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poly vs slick bottom

lgower

lgower

Well-known member
cant decide wich way to go, I have a 12 ft alumn deck over, hear good and bad of both,what are most guys running on alumn deckovers and why,thanks for the help, Lee
 
not that I am a pro but these are the considerations that I have mulled over on my new hull. My biggest factors were weight and cost. Steelflex 2000 is going to cost me about 300 bucks (sandblasting and painting) where as poly would have cost me over 1000. After seeing my buddies brand new sled take a rock dent over a foot wide on its maiden voyage poly could quickly pay for itself in what it saves you in hull repair. Another buddy has a 12 foot sled with an O-540 and the poly bottom just makes that boat slide across the grass its mean :twisted: .

poly- better protection for your hull, slower in open water, much heavier and more expensive, labor intensive, get stuck less, lots of holes in your hull.

slick - much much much cheaper, even with sandblasting or prepping hull application and labor time is just a few hours, little to no protection from hard objects, virtually weightless, no screw/bolt holes, must be reapplied every so often.
 
If you stick to Everglades grass...go with SteelFlex. You live in the Tampa Bay area...one trip north of Hwy. 60. + one oyster bar.....you'll wish you had poly. If you run much at night....poly will keep you afloat. But, then again, poly is NOT as fast as slick bottom that is PROPERLY applied. Decisions, decisions, decisions.....
 
why is the poly slower in the water, what about running in skinny water and grassy areas
 
poly is not as smooth as slick and it weighs more.If there is any rocks or stumps poly is the way to go.My poly has survived coming of the trailer and running down the road a 50MPH.
 
OVER BUDGET":2ohfqxib said:
.My poly has survived coming of the trailer and running down the road a 50MPH.
Click to expand...

my friend who is helping put my new diamondback together finished a 14' x 8 tuned 383 sled a little over a year ago(easily a $35,000 boat). Second trip out we were coming home running 75 mph and the strap broke. Boat slid down the highway dead straight was fired up and drivin off the road and up onto the trailer all on steelflex. Not even a scratch in the steelflex NOT ONE. Amazing stuff when applied properly.. however had his boat hit the side of the road and ran over a stump or a rock it might have been a different story :lol:
On that topic however how much poly did you loose from that little road trip? I here so many mixed opinions on how long poly lasts.
 
jpatter123":3n46vo2o said:
we were coming home running 75 mph and the strap broke. Boat slid down the highway dead straight
Click to expand...
This is why I always tie my lead rope around the trailer and back to my rigging as an added precaution.
The thought of seeing my boat flipping down the road in my rear view mirror is not a pleasant one

This is a pic of a boat that came off of a trailer on Hwy 60. It was posted by Roger.
Robbie_s_Accident_014.jpg
 
people say the top deck has to come of to install the poly,they would use buck rivets, not so sure I like the idea of taking my hull apart, might have to go with the steel flex and then a few layers of spit.
 
Poly if you do it your self less than 500
I put 1/4 inch thick 12'x6' UHMW sheet stainless 1/4 20 flat heads and lock nuts w washers
I been running it for just over 2 years out lasted 3 dd small blocks run ( hard ) almost every week end all but for 4 months of the year.
I do believe i would have a hole in my boat if not for the poly, Old dock post It did crack the hull a little but no leak no hole.
 
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