Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
When you wax your hull, what you are doing is filling and smoothing gaps in your paint, and wax actually is designed to repel water which is why it causes the boat to slow down.
In a wet situation, a slick surface is what you want. When you don't wax your hull, the hull will grab and hold water, which when the boat moves along, it slides along the wetted surface of the hull. When you wax the hull, the hull will not hold the water, thus you create a slower running surface which has a higher friction content....thus...a slower hull.
on applications such as what we run, there would be a very minute difference in the top end speed of the hull. If you got 1/10 mph you'd be doing really well.
This is also why in high speed applications (racing) they will sand the hull because it increases the "grabbing" characteristics of water.
Think of it this way. In winter, you need grip....you want snow in the sipes of a tire to help grab the snow on the ground for traction. But...what happens when you start sliding? You slide very easy because you create a very thin layer of water as you slide due to heat friction, much like an ice skate does...
When waxing skis, you are increasing the friction between the snow and the ski, which heats the snow just enough creating a very thin layer of water, which will then slide across the snow easier.
So...in a nutshell, to get the most efficiency out of your boat regardless of size, DO NOT wax the underside of the hull.
Steve
|
