Wetlander Slick Bottom for Boats
Wetlander is a very slick and durable boat bottom coating for shallow water boats, skiffs, and all flat bottom jon boats. And, it has great adhesion to both aluminum and fiberglass.
Wetlander is for serious outdoor sportsmen. Whether you’re hunting ducks out of a jon boat, pulling steelhead from a drift boat, tearing through backwaters in a mudboat, or slipping through hidden glades on an airboat, Wetlander can get you there better and faster. From the Pacific Northwest to the Florida panhandle, boaters need an easy to apply, hard and slippery bottom paint that allows their boats to get past any obstacle without fear of getting slowed down or stuck. With Wearlon Wetlander technology, you can make your boat better than it was before…
Better. Stronger. Faster.
Wetlander is being used by thousands of boaters and boat builders for 6 reasons:
1.) Super Slick: A picture is worth a thousand words:
Anti-Friction coating technology has seen major advances since the old school days of using “filler” methods to help decrease friction. The method of adding in fillers such as teflon dust, graphite powder, or free silicones and oils is truly a vacuum tube technology far down on the evolutionary scale of anti-friction coatings. Free silicones, waxes, soaps and oils bloom to the surface of coatings and quickly wear away with abrasion. Teflon and graphite dust offer minimal improvement against friction. Wetlander does not rely on fillers, but rather uses Wearlon patented technology wherein the entirety of the coating is extremely slick. Sprinkling graphite dust on Wetlander would be like sprinkling it on ice: it would only slow you down.
2.) Durable: Wetlander is a tough, durable, and protective coating with powerful adhesion; it will not crack or chip off. And since the coefficient of friction for Wetlander is incredibly low, it helps that much more to avoid scraping, gouging and abrading, compromising seals, rivets, seams and the entire hull. You can see in the pictures below how applying Wetlander over your seams and rivets not only helps seal the rivet, but it also causes the rivet to be less exposed, and therefore less vulnerable to catch on something and tear open a leak.
The video below illustrates just how tough and flexible Wetlander is…
3.) Flexibility + Strong Adhesion: One of the failure points of conventional boat coatings is the combination of poor adhesion and lack of flexibility. The bottoms of both fiberglass and aluminum boats flex with heavy use. Your bottom coating needs to be able to flex with it. And the bottom coating adhesion needs to be strong enough to remain glued to your hull, no matter the degree of expansion and contraction. If a bottom coating is not flexible, and/or has subpar adhesion, it will crack and fall off in chunks. Wetlander is both flexible and has strong adhesion, so it will never crack or chip off.
4.) Easy to apply and touch up: Although Wetlander is an advanced industrial coating, it goes on just like a paint – just roll or spray it on. Quick and easy to apply with basic minimal prep, Wetlander goes on smooth without drips and sags and adheres tenaciously to aluminum, fiberglass, gel coats and most pre-existing hull coatings. If you ever need to touch up some spots on your hull, it’s easy with Wetlander. Just roughen up the area with some sandpaper, wipe with water, and then apply more Wetlander. No need to pull your motor, rigging and hardware off. Just tip the boat up (or leave it on the trailer) and roll on more Wetlander. You can easily roll it on upside down.
5.) Wetlander outperforms all other slick bottom paints and coatings: Faster speeds, slicker bottoms, and easier launching makes people happy, and they let us know: We receive glowing testimony from our customers. You can read great reviews and testimonies on our boat specific pages, i.e. jonboatcoatings.com, driftboatcoatings.com, mudboatcoatings.com, jetboatcoatings.com, duckboatcoatings.com, and airboatcoatings.com. We’d also encourage people to do their own research on hunting & fishing websites and online forums to get an objective perspective on Wetlander. JTgatoring, an independent product reviewer for all things jonboat, mudboat, and gator hunting, recently did an evaluation on Wetlander. See- https://www.jtgatoring.com/wetlander-slick-bottom-coating-before-and-after/. And here’s the video he posted on his YouTube channel.
6.) Specially engineered by Plastic Maritime Corp, a longstanding and distinguished company: For over three decades PMC has been on the technological forefront within the waterbased industrial coatings class for achieving optimal results in areas of nonstick, anti-friction, hydrophobics, and water drag resistance. This unique coating is better known as Wearlon®. Our Wearlon Speedcoat-49 is being used by champion boat racing teams to win races and set world records. And leisure boaters value both the fuel consumption savings and the foul-release properties Wearlon marine coatings offer. Since PMC introduced “Wetlander”, our shallow water boat coating line, it has become a best selling national brand for this market. Wetlander was specifically engineered by our R &D team to create a perfect fit for extreme shallow water boaters; a coating that is slick, durable and reduces friction.
Hi, I have a 18ft skeeter, fiberglass, I’m looking for a bottom coat to do myself. My boat will be on trailer, I plan on jacking it up to do the bottom and rolling it on. Will I have any problems rolling it upside down…thank you
Hi James,
You will not have any problems rolling Wetlander on the bottom of you boat, but it will be more difficult. It’s just like painting a ceiling; every thing is just a bit more of a pain, especially the prep work. Make sure that every square inch of the fiberglass/gelcoat has been sanded by the 150 grit, then wiped down with acetone. It is easy to skip an area because it is hard or uncomfortable to reach. Bad prep = bad adhesion, so don’t get lazy.
Make sure you do not load up the roller with too much coating, take your time, and don’t roll too fast. Follow those tips and you will be fine. Taking your time is the most important one!
-Scott
Awesome and thanks for your response! My boat has alot of surface scratches on the bottom, do you recommend the 2 part or 3 part?
Will your product work over stainless steel? I have an airboat with a stainless bottom. Thanks
I have a 1436 Jon boat was wanting to see if this seals the bottom of your boat too
Parker,
Yes, Wetlander will help stop the water from weeping through small rivet pops and small welding/seam gaps. HOWEVER, stopping leaks is not what Wetlander is designed to do, nor would I ever recommend it as a leak stopping product.
My advice is do it once and do it right: Weld those holes shut, or, use a marine grade sealant/adhesive that works well with aluminum (5200 by 3M is one) and plug up the holes. THEN coat it with Wetlander and you should have no problems with slow leaks.
-Scott
Did someone used is in the hull bottom of a jetski?
Jimmy,
Yes; tons of folks. Yamaha Nano hulls mostly, lol. If you know, you know. I’m watching you Yamaha (call me – 518-469-3612). 😉
-Scott
Shipping to Canada? Lots of Yams need some love lol
Mark,
We ship to Canada multiple times per week! And those Yams do need some love.
-Scott
Wetlander or Speedcoat 49 for a Jetski?
Jimmy,
If you beach the jetski, Wetlander. If you want absolute top speed and it lives on a lift/trailer, the Speedcoat-49. If it lives in a slip (some people actually do this; news to me!) then Speedcoat-49 because of it’s fouling resistant properties.
-Scott
How Does this interact with aluminum to prevent electrolysis?
Jason,
Yes, Wetlander will help prevent electrolysis on aluminum boats by sealing the aluminum from actually contacting the water.
-Scott
Greenwater boats has been using wetlander on the driftboats we build for years now. We build aluminum shallow water driftboats/skiffs and wetlander is amazing for its slickness and durability. It allows our boats to slide off the trailer effortlessly, over rocks and sand bars quickly. Doesn’t trap sand or weight like uhmw. Easy application. Easy to reapply if needed by the customer. It’s truly amazing and has given my company a bottom coating that is second to none. Greenwater boats thanks you for such an awesome product.
Thank you James and Greenwater boats; I appreciate the feedback.
-Scott
Got the Forest green color in a 2 layer kit and it is phenomenal. Loading and unloading is a breeze making my ventures extremely easy! I did notice a 3mph speed increase butttt it was in choppy water i think i may squeeze another mph or 2 out of my 14′ flat bottom with a 25 Jet outboard. Overall I’m am extremely happy with the results will be putting this product on all my future boats and will highly recommend it to my buddies. Only downfall is the forest green is a bit lighter than I’d hoped 😅. 🔥🔥 product guys, Salute!
Thanks for the feedback Chet; Enjoy!
-Scott
I have a 12 foot wood hunting boat I applied wetlander to years ago and it performs excellent. Very happy with results. I now have a 18ft tracker Jon boat I am debating on applying speed coat or wetlander. Is the wetlander comparable in high speed performance to the speed coat but just a more durable application for boats that make contact with surfaces other than water? Or is the speed coat a better option when high speed performance is the main concern? Thank yo
Taylor Schaltenbrand
Taylor,
Wetlander is a better friction-reducing coating, meaning it slides better over harder surfaces. That is why it is so good in shallow water. And yes, it is a bit tougher than Speedcoat-49. Speedcoat-49 is our best non-stick coating, as well as our best water drag-reducing coating, making it best for guys who never really encounter shallow water, and are most interested in keeping slime/algae/etc of their hulls, OR if they are speed demons and just want the absolute fastest hull surface they can get.
Sometimes there is some overlap between the 2 boating styles, in which case you just need to choose what you are more interested in…
Feel free to call me directly at 518-469-3612 and I will ask you a bunch of questions, then give you my thoughts on what I think would work best in your specific situation.
-Scott
Hi there,
I have a Fiberglass Skiff/Jon Jet boat that I am considering applying polyurea to the underside and then applying Wetlander. do you have any recommendations for surface prep to figerglass? the FG is thick and this boat ran the skinny rivers as a DFO boat so im just looking for added protection to the FG.
Dave,
The adhesion of the polyurea to the gelcoat/fiberglass should be according the whatever the specs are for that brand of polyurea… so I would contact the manufacturer directly.
For good adhesion of Wetlander to the polyurea, historically you would wait approximately 24 hours for the polyurea to gas-off, scrub the polyurea with 150 grit sandpaper, then wipe it clean with acetone on a rag. Then you can roll or spray on your Wetlander. That’s it.
-Scott
Will this paint work for a bottom paint in a marina
Dan,
Wetlander will not work as anti-barnacle coating for a marine boat, no. We do have a non-stick style boat coating called Speedcoat-49 that is very good on FRESHWATER boats that stay in a slip and tend to accumulate algae/grass/zebra mussels. The Speedcoat-49 is great at discouraging below-the-waterline growth, and makes cleaning any growth super easy. But, Speedcoat-49 is NOT very effective against barnacles. You can learn more about Speedcoat-49 at speedcoat49.com
-Scott
Wetlander I swear by it. I used it 12 days of moose hunting in Alaska this fall. I was in timber country skinny water. Easier loading and unloading the skiff. Be sure to have the hook on when launching or else it can slide off. My skiff went shallower than it has ever before. With slick paint. I don’t lose momentum and can keep a fast planing speed for 4 inches or less water. I was able to slide over 1 inch ripples and keep going. There was no way I would go where I went this fall without Wetlander. What use to take 3 full grown adults to push grunting hard when high n dry. Now takes 2 people to push skiff when high n dry. I had the 2 layer kit. I need to touch up with top coat next year on my skegs. If you got the patience to touch up paint once a year. This stuff will give you the edge to hunt harder and go places you shouldn’t be. I normally carry pvc pipe when stuck. Didn’t need it with this paint. I recommend doing a 3 layer coat than 2 layer. 2 layer did me good though. Pushing the skiff out when loaded is easy to do also. I recommend this paint to any one on the fence about trying it.
Thanks Matt!
-Scott
I have a leaky seams on my 1978 John boat is does wettlander seal as well as reduce friction?
If your leaks are bad, or wide, you should have it all welded shut. If the leaks are minor and slow-seeping, you could use a marine-grade caulk like GOOP, and follow that up with a Wetlander 2-Layer kit as added insurance. Please don’t try an fix wide gaps or cracks with caulk; it just won’t work. You can order GOOP here: https://wetlander.myshopify.com/products/marine-grade-caulk
Hello. Would you be able to tell what shipping to Calgary, Alberta, Canada would be approx. for the 2 layer 1/2 gallon kit for a Fiberglass Drift Boat. Area code T2x0c1.
Hi Stephen,
If you want the exact shipping cost, it is best to go the Wetlander online store (https://wetlander.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/2l-kit-half-gallons), pick your 2-Layer kit and color, and then enter all of your shipping information. You will then be presented with all of the various shipping options with up-to-date prices, direct from the actual carrier (Fedex, UPS, USPS) . Entering your credit card is the last thing you do, so you can back out of the process at any moment. I can’t do it from here with just your postal code. I would need your full address. Let me know if you have questions.
-Scott
Do you think Wetlander would work, or be beneficial on a small pontoon? I used it on a Jon boat previously and know it works as advertised, was thinking it may help plane quicker and run just a little faster on my pontoon (14 ft, 30hp Etec)…
Hi Phil,
Unless you are beaching your 14 ft. pontoon often, I would lean towards our Speedcoat-49 product instead. It is much better-suited to pontoons (in my opinion). Here is a direct link to the Speedcoat-49 website.
Good luck, and let me know if you have other questions.
-Scott (518) 469-3612
Question: how much product do I need for a Hyde 11 foot 10 inch sport drifter? Thaks
Don,
With an 11 foot drifter, you might be able to get away with a 2-Layer kit in Quarts, but a 2-Layer kit in half-gallons would definitely get the job done PLUS you could layer up both the Primer and Topcoat, while ALSO going up the side of the boat as far as you want. Your choice.
-Scott
How will the bottom coat hold up in saltwater?
Tim,
It will hold up just fine. Make sure you use a 2-Layer kit, and don’t expect it to repel or barnacles, because it will not.
Scott
Hello
I was wondering if you have a rough idea of the shipping time to Calgary, Alberta.
Hi Stephen,
Approx. 4-5 business days, depending on which carrier you choose.
-Scott
Does anybody know if this works on a polyethylene paddle boat? If the paint has solvents that could dissolve polyethylene, then likely the answer is no. Thanks
Daniel,
Wetlander does not get sufficient adhesion to PE boats/kayaks/SUP’s. No coating really does.
-Scott
Where can i get this product
Leonard,
Ask your local marina, or ho to our online store here.
-Scott
Do I need primer to apply the top coat wet lander?
Irwin,
The Primer is there to create a longer lasting system overall for your boat. Since the Topcoat is a two-part epoxy, it gets great adhesion, but Primer + Topcoat lasts much longer on your hull; that’s why we encourage you to use it over Topcoat by itself.
-Scott
I am interested in coating 2 kayaks that I have, one for fishing, one for duck hunting. Both are plastic, and I see no mention of plastic adhesion if any. Yes or no? lol
Great post! Learning how to paint an aluminum Jon boat is a skill I want to have.
I have a bass hunter EX boat- I believe it is made of hope. Will your slick bottom product adhere and last?
Rick,
I contacted the manufacturer and those boats are indeed polyethylene. As a result Wetlander, as well as other coatings, simply will not get adequate adhesion (in my opinion). I have our coating on my PE kayak and I am not happy with the level of adhesion; it’s good, but not good enough to recommend to the rest of the world.
-Scott
First off, the shipping time was supposed to be 4 days. I received it in 2! Already impressed and I haven’t even put the product on.
I drive a truck over the road and I do not really find time to be off for 3 days to apply the 3 coat line of product. How well will the top coat do if I apply the two primer coats, wait a week or so, then apply the top coat? Will the hardened primer coats allow for excellent adhesion for the top coat after drying for a week?
Thanks,
Michael S.
Michael,
Yes, absolutely. Giving the primers a week of cure-time instead of 1 day is actually beneficial, if you’ve got the time/weather to do it that way. Just make sure you scuff that Primer #2 layer with 220 grit, then wipe it all clean with a water-dampened rag to remove your sanding dust BEFORE applying your #3 Layer (the Topcoat).
-Scott
Scott I have an airless sprayer, which tip is the best to use with the wearlon top coat and the the Wetlander primer and top coat?
Todd,
For any of our boat coatings (Primers, Wetlander Topcoat, Wearlon Topside Paint) you should use a tip size between 1.4 and 3.0. I would consider 1.4 as the
absolute smallest
you would want to use, and it will go fairly slowly. We formulate our coatings to have a viscosity similar to thick latex house paint, so I encourage you to test your spray equipment with some old garage paint BEFORE you catalyze your Wetlander and start spraying. I also like to keep a roller handy… just in case.
For the record, the Floor Coat CANNOT be sprayed… it needs to be rolled out.
-Scott
Is there any reason to NOT use this on a sailboat keel and rudder? Thanks.
Nathan,
I don’t see any disadvantages to using Wetlander on your keel and rudder.
-Scott
Hey Wet Lander!
I am getting ready to apply Wet Lander to the bottom of a fiberglass 2003 Hyde high side. I’ve washed, sanded, washed again and wiped down with acetone. I put three coats of new gel coat on the bottom of the hull and sanded, washed and wiped down again with acetone. Getting ready to apply the WL primer, let dry, sand and clean up again… before I do, I’ve heard a couple concerns from two different boat refinishers that said they’ve had epoxy adhesion issues doing repairs on areas that have had Wet Lander applied. I’m an average oarsman, but know late in the CO season I’m going to find a sneaker rock or low water grater that’s going to put a ding or two in my chines. Any concerns using Western Marine Epoxy or Marine Tex to repair chine dings post Wet Lander? Goes with out saying, but would expect to have to grind/sand/clean the repair area prior to application. Thank you! KT
Hey Kyle,
Wetlander is super slick (and slightly non-stick) by design. So if you need to do any fiberglass work, gelcoat repair, or any kind of repair work that requires adhesion, you have to remove the Wetlander from those areas. If you do not remove the Wetlander first, you risk get very poor adhesion and your repair will eventually fail.
It’s just Wetlander “doin what it do”. 😉
-Scott
So, I’m buying a pelican 10E 2 man bass boat for small beaver ponds. It’s made of Ram-X, whatever that is. Will wetlander work on the bottom of it?
Luke,
“Ram-X” is high density polyethylene, which all coatings (even Wetlander) have a difficult time getting good adhesion too. Sorry.
-Scott