Boat before and after Gatorhyde

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SlugSlinger

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The previous owner like docks I guess. The decals on both sides were scuffed up pretty bad and one side had a couple small dings.

This is an aluminum boat and the is formed on a press. So there are form and weld marks that are tried to be hidden with the decals.

The interior was sprayed from the factory with Linex. It’s a rougher and harder surface than Gatorhyde. I like the Gatorhyde and have used it for years on lots of stuff. I’ve had off-road bumpers and rock sliders that I fabbed sprayed and of course truck beds. Gatorhyde is tuff and won’t rip you open if you scuff yourself on it.

These are the guys who invented Gatorhyde and have been spraying it since development. They are the best at spraying Gatorhyde, period.

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

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SlugSlinger

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Wagoner Gatorhyde is the only place I will have it done.

They moved to a new location a few years ago and it caught on fire at some point. They were down for a while but now up and going strong.

Jerry is the owner. He’s a great guy to deal with.
 

dennishoddy

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So, this gator hide is your new outer hull? It looks rough to me like orange peel. Maybe it's the pics?
Have you ran it before and after to get an idea if the coating helped or hurt your top speed?
Curious because we have an aluminum hull boat that the stickers are peeling off and looking like crap.
Been looking for a new idea to fix this issue.
 

SlugSlinger

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I asked them to matched the texture of the factory Linex inside the boat. It’s very close, but the Gatorhyde coverage is better and and has a constant thickness. There is a texture, more than orange peel, but it’s a smoother/less abrasive texture than the Linex. It looks like it’s about 1/8” thick at the edge.
I asked them to stop at the bottom edge of the body line about half way down. The edge of the Gatorhyde is essentially hidden under the formed aluminum body line. The boat is designed to sit rather shallow, especially with the floatation pods on the transom. The Gatorhyde is above the water line, even when not on plane. So it does not change the performance due to not contacting the water.

They can paint it any color. I took a storage lid from the boat to Oreillys and they scanned and matched the color and gave me the paint code. Gatorhyde uses Oreillys single stage urethane paint. They spray it directly after spraying the Gatorhyde and before it cures. The Gatorhyde is a type of polyurea. The urethane paint soaks into and chemically bonds to the Gatorhyde. The color does not scratch off.

I would like to know if it would change the performance of a boat when used below the water line. There was a documentary a few years back about the skin of sharks and how it’s not smooth. The rougher texture helps break the surface tension of the water and the shark can swim faster with less energy because of it. I wonder if the same thing would apply to a boat with this coating.
 

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