Keel Eazy Problems?????

Has worked well here
After several friends had very good luck with this product, I installed it on an old, used boat with a V keel I bought for solo tripping on the Maine coast this year. To say the boat got unmercifully dragged around upon landings and launchings and shoved up on rocky areas to avoid the tides is an understatment.



Installation was easy and the material has held up amazingly well. It is true that the material is softer and thus will get cut/gouged more than a FG keel strip if hit by sharp, jagged rocks. For pebble beaches and the routine somewhat smoothed tidal rocks it has worked very well and its durability has been great. Aside from a small area where the stern has sharp angles, it has adhered without problems as well.



All in all, I have been very pleased with its performance and the protection it has provided.


Keeleazy
I have had no problems on the install on four of my boats. I will install it on the others. I have installed it on QCC and Tempest. I did shred a 3 foot bow piece on one 7 day trip to Georgian Bay. The gelcoat survived without a mark. Needless to say Georgian Bay is full of hidden rocks in the bay and river rapids. I use my Milwaukee heat gun that has a 10 position rheostat. It works well at 7 through 10 settings. I use my left hand with a leather glove to form and press down the hot material. The glue usually comes out of the sides after rubbing the hot piece of material. When the material gets really hot the grain starts to disappear and it gets shiny. I stop heating it and press very carefully. I also clean the area a couple of times with denatured alcohol prior to the install. I usually apply it in 3 pieces since the bow takes the most abuse. Overall i think it is a pretty good product.



JimZ

update…
I got the replacement Keel Eazy strip from Kayak Academy–they replaced it for me for free. I thought that was pretty dang good of them.



The strips they sent has the adhesive all the way to the edge. I think this is a better set up by far



I purchased a new heat gun that will go down to 500 degrees and installed. I used it today and it seems to be holding up better than the last strip (which was peeling after the first use).



So I will have to see and will keep you updated, but I think the updated product is an improvement.



As to the company…I would have liked it if they took the time to answer my two emails I sent to them, but they did not. Yes they responded to this post, but I am criticizing their product publicly.



I also question why they would change the design of the product to extend the glue all the way to the edge unless I was not the only one to have had problems with it. Seems logical; however, the posts above imply that the peeling is due to improper installation.



Keel Eazy was not willing to answer my emails or to stand behind their product and provide me a replacement…bad business. Fortunately one of their dealers (Kayak Academy) answered my email immediately and sent me a free 18 feet of it as a replacement, no questions asked. Thanks.



One man operation or not, I would run my business differently…and I do with all the stuff I sell on ebay. I usually give the benefit of the doubt to the customer and sometimes take hit in the name of good business.



I guess the last thing I would say is that if the installation is so critical to the product working then perhaps it should not have been marketed to individual consumers as a “do it yourself” product and limited only to professional installation.



Frankly though I don’t buy that. There is nothing complicated about the installation of this stuff. And if the 500 degree heat setting (versus the 750 on my old heat gun) is critical then it should be stated. Incidentally, the vast majority of inexpensive heat guns that have only two settings will not go down to 500 degrees. I found one after a good bit of searching. Otherwise you need a Dewalt or other high dollar model that provides more temperature adjustment.



Even if the poor performance of the original installation were due to user error, had they responded to my emails and sent me a replacement I would be praising them here publicly as I have done with many other products. Would have been a good investment and good customer relations.



sorry if this sounds harsh, but just being candid…the customer is always right and I feel I am in this case.



But to be fair the replacement provided by Kayak Academy seems to be holding up so far. I will post an update in a while. Most likely I think it will be positive. I think that the problem was the design of the product with the adhesive not extending all the way to the edges. now that it is modified I think the product will perform much better than it did for me and for some of the other posters above.



Matt

Harbor Freight el-cheapo Heat Gun
I got one of these and it has been very good so far. Fully adjustable from warm to about 650 degree, plenty of attachments to direct the hot air depending on the situation, plus some scraping tools (presumably for paint stripping, but work well for smoothing out kayak hull fuzz and scratches). Only negative - not a high-volume blower, weaker than most good hair driers (in terms of volume of air flowing through) even on the High setting of the fan (which is independent of the temperature adjustment).

mine was an el cheapo too
got it from Home Depot online. Was one of the cheaper ones they had. I think it will be worth the money as I plan to continue to use this product if it holds up.

KeelEazy
I am not sure if dwell time has been addressed here, but I thought I would let you know some experience I have with various pressure sensitive tapes.



Dwell time and dwell conditions is a very important variable for any tape. I use tapes in constructing kayak sails and kayak sail rigging for Falcon Sails. If some tape is at risk of not holding as well as necessary I will make sure I leave it on as much time as is convenient and necessary.



We have all seen how masking tape comes off very easily the day it is applied, but progressively sticks more every day. 2 years later its a nasty tape removal project.



I am sure the KeelEasy will peel off a lot easier the day you put it on, than it will a month later.



If I where putting some KeelEasy on my boat, I would put it on and make sure it sits for a few days, and even a few weeks would be better. If you do not paddle in the winter, I think you should put it on early in the no paddle season, and keep the boat in a heated area if convenient for the dwell time.



PS - It looks like a KeelEasy person uses the long in name Falcon. It has nothing to do with Falcon Sails.

Keeleazy
It is nice idea but I have also had problems. It shrinks up in length and leaves exposed tape glue and fabric. I put some on my keel, sand got in that caused an 11’ piece to come loose and now I am replacing it. I installed as per instructions using a proper heat gun. Every piece I have used has shrunk down. It did protect my keel when it was dropped a short distance.

Keeleazy
I have had problems with shrinkage which expose the glue, also my keel strip got sand into it causing the whole mid section on one side to come loose so I am replacing an 11’ section. It did protect my keel in a minor dropping.

keeleazy contact
chris,



Is there a better way to get in touch with you for questions? You have no contact numer and site is outdated. Thanks!

getting in touch
The best way to get in touch with me personally is paddlepro@gmail.com as my POP account chris@keeleazy.com has been problematic.



Chris Mitchell

aka Falcon

KeelEazy
I have had the same issue, sand gets in and then it all starts coming off, I had to redo the whole keel, now I am repairing sections that have lifted. I am trying a wider strip around the skeg box as the 2" left only 1/2" strips on either side after trimming out the middle and it all pulled off. Great product if it would stay put.

KeelEazy Problem With Edge Peeling
I had a slight problem with edges peeling a bit. Here’s the whole story.



I installed an 18-foot strip of 2-inch Keeleazy on a Wilderness Systems Tempest 180, a composite boat. Had to cut a few inches off one end. The stern and bow were coved up to a few inches from the top of the boat. After cleaning with 70% isopropanol, I first attached one end by lightly pressing it in place on the stern then pulled the strip tight and lined it up on the center line sticking the other end in place on the bow. Had to do some adjustment to get it centered but this was not a problem since it can be pulled loose easily and repositioned. I then applied heat with a Wagner 1200 watt heat gun set on the lower temperature, 750F, and pressed the strip into place first using my bare hands and then, after blistering my thumb, using a glove. Was very pleased with how the strip conformed and stuck to the hull and bent around the tight angles at the bow and stern. Wrinkles in the hard to fit places like the upturned part of the bow and stern were easily smoothed out with heat and pressure. To fit around the skeg box, I cut the strip down the middle then split the strip at the front and back of the skeg box to get a good fit and used heat and a flat screw driver blade to apply pressure to stick the flaps in place. In the how-to video they cut around the edge of the box and removed the excess. Since mine was cut down the middle leaving a flap on each side I left the flaps on and tucked them in to protect the edges and to narrow the skeg slot and thus cut down on Skeg noise. Tucking the edges seems to work well. The skeg is much quieter than before and the tucked flaps have not come loose. Total time for the install was about an hour.

The first time I pulled the empty boat out on a course sand beach, I noticed that the edges peeled up slightly on one side at the stern in three places that were each less than an inch long. I cleaned out the sand and used heat and pressure to restick and then applied a bead of jelcoat to the edges. While I was at it, I applied a bead of gelcoat to edges in the higher stress areas, the bow and stern. Applying the bead was messy and hard to do. Before I finished all the areas I wanted to treat, the gelcoat was starting to set up. After the repair I took the boat on a 5-day self-support trip in Puget Sound landing the loaded boat on rough beaches. The repair and the rest of the strip held up well, no further problems. The peeling problem I had initially was likely due to inadequate heating on the initial install.



For an amateur first time installer like myself it’s hard to get the heating temperature just right. I think this is more of an art than a science and probably just takes practice. Using the recommended 500 degree F heat gun setting is no guarantee that you won’t overheat given that the thermal decomposition of PVC starts at 181 degrees F. The method I finally hit on was to heat until the strip was too hot to touch with my bare hand then apply pressure with a gloved hand.

I would recommend this product. It’s easy to install and so far is giving good protection and is, now, sticking well.

I had a horrible experience with both the KeelEazy product and customer experience. I purchased their Kayak Kit 18 in black and applied it to a home built wood kayak. Within 1 week the KeelEazy strip started peeling off and delaminating from the kayak. I followed their explicit instructions that came with the kit and even used the supplied wipe to clean the surface before installation.

I called Chris at the company and told him the problem. He told me it sounded like they sent me the wrong product and asked that I send him pictures of the peeling and also a pic of any leftover KeelEazy strips which I did. Chris said he would send me the proper product free of charge. Well, one month later still no replacement. Not even a follow up call. This despite repeated emails and phone calls to the company trying to reach someone! Anyone! They’ve gone “radio silent”.

I have since filed a complaint against KeelEazy with the Better Business Bureau of the Northwest. As of this date, it’s being investigated and I am awaiting a company response. We’ll see if Chris or KeelEazy does the right thing and responds to honor their pledge to replace the product.

Buyer beware.

Follow-up: As of July 17, 2017 KeelEazy has yet to respond to my Better Business complaint. The BBB now rates the company a “D+”. Read more here: https://www.bbb.org/northwest/business-reviews/adhesives-and-glues/keeleazy-in-bellingham-wa-1000038077

Follow-up: On July 18, 2017 Paulette with KeelEazy contacted me by email and explained the non-communication problem and offered a full refund. I received the refund the very next day.

Has worked well for me on composite kayaks

I have used KeelEazy on maybe 8 boats over the years, all composite except one thermoform. I clean each boat beforehand with acetone, then apply the strip (with bow and stern ends rounded), using a low setting on my heat gun where appropriate. Then I wait a few days and address any areas where the adhesive isn’t working properly, by using some additional adhesive e.g. a good contact cement. As time goes on I continue to monitor how well the strip sticks and repair as necessary. I’ve never had a strip fail in any way, other than fixing any adhesive problems.

I am a flatwater paddler who needs the keel strip mostly for landing. I paddle perhaps 70+ days per year. I would not use the product for whitewater. I have no clue how it would stick to rotomolded kayaks. I have been satisfied with the product, knowing I need to keep an eye on it … just like other kayak parts etc. I buy the product from Kayak Academy and will likely buy it again as needed.

I have used it on 3 boats with no issues.

I’ve had KE on my Illusion for over about 6 years and a fiberglass keel strip on my Tempest for more than 9 years. The Illusion gets the most use but is not subjected to the sort of abrasion and banging about that my Tempest suffers on trips. The KE was professionally applied while I applied the fiberglass strip to the Tempest myself.

The first thing I noticed about the KE was that when compared to fiberglass the higher coefficient of friction came into play when sliding over logs and rocks, submerged or otherwise. Not a good thing but not a deal-breaker. Second thing was that when the KE was subjected to heat from the sun it could and did migrate due to contact with the roof rack. Additionally it will eventually move and shrink longitudinally developing ripples along the contours of the hull line. I have been able to use a heat gun to straighten, stretch and smooth it back down. The glue along the edges does attract sand and debris and has a tendency to work its way under the strip towards the center line and compromises the adhesive. In my opinion the KE has been a maintenance issue for 2/3 of it’s life while the fiberglass has been virtually trouble-free. Yes, I could use a heat gun and mess with it to once again smooth it out but I am ready to remove it and replace it with a fiberglass strip.

Last Summer I finally wore through the fiberglass strip on the Tempest and it cost me $50 to have it professionally repaired. I get the DIY aspect of the KE and the upfront cost. It looks really good when completed and does provide a serious degree of protection against wear. It looks really great after I have spent a half hour or more with a heat gun, rag and alcohol. Honestly, I don’t want to spend so much time maintaining a keel strip. And for what?

I don’t think that the Keel EZ is a bad product. Quite the contrary. It is a great and affordable solution for keel protection. It just isn’t for me.

Jon
https://3meterswell.blogspot.com

The whitewater paddlers that I know who have tried the Keel Eazy on their boats have been pretty dissatisfied. It really doesn’t seem to hold up to that type of use.