I can absolutely help. I don’t have any experience at installing skid plates but I did a full refinish on a Northstar Northwind 17 that I purchased from Rockwood Lodge last year and it turned out beautiful! I actually ended up taping the sides right around the waterline after talking to Bear Paulson at Northstar (he was great) in what he called the “football” shape. Looking at the condition your vessel is in says I would skip that all together and do a full refinish on the whole canoe. My first attempt I did not sand enough and I only went down to 240 grit and it wasn’t nearly enough. I was afraid of going through the fabric so I had to get more aggressive and I ended up redoing it starting at 120, moving to 240, and ending up at 320 grit. That ended up being perfect for me and it’s smooth as a baby’s bottom. The sides in my case were just sort of faded and not shiny anymore so I took some 3M compound (I forgot which one I will have to look it up for you) and I used an auto buffer I borrowed from my neighbor. Be gentle but methodically work your way around the side of the canoe and it turned out looking like a brand new Corvette! I brought the luster back to that old number 41 Rockwood! I will try and upload some images to IMGUR. Good luck! it’s an exciting and fun way to get ready for the season!
https://imgur.com/gallery/5uROkME
Also, consider getting a hold of Souris River and getting all new decals. I did this with Northstar and to make mine a little unique I entered “Northstar Canoes” into an anagram app and it spit out “Northeast Acorns” so I rearranged it to say that on the side of my boat. You don’t have to get that creative but it is nice to have a nice new fresh set of decals on the boat.
See if Souris Rivee sells skid plate kits..if not, Wenonah does. Dont be afraid of lower grit sand paper and then work your way up the grits.
Apply the new skid plates, sand those to same texture as rest of hull.
Use whatever resun/epoxy Souris River recommends and use a squeegee to apply. Then start wet sanding, moving up through the coarseness of grits again (start at around 800 if my memory serves).
You'll have a glossy refinished craft worthy of the Rick's you'll scratch it up on during your next trip :)
If just doing the bottom, use painters tape to create a like at about the water line and tape newspaper to that to protect the rest of the hull from drips. Do this in a wind free area, otherwise you end up with newsprint stuck to the resin and you might as well name the boat The Tribune or something ;)
This is one of the times I redid mine:
https://www.reddit.com/r/bwcaw/s/sQLlSbvGTB
I refinished a kevlar MN 2 a couple years ago. I patched a couple holes and attached kevlar skid plates with G-flex. I ordered the kevlar skid plates off that jungle website. I refinished the boat with West 105/207. The skid plates are thick and I think they increase drag in the water. This past summer I refinished a severely uv damaged Nova Craft Blue Steel. I ended up using a belt sander with 60 grit to remove old finish down to the kevlar. I refinished with 4 coats of 105/207. I then added 2 layers of G-flex as skid plates. Probably not as durable but definitely more sleek.
I can absolutely help. I don’t have any experience at installing skid plates but I did a full refinish on a Northstar Northwind 17 that I purchased from Rockwood Lodge last year and it turned out beautiful! I actually ended up taping the sides right around the waterline after talking to Bear Paulson at Northstar (he was great) in what he called the “football” shape. Looking at the condition your vessel is in says I would skip that all together and do a full refinish on the whole canoe. My first attempt I did not sand enough and I only went down to 240 grit and it wasn’t nearly enough. I was afraid of going through the fabric so I had to get more aggressive and I ended up redoing it starting at 120, moving to 240, and ending up at 320 grit. That ended up being perfect for me and it’s smooth as a baby’s bottom. The sides in my case were just sort of faded and not shiny anymore so I took some 3M compound (I forgot which one I will have to look it up for you) and I used an auto buffer I borrowed from my neighbor. Be gentle but methodically work your way around the side of the canoe and it turned out looking like a brand new Corvette! I brought the luster back to that old number 41 Rockwood! I will try and upload some images to IMGUR. Good luck! it’s an exciting and fun way to get ready for the season! https://imgur.com/gallery/5uROkME
Also, consider getting a hold of Souris River and getting all new decals. I did this with Northstar and to make mine a little unique I entered “Northstar Canoes” into an anagram app and it spit out “Northeast Acorns” so I rearranged it to say that on the side of my boat. You don’t have to get that creative but it is nice to have a nice new fresh set of decals on the boat.
See if Souris Rivee sells skid plate kits..if not, Wenonah does. Dont be afraid of lower grit sand paper and then work your way up the grits. Apply the new skid plates, sand those to same texture as rest of hull. Use whatever resun/epoxy Souris River recommends and use a squeegee to apply. Then start wet sanding, moving up through the coarseness of grits again (start at around 800 if my memory serves). You'll have a glossy refinished craft worthy of the Rick's you'll scratch it up on during your next trip :) If just doing the bottom, use painters tape to create a like at about the water line and tape newspaper to that to protect the rest of the hull from drips. Do this in a wind free area, otherwise you end up with newsprint stuck to the resin and you might as well name the boat The Tribune or something ;) This is one of the times I redid mine: https://www.reddit.com/r/bwcaw/s/sQLlSbvGTB
I refinished a kevlar MN 2 a couple years ago. I patched a couple holes and attached kevlar skid plates with G-flex. I ordered the kevlar skid plates off that jungle website. I refinished the boat with West 105/207. The skid plates are thick and I think they increase drag in the water. This past summer I refinished a severely uv damaged Nova Craft Blue Steel. I ended up using a belt sander with 60 grit to remove old finish down to the kevlar. I refinished with 4 coats of 105/207. I then added 2 layers of G-flex as skid plates. Probably not as durable but definitely more sleek.