steel flex or a bed liner?

[kendogg619]

Hi noob here , im looking to start a resto on a 1973 12ft seaking jon boat and am wanting to coat the bottom.I have been hearing alot about steel flex. what about diy bed liners? i want somthing that will not only keep it sealed but also help reduce the damage from rocks and stuff when dragging over a sand bar or somthing. this is mainly a river boat. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[cva34]

Steel flex is slick coating I just put ULTRA TUFF; Tuff Coat on inside my boat..(i call it bedliner for boats)its probably tuff enough for the outside bottem but the Rough texture would sure Slow the boat down on water...I have never used steel flex but I would say its the better choice of the 2, for outside boat...cva34

 

[kendogg619]

i have seen "slick" bedliners, but i havnt heard of too many people using it for this purpose. thanks for the insight.

 

[BigTerp]

I've never used steel flex but many guys on here have and say it's a good for a "slick bottom" but doesn't hold up well to dings or beachings. I've actually been considering Wetlander for the bottom of my 16 footer. Haven't seen many reviews of it on here, but it looks to be a promising product.

 

[Windman7]

I used a DIY bed liner on the inside of a trailer used for wind surfing gear. It chips and hasn't held up very well. In hindsight, I wish I had paid for a professional job.

There are some good epoxy coatings for the hulls of boats on the market. It seems like they would be a good solution.

 

[MrSimon]

In my opinion, the best thing you can do for your hull is to make sure all the rivets are tight and leave it bare.

Leaks are almost always because of leaky rivets that can be replaced easily and cheaply.

Aluminum is tough stuff and will take a LOT of punishment. It doesn't need to be coated.

If you put bedliner or whatever on your boat, you'll eventually end up removing it for one reason or another .... and its a pain. Bedliner is also quite heavy, will chip on rocks, and can hold moisture against your hull causing corrosion.

There is a reason why new boats come bare or with only a coat of paint.