Durable, but way too heavy.

Laszlo

There was a company who built custom river dories for fly fishing out West that used truck bed paint in the bilge of their dories. I don't remember the name of the company but the boats were works of art.

I remember reading somewhere online about a couple who had truck bed liner applied to the bottom of their kayaks - resisted scratching for years, but I think it did add weight.  Don't remember where I found the post though, and can't seem to find it again. 

I am getting ready to do roll-on bedliner to an old Mill Creek 16.5.  Luckily it's a rough old boat I bought of Craigslist for fairly cheap so I figure it won't hurt to experiment a little.  Around here there's lots of rough jagged basal, often lurking just under the surface waiting to gouge the hull.  

. . .rough jagged rock is basalt in the above post, typo correction :-)

Thanks everyone.  I am still trying to decided how I'm finishing the interior of the boat which is an MC 16.5.  Since it is such a large cockpit that you can actually stand up in, I thiought the bed liner would provide some traction.  I definitely don't want to add a lot of extra weight.

If you are primarily worried about traction, the other thing you could consider is a traction additive in the paint/varnish.  Depending on the type of paint or varnish you are applying, the manufacturer often has an additive to achieve a non-skid surface.  I did not do this, but for example, I used System Three WR-LPU for my kayak, and they have a System Three Non-Skid Additive that is clear polycarbonate plastic (lightweight).  You paint the area, and broadcast the little pellets on the wet paint, then apply an anchor coat over top.  I'm sure other manufacturers have similar products.

I have Interlux Brightsides for the hull and Interlux Schooner varnish (not Schooner Gold).  I am going to paint the interior, but have not bought that paint.

"There was a company who built custom river dories for fly fishing out West that used truck bed paint in the bilge of their dories. I don't remember the name of the company but the boats were works of art."

Here is the website. Worth looking at if only for inspiration IMHO.

http://www.montanaboatbuilders.com/index.htm

hi. i came across this post because i was also researching on what to do with my paint job. Been digging up some ideas and i find it amusing also that i have been seeing a lot more people opting for flat paint. it looks unique but i'm just not sure i can pull it off. my friend suggested this [url=http://www.jcwhitney.com/liquid-bed-liners/opel/c21228m66j1s19.jcwx]bed liner paint[/url] that he got online and said i should give it a try. hope anyone here can still give me feedback to a related concern. thanks

It's kind of expensive, but CLC sells non-skid liners for several of their boats.  One of these might be modified to fit your MC.  Or they sell a full sheet, 80"x40" for $158.00.  This is the most expensive way to go, which seems strange to me because they have not custom-cut it, just cut off a length.

It comes in 80x40 sheets from the manufacturer so there's no cutting at all.

On the other hand, for the precut kits, you're paying for a smaller amount of the liner plus a bit of labor to throw it onto the CNC machine that automatically cuts the shapes.

So the price difference come from the fact that you are getting much more of an expensive material uncut than if you'd order the pre-cut kit.

That liner, Sea Deck, is really good stuff, BTW. I used it on my schooner for the hold, the cockpit and the part of the deck where you're supposed to stand. It's quite comfortable to stand/sit/kneel on and not in the least slippery.

Laszlo (not a CLC employee)