Calling all builders! Defender Industries a major materials supplier no long has polypropylene cloth available.

Apparently the manufacturer has decided it's no longer profitable to make.

I use this cloth on the stems and keel of my boats, wet-out with epoxy, for abrasion protection. I also use it on paddle edges. It is an excellent material, easy to work with, takes a lot of abuse and lasts a long time. Best of all it wets-out translucent which makes it almost invisible.

The current replacements are Dynel© and Zynole© which work well for abrasion protection but wet-out opaque, white, ugly!

As you probably know fiberglass cloth is not good at abrasion resistance.

I have recommended use of polypropylene in my plans so, builders warning, you can not find it.

I've searched the net to see if there are any other sources but have not been successful in locating any.

If anyone out there knows of a source I would be grateful to hear of it, because I'm pretty depressed to see such a good material disappear.

What are others using for stem and keel protection?

All the best,
Rob

The stern stem of the kayak in the photo below has polypropylene on the edge below the lower dark stripe, extending 5' up the keel. Can you see it? If it was Dynel it would stick out like a sore thumb!