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Non slip floor covering for our dog and for poling on Royalex?

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We have an active two year old dog who would likely be much calmer if she weren't sliding in the slick Royalex floor of our canoe and I'm toying with the idea of trying poling in the spring. Any thoughts on what would work without adding too much weight, absorbing water and still be fairly durable would be welcome. And maybe some sources, too?

Thanks and best regards to all,


Lance
 
Minicel exercise floor mats, the puzzle piece 2’ x 2” sheets from WallyWorld or Harbor Freight.

Six pieces for $10

If you cut it to fit between tightly between the inwales you won’t need to adhere it in place for the dog.

Poling, I dunno. I glued some in a canoe a poling friend borrowed for a year or so. He hated it.

Dogs seem to appreciate it, as least as a non-slip paw surface.
 
Second the non slip
workshop flooring
Put some pieces together jam
under gunwales after trimming to fit
Paddlers in Freestyle also use it for kneeling pads that way
There are usually two sides and one is waffled That may work better for your standing
 
There are several companies that offer kneeling pads for canoes. These are rectangular or T shaped mats, with a nonslip backing and a bit of padding and a water proof cover. Will work fine for dogs.
 
There are several companies that offer kneeling pads for canoes. These are rectangular or T shaped mats, with a nonslip backing and a bit of padding and a water proof cover. Will work fine for dogs.

I have probably gone through some three dozen pads. I used to teach canoeing. and all of them slide on RX. Fortunately most students had composite boats where the slide factor was much less. We found that the cheap workshop jam it under the gunwales solution worked well. If the pad was too floppy like the old Bell pads they would slide around and even the big ones jammed under the gunwales would not hold.

If you have any sort of mat a way to make it less slidy on RX is to try carpet gripper. Another for small areas ie the dog area is just to install a shower mat with suction feet.
Happy Holidays! Off to circumnavigate Boston today..:rolleyes:
 
Thanks again folks. Given how slick the Royalex is I like the shower mat idea.

I'm puttering around looking at minicel and seeing references to EVA Type T and Type L and densities from 2 to 6 pounds per cubic foot. Is this a case where outfitting can be done with one type and density or is there need for different types or densities for different uses? Right now I'm mostly concerned with the dog in the middle of the canoe but I may be looking to better outfit my kayaks, too.

I need to figure out why Firefox sends some alerts from the website to my mailbox and some wind up in the spam folder. I just found two of the responses to this thread in the spam folder and yet some have gotten to the mailbox....


Lance
 
I have probably gone through some three dozen pads. I used to teach canoeing. and all of them slide on RX. Fortunately most students had composite boats where the slide factor was much less. We found that the cheap workshop jam it under the gunwales solution worked well. If the pad was too floppy like the old Bell pads they would slide around and even the big ones jammed under the gunwales would not hold.

If you have any sort of mat a way to make it less slidy on RX is to try carpet gripper. Another for small areas ie the dog area is just to install a shower mat with suction feet.
Happy Holidays! Off to circumnavigate Boston today..:rolleyes:

That's a fair point about Royalex. I have only take my dog and used my pad in a strip-built fiberglass/epoxy canoe (where it tends to stay put).
 
Just wondering how well do these pads stay in place without adhesives when hulls are flipped over and portaged?
 
The puzzle piece exercise or shop flooring is usually 3/8” thick grey minicel, although I saw some at WallyWorld that was a sandwich of blue and grey and anti-slip textured on both sides, where the (? Less expensive) all-gray stuff is textured only on one side.

If intended for contact cementing down the single textured stuff would adhere better with a flat, flush surface glued down. The textured side, often a diamond plate or crosshatched grid pattern is more wear resistant than the smooth side, a good thing for paws and claws (or boots)

For kneeling purposes, at least with my knees, 3/8” thick isn’t enough for comfort.

Six 2’ x 2’ pieces of 3/8” thick minicel for $10 is a steal.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gold-s-G...Impact-EVA-Foam-Puzzle-Exercise-Mat/894829930
 
One thing missing is that you didn't say how big your dog is.
In my experience you don't need to overthink this. We just take the floor mats from the back of my wifes Kia Soul for our dog "Chestnut" in our Chestnut.
With a rubber backing they
give some cushioning and don't slip. Chestnut resized.jpg

Merry Christmas to all!

Bruce
 
For portaging I just glued in some knee pads of 1/2 in minicell for kneeling comfort
But if poling they are a tripping hazard
 
I don't know, Pook. Clearly that dog is a menace to society and is far too fierce to have out on public! :rolleyes:

Our dog, Rosie, is a tall and lean 50 pound red-tick American-English coonhound. She has very stout claws that grow very quickly. And they need trimmed every 2 weeks, 3 weeks tops, and they snag on looped carpet pile.

With the exception of our bathrooms our entire house has oak floors and the concrete garage and basement floors are power troweled to a really smooth surface. Her legs are long enough that she can only sit for a few seconds before her front legs start to slide out from under her since she sits so upright. She usually only sits on the throw rugs, area rugs and the padded mats in front of the kitchen sink and work benches. She'll often sit up on her haunches with her front paws off the ground rather than on the floor and slide.....

Epoxy painting the garage floor with a bit of traction additive helped there but I can't sand paint the canoe floor....

I think I'll order a couple packs of the gym mats Mike linked to. If needed, I have some super sticky hoop and loop tape I got from McMaster-Carr that has really aggressive adhesive on the back of the tape. A few dots of that stuff on the hull and mat should keep the mat from slipping too much and still allow me to remove them if desired.


Mike, do you have a preference as to what type of minicell to use for padding? I see M, L, and T.......

Best regards to all,


Lance
 
Last edited:
Mike, do you have a preference as to what type of minicell to use for padding? I see M, L, and T.......

No idea, I just buy the least expensive six sheet packs of grey exercise/shop flooring I can find. I guess it is EVA foam, which seems much the same as that thickness minicel, just a little more stiff. The embossed side would help with claw scuff resistance.

I have read that EVA is more UV resistant than minicel, but I have minicel that has been contact cemented to canoes for 10 years.

I like the Velcro idea for holding it in place.
 
We'll see how the velcro works and I'll post back. Likely be spring, though before we paddle enough to really see. We have a great week ahead of low 60s and sunny but we're heading to Pennsylvania and Maryland for a week the day after Christmas. If it's still that nice in 8-10 days we'll try to get some paddling in.

Best regards to all,


Lance
 
Mike, do you have a preference as to what type of minicell to use for padding? I see M, L, and T.......

I am curious about what the M, L and T mean myself. Where did you find those letter references/any idea what they mean?

Most of the actual grey minicel I have used seems much the same in terms of rigidity, compression and durability. The exceptions were a half bun of white minicel I bought used, which seems less compressible and more durable than the grey minicel I have typically used, and some 1” thick sheets of red minicel which is just the opposite; much softer, more compressible and sadly not very durable. I have torn the red stuff up with my boot heels. It is cushy comfy when I go barefoot through.

We'll see how the velcro works and I'll post back.

The issue may be how to glue the Velcro to the minicel surface. I would at least run a bead of some adhesive sealant, Plumber’s Goop or E-6000, around the perimeter of the Velcro on the minicel to help keep it from pulling free.

Same for the Velcro on the hull floor. The perimeter bead of adhesive sealant helps keep the edges firmly down, preventing water and grit infiltration underneath. I use a bead of perimeter sealant around everything that sits in bilge wet and grit; vinyl D-ring pads, minicel pads, etc.
 
I've always glued in kneeling pads in both Royalex and composite canoes. Never had anything special for a dog, but I might consider a suction cup bathtub mat.

I don't like minicell at all for flat pads in canoes (it's okay if carved into cups). It's too incompressible and slippery when wet. Neoprene (half inch) is less slippery and more cushioned. So is inexpensive Ensolite sleeping pad material, which I've used on many canoes.
 
I think all the solutions mentioned will work and I fully agree that dogs like secure footing in a canoe. I've always used two kneeling pads butted together...so I get to kneel on one and the dog has plenty of room to stretch out in both directions. For me regular kneeling pads with non-skid backing have worked fine even in Royalex boats. Per Odyssey's question I've found that in a solo canoe if you shove a T-pad rearward so it's a little more under the seat it will stay in place quite well for portaging even if the front sags a bit.
image.jpegimage.jpeg
 
Mike, sorry for the delay in responding. We're visiting our youngest son and his wife near Lancaster, PA and some of our other kids drove in from NY and NJ to visit so things have been hectic to say the least. And as usual, they now want lessons on stuff they grew up around but didn't pay attention to back then. Nancy has been passing on old family recipes and I had to show them a couple of styles of what is now called "artisan bread".....

20191227_160827.jpg

I'm still trying to school myself on the differences between the foams but, here goes....

Here's some info on Type-T (UV resistant EVA), note the assorted densities from (the more normal?) 2 pounds per cubic foot to 6 pounds per cubic foot.

https://www.foambymail.com/minicel-type-t-foam-sheet.html

https://www.thefoamfactory.com/closedcellfoam/minicel-type-t-foam.html

https://www.foamorder.com/foam/eva.html


And info on polyethylene foam:

https://www.foamorder.com/foam/polyethylene.html

We're leaving here Monday morning headed to Marriotsville, MD for the night. We have some time to kill so if you're home and can stand some company for a bit I'd love to be able to put a face and voice to the posts you've made. Freeland is right on our route.

Best regards to all,


Lance
 

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