck.

303 Fabric, Scotchguard, and other products will waterproof fabric temporarily. I wanted something more permanent. I found a product that seems to work.

Texsport Polyurethane Waterproofing Seam Sealer comes in a 14 ounce aerosol can. It is made in Korea. It is expensive at about $14/can. I used almost 6 cans for four coats. That may have been overkill as the manufacturer recommends two coats. I have lots to spare as I bought a case of 20 cans, at much less than $14 per can, direct from Texsport. I figure I can use it to revive some worn Folbot storage bags and a tent fly or two.

The cans have been sitting around some warehouse for some time -- they are date stamped July 2014! The product seems fine and I had no problem with clogged nozzles or running out of propellant before product. The spray pattern is flat and mostly precise. For spraying the first side I carefully masked off the unzipped zippers and the washboard rope. From then on I did not bother.

I thought I might need to turn the skin inside out to reach the areas far forward and aft. This would mean removing the bow and stern castings and the ramming strips. Were this an Aleut or a Yukon that would be the case. The GII zippers allow access.

For those hard-to-reach areas, after spraying most of the deck underside with the skin flat on a tarp, I used the frame halves and the seat straps to hold the skin open. The frame halves were inserted into the skin but not joined. They were pulled toward each other several inches to create gaps forward and aft. The washboards were installed and seat strap buckles joined to hold the skin up on the frame halves. I made sure to spray those bow and stern areas with a mostly-full can so that the can could be tilted.

So far so good. The deck underside feels like that of my other Folbots but tougher. The coating did not shrink the skin, which I was worried about. Durability? Only time will tell but surely this coating will last longer than 303 Fabric or Scotchguard.

[JohnSand]

Thanks for the review!

[Yates]

I would be interested in a post use review

[RangerTim]

I had the boat out sailing a couple of times before the water became too cold for me. So far so good. The deck shed the overwash.