improvised worm shoe

[Stan Derelian]

Has anyone ever heard of using a coating of epoxy on the bottom of the keel as a worm shoe? I'm not talking about the usual West goop, but something like "Splash Zone"--a Z-Spar product. I have used it on hull gouges in wood, and to cover leaking rivets in an aluminum skiff. Stuff sticks like nothing else, and hasn't deteriorated after 20 years underwater so I was wondering about it for an easily applied worm shoe. Anyone with more experience with this stuff?

[Frank Wentzel]

Stan

Epoxy, or any other coating that will adhere will work until you get a scrape from running aground or whatever. Then the bare wood will be attacked. It doesn't take much of an opening for them to get in. Standard bottom paint was formulated specifically for worms and barnacles but worms still get through whenever there are abraded areas that offer the exposure of bare wood. A worm-shoe of a hard, abrasion resistant wood (possibly with a coating of bottom paint on both faying surfaces) will offer much more reliable protection.

/// Frank ///