Does waxing the hull make the canoe slower?

[Idiot Savant]

I sent a friend an email about Graphene wax, suggesting he use it on his hull to make it faster.
He replied that he'd heard wax makes a boat slower.
I thought I might have heard that too, at one time, so I decided to look into it.
Seems that power boat racers do think that wax does make a boat slower and, in fact, some scuff up the hull with sandpaper.
I was wondering where you canoe racer types fall on this subject?

 

[lowangle al]

I always wax my w/c boats. I don't know if makes them faster in the water, but it sure makes them slide easier on land.

I think Northstar Canoes also says wax makes a boat slower. They recommend marine protectant 303 for their boats.

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

Seems that power boat racers do think that wax does make a boat slower and, in fact, some scuff up the hull with sandpaper.

That is for “traction” when balancing the boat on the pad at above chine walk speeds- 70+mph depending on hull design. It isn’t speed related. I was into fast boats in my younger years.

Bob

 

[Clint]

If makes you happy and you feel that it works better then go for it.

 

[Idiot Savant]

I just came across a rowing shell website that says the fastest thing to put on the hull bottom is nothing.
But for protection, wax is best. At least on composite boats.
Does 303 slow the boat down?
Apparently Northstar doesn't think so, but is there any data to support that?
I guess it comes down to whether it's more important to you to go fast or protect your hull.

 

[Jim Dodd]

I have no way to prove, but the hulls I coated the bottoms, with sanded graphite/epoxy coating, seemed faster.
I never waxed a hull, as I didn't want any contaminates to deal with, if I needed to recoat with varnish.

Jim

 

[stripperguy]

It all depends on the velocity of the hull in the water.
Purely laminar flow will result in thicker boundary layers and more losses.
At paddling speeds, you’re better served to have as smooth and slippery a surface as possible.
Look at the racing sailboats that have displacement hulls to see what wins…those hulls are meticulously waxed.

 

[Idiot Savant]

I have no way to prove, but the hulls I coated the bottoms, with sanded graphite/epoxy coating, seemed faster.
I never waxed a hull, as I didn't want any contaminates to deal with, if I needed to recoat with varnish.

Jim

Do you sand it really smooth, with fine grain, or rough with course grain?

 

[Alan Gage]

If you're not racing it doesn't matter. Even if you were racing it wouldn't matter unless you were at the top of your game.

Alan

 

[Mason]

Back in my racing days, we'd put hydrophilic wax forward, and hydrophobic wax aft. Sitting still, the boat would slowly creep forward on its own.

 

[Idiot Savant]

I went to the best source I could think of, Epic kayaks and Greg Barton.
In the FAQ section he answers the question about whether you should wax your kayak.
In a nutshell, the hull should be as clean and smooth as possible.
Waxing probably only helps if it helps keep the bottom clean.
Waxing probably doesn't slow the boat any and it protects the hull, so I'd say use it.

 

[Alasgun]

And then there’s “the riblet technique”? 3M developed a hull paint for use by America cup contestants that gave them an advantage and it appeared (to me) to replicate the riblet patterns on the nose of some Submarines. Apparently this series of very fine lines at 90 deg to the axis worked like shark skin, giving higher possible speed.

It all-ready sound‘s like there’s some real scientist in this conversation so take this with a grain of salt. I do know that when the water surface has that little bit of wind created chatter, i could achieve higher top speed than on glass, flat water, in the C-dory.

 

[lowangle al]

The other benefits to waxing, like uv protection and making cleaning the hull easier outweigh any negative effect on speed IMO.

I have used the 303 on my Seliga, and so far I'm not impressed. It seems that I can't feel it a day after I put it on. Wax, on the other hand seems to last weeks. That being said, I'm still going to use the 303 on the Selga. Mostly because of Tom Bells recommendation but also because I spent 30 bucks on it. I need to find other uses for it or it will last a lifetime.

 

[Idiot Savant]

Based on my research and what I've learned here, I'm going to use 303 on my inflatables and Graphene wax on my composite boats.
Hard shell plastic boats are a bit of a question mark, but I'm inclined to use the Graphene wax on them too.
If you had a Bentley, you'd wax it. Wax is good stuff.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Sanding the graphite/epoxy mix is not a fun task. Messy, and it takes sometime. I used no less finer than 100 grit.

Do you sand it really smooth, with fine grain, or rough with course grain?

 

[MrPoling]

Based on my research and what I've learned here, I'm going to use 303 on my inflatables and Graphene wax on my composite boats.
Hard shell plastic boats are a bit of a question mark, but I'm inclined to use the Graphene wax on them too.
If you had a Bentley, you'd wax it. Wax is good stuff.

My opinion is, unless you're racing, preserving your canoe is more important than a the minor speed. The chemistry behind this is complicated, so I tend to go with manufacturers recommendations. Wenonah recommends wax, which makes sense on their composites. Esquif recommends washing with dish detergent, which makes sense for their T-formex, and other plastics that might soften from wax.

If the canoe is left outside all the time I'd want something to protect it from UV, but I'd be inclined towards 303 rather than wax.

 

[ScottS]

You can make up for the wax by taking more steroids, if that .05 mph is all that important.

 

[yknpdlr]

You can make up for the wax by taking more steroids, if that .05 mph is all that important.

An average sped difference of as little as .05 mph can make the difference of more than an hour finish over the distance of the 1000 mile Yukon River canoe race. Doesn't sound like much but it can mean the difference of a couple of thousand dollars in prize money for the place. Other iintelligent factors make even more difference. I have been there and experienced the result. Just a little extra effort is well worth it. We use 303.

 

[lowangle al]

Yknpdlr, how often do you reapply the 303? I wouldn't think it would last long with all of the abrasive silt in the Yukon.

 

[yknpdlr]

Yknpdlr, how often do you reapply the 303? I wouldn't think it would last long with all of the abrasive silt in the Yukon.

it would be pretty difficult to reapply anything during the race. It's not like there is a lot of free time when you paddle up to the rules max allowed of 18 hours a day on the water. So the answer is we give the canoe a good rub down with 303 before the start, and tweak seats and gear and spray covers and everything else to make life a little easier and efficient. One year we rented a carbon canoe had been left out in the weather for a long time, and the surface was more than a little rough before we got to it and so we spent a fortune using multiple 303 bottles. The sandpaper-like sound of silt in the river current could only improve the surface.