: Bill, abrasion is also a function of pressure, at some point the slipperyness
: of a few mills of coating means less than the durability of the
: underlaying skin below the coating. When I look at the bottom of a kayak
: where there's substantial gouges it's because there was substantial force
: behind it and the gouge breaks the glass as the underlying wood compresses
: more than the glass.
: As long as all contact with rocks is a sliding motion then a low friction
: surface can help but when a kayak lands on a rough surface it's the glass
: skins ability to not compress AND the characteristic of the individual
: fibers to an abrading force that matters.

: I'd be curious to see tests that simulate sliding impacts with 250lbs of
: force across a sharp rock in order to see what is effective for
: durability. The damage I see isn't from dragging 45lbs of kayak over a log
: but 250lbs of kayak and paddler LANDING and sliding over a rock.

: Seems to me the kind of abrasion resistance that matters is the kind that
: protects against the most significant damage, sliding impacts that
: compress the underlying wood. I don't see resin coatings having as
: significant a factor as the weight and type of glass within the resin.

Well yes that's true to a point, but there are materials that resist damage better than others and for coatings too. That's the reason silica is added to the coating, makes the coating harder and more damage resistant, it certainly doesn't make it any easier to apply

Bill H.