Kayak keel protector

[crankbait2009]

I am in the market for one of the many keel protectors out there.  the sliding in and out of the water has done a bit of damage to the hull.  I'd like to get this covered now, before it gets worse.  I asked Ascend about it and they said concrete/black top ramps do a number on kayak keels.

 

So, has anyone placed a keel guard of some sort on their kayak?

 

which one did you go with, how is the quality?  easy to install?

[neatoneto]

Great question. I suspect linex/herculining it wouldn't hurt if you had the materials laying around

[Landis Carrier]

I used Keel Easy on my Cuda LT. Went on fairly easy but a little tough on the sharp curves. I had it on for one year and it held up great. Still stuck on tight and protecting my keel. 

[PECo]

I wore through the keel on my Hurricane Santee 116 Sport. I patched the holes and thin spots with Devcon Plastic Welder, smoothed out the patches with sandpaper and then applied an Eazy Keel keel protector strip over the entire keel. That was two years ago. So far, so good.

 

I would suggest using a heat gun or hair dryer to soften whichever keel protector strip you use before and while you apply it, especially when you need to conform it to the curved ends of the keel.

[Darren.]

Not got one yet, but considering buying Keel Ezy

in the near future to protect my yak....

[TOXIC]

Made specifically for a Yak.  Can be used to repair (emergency) or preventative.  

 

https://www.gator-guards.com/gator-patch/

[Choporoz]

I've considered it a few times...may still get some.  Babied my Wildy for quite a while and when I noticed that the cuts and scrapes were very superficial, I got a little more careless.  All last year, I dragged her across rocks, beaches, roads, gravel parking lots....and she doesn't look any worse than at the beginning of the year.  I've decided that hull is a lot more durable than I gave it credit for initially.

[J Francho]

Here's a tip: don't drag them on concrete or pavement.  Period.  I've never understood the "surprise" when people that wear through their hull has when they're dragging them on pavement.  You'd be better off getting a cart, and mitigating the issue altogether by not dragging them.

[1idrod]

I agree, I wouldn't intentionally drag across asphalt or concrete. We've had this same discussion on another site. Gator guards have come up but after what some of us have spent getting here there were some other ideas that have had some success. Gorilla tape was one of the most popular that was inexpensive. Some claimed a couple years out of a few layers they put on. I just did mine this week so time will tell.

[kayaktimer]

I don't drag mine, ever, but I did drop it last night off the top of our SUV and wish I had a guard on it.  I now have a gouge in the front keel.

[kjfishman]

As others stated intentionally dragging on concrete ramps isn't good. That said even if you don't intentionally  drag the yak kayaks can still take a beating from rocks and gravel while launching, landing and shallow water.  One inexpensive way to get a little protection is Gorilla tape.

[Smalls]

Aside from the obvious-stop dragging your kayak on concrete-

 

some people have been molding thin PVC pipe cut in half to their hulls. Not exactly sure how, I’m sure a quick google search could get you that answer. 

[mhtranger]

Mike Hill from Keel Armor makes some nice stuff.