How many of you have severe wear on the keel of your kayak from coming into concrete ramps or dragging your kayak. With enough use, you could actually wear a hole in your kayak.

I have found a way to easily protect your kayak from this wear and tear. It is with a product called Marine Tex. This has been used on boats for years. It is a two-part epoxy that you mix and apply to your kayak.

Step 1. Clean, sand and tape the area where you wish to apply this product
Step 2. Mix the two-part expoxy
Step 3. With a putty knife, spread the epoxy inside the taped area spreading it evenly
Step 4. To eliminate sanding later, wet and smooth with the putty knife or plastic wrap
Step 5. Let it cure for about an hour and remove the tape before it hardens. You many need to take a razor blade to trim it evenly
Step 6. After drying (12 hours) you can sand it smooth if required.




I have done this on the front and back of my kayak. The color used here was the grey. I thought it would be a lighter shade but it turned out fairly dark. Marine Tex also comes in a white. For those of you with a colored kayak, you can mix paint to more match the color of your kayak.

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Hobie Pro Angler 12

I put a "Keel Saver" strip on the bottom of my Key West and thought of putting one on my Mini-x but it is well over a $100.00 for an 8' strip. This looks like a much better alternative. How much is it and where did you buy it?

Local boat dealer. West Marine has it. Cost is around $15-18

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Hobie Pro Angler 12

I bought a used Hobie Quest that seems to have been dragged everywhere. The stern keel was rounded (unevenly). I noticed I was accumulating water inside the hull, so I went looking, and sure enough, the keel was worn down to the point that there was a tiny crack starting to show. My company had an old plastic welder in the maintenance shop, so I cut a hatch over the keel, used the slug to make some welding strips, and built it back up, both inside and out. It taught me to pay attention to how I handle my boats. But sometimes, you just drag it anyway, right?

I had thought about putting some stainless steel inserts in an epoxy like this, and then letting them take the wear. But now that seems like a lot of work. So I'll just use the Marine Tex when one of them starts to show excessive wear. That looks like a neat job.

I also heard that there is a 3M product meant for plastic boats. I think the number is 8010 - does that sound familiar?

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Tadpole
Tarpon 160
Hobie Quest

Remember - every second counts towards your life total, including these right now.

That looks like a good solution. Keep us posted on how it holds up. Mrine tex also makes a product called flex set that it is stated to specifically bonded to polyethylene after heat treating the plastic. Regular Marine tec says it bonds to many plastics but does not specifically list polyethylene as the flex bond product does. Interestingly with the flex set, they want you to smooth the surface with a heat source (torch) then apply the epoxy with in an hour.

That looks like a good solution. Keep us posted on how it holds up. Mrine tex also makes a product called flex set that it is stated to specifically bonded to polyethylene after heat treating the plastic. Regular Marine tex says it bonds to many plastics but does not specifically list polyethylene as the flex bond product does. Interestingly with the flex set, they want you to smooth the surface with a heat source (torch) then apply the epoxy with in an hour.

It holds up extremely well. I used the same thing on my Phoenix which I dragged around for 3 years. My feeling is to put the protective shield on the kayak before it wears. I would rather repair a hole worn in the Marine Tex than the kayak itself. My Dad use to call it Preventive Maintance

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Hobie Pro Angler 12

Why would you ever drag a yak? Well, at least far enough to cause that much wear. My Mini has a ton of scrapes and gouges but they are from oysters and rocks.

I don't think it would take a rocket scientist to fabricate a gizmo to slip over the keel just for dragging. PVC comes to mind as a material to use. Lets brain storm and come up with something simple. I've had too much grandparenting today to think creatively at the moment. This will probably keep me awake, though.

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Capt. Ken

I think this is what we need!
MARINE TEX POLY-DURA
"Marine-Tex Poly-Dura is an epoxy plastics adhesive for hard-to-adhere materials like PVC, ABS, polyurethane, vinyl and polyethylene plastics.PolyDura will adhere to wet or dry surfaces, it is exterior rated for the harsh marine environment. This shock absorbent epoxy will withstand general flex and movements associated with polyethylene"
http://www.ippnet.com/adhesives-a-caulks/marine-tex.html

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-Rick
OK PT Angler - 13'
Pygmy Borealis XL 17'

they must have changed the name, that's the exact same description and directions they give for their "flex set" product.