Steve Scherrer

Wilderness Systems

to Receive Honor

For Landmark Work on Boating Materials.

The National Association of Fiberglass Manufacturer's has announced that this year's recipient of their "Best in Industry" award will go to Wilderness Systems and noted marine designer Steve Scherrer. Although this will not be announced until next month, Steve has kindly given me permission to have the "scoop" on this announcement along with some inside information as to what he and the company will be revealing next week.

"It all began with Cindy and me sitting around the kitchen table and talking about how to improve our boats." To paraphrase his explanation, the two of them got to talking about how so many paddlers use duct tape for emergency repairs. "If the material is so great," Cindy had said, "why not incorporate it into fiberglass?"

They both laughed about the idea...at first. But Steve got thinking about it and got together with the techies at the company. They, too, were sceptical, but the idea was too enticing to let go.
That led to some experimentation with various "recipes" utilizing different percentages of ground up duct tape that was, as Steve explained, "Simply mixed with the resin and painted onto the cloth." Although he wasn't specific (there is a patent application in for this yet to be named material), He did say that they were able to come up with a new "glass" that is at least three times tougher than Diolene. Again, he wasn't willing (understandably) to reveal more details. When I asked about the weight of a boat made of this material, he just smiled in a way that suggested this material also provided for a lighter hull.

So, I await, along with you, for the "official" announcement and to hear when the first of these boats will be made available. And then there is the question of price.
Paddle safe...
DS