> Has anyone experimented with putting reflective material on their boats? I
> would think that it would be possible to work something into the lines of
> the boat so that it wouldn't be too disconcerting to the wood. Would it be
> possible to epoxy over reflective tape and still have the reflective
> properties work? (I know that test strips would answer the question, but
> if anyone has done it, I would love to know.)

Before the advent of video there existed home movies. Experimenters could make their own 'high gain', or highly reflective, movie screens by painting a panel with white enamel, and then, before the paint dried, dusting the surfacw with handfulls of tiny glass beads, or microspheres. A layer would stick to the paint, and after the paint dried, the excess could be shaken off and used on another screen. The tiny glass spheres acted as microscopic lenses collecting the light that hit them, and concentrating it so that most of it reflected back in the same direction it came from. 15 years ago I saw a similar product being sold by 3M.

The thought occurs to me that many people are using microballoons to make their resin more viscous. If these microballoons work in the smae fashion as the old glass beads, then many builders would already have the materials in hand to make high-reflective areas on paddles, decks or hulls. Regrettably I do not use these materials myself, but if anyone has a chance to try a panel or two I'd be interested in hearing the results.

If these materials work -- and I'm not sure they will -- then the next question is whether they must be right on the surface, or if you can paint over them with a clear layer of epoxy or varnish, and still have the enhanced reflection. It seems to me that if this was the case it would have been noticed a long time ago that seams and joints filled with thickened resin reflected light better than the rest of the boat. Then again, you might need to put the beads/microballoons on top of a white surface.

I propose this as an experiment for anyone with the materials on hand, and a few minutes to kill: make a panel of cardboard or plywood about 1 by 2 feet. paint it white, and cover a 1 foot square area with some microballoons shaken on lightly. You might mask the other half with a sheet of paper. When it dries, shake off the excess microballoons, wait until night, and then get a friend to hike about 100 yards down the street. Sit in your car with the headlights on and see if the board is more reflective on half the board, or not. If it works right it should look like one of those highly reflective street signs. You may need to move closer, or further away, as the effect ( if any) may be best seen at some particular distance. Be careful you and your friend don't get tangled up with other traffic. You dont want to get into an accident.

Just a thought. If anyone tries it, I'd like to hear about the results. Thanks.

Paul Jacobson