Ok, I'm talking cheap, easy, and reasonably effective keel protection on a canoe, and need your proven suggestions. Don't care about ugly, forget about kevlar.
Duct tape, glue, epoxy, etc.; what works for ease of use with minimal cost.
The boat is a OT Disco 3-layer plastic, with the middle layer in bad shape, don't want to hit the inside layer.
JB Weld
The gray color doesn’t even look bad. Gray matches everything!
s-glass
one layer of fiberglass set in epoxy. then spray paint it.
The cheapest…
The cheapest monetarily, though not necessarily the cheapest in physical exertion expenditure:
1. Watch out for the rocks, and manuever around them.
2. Don't forcefully run your canoe up onto shore.
3. Don't drag your canoe over ground anywhere.
4. Line your canoe through the shallows.
5. If necessary, ask for help loading/unloading your canoe from your vehicle.
6. Don't stand, or sit in a boat on shore.
7. Don't try to run boat over barely submerged logs.
8. Enter the boat only when it is fully supported by water.
BOB
define cheap
http://www.keeleazy.com/
McMaster.com sells “extra-wide marking tape”, product numbers 8390K1-K9. It is 30 mil thickness PVC tape,
8inch wide, 50ft roll is 100 bucks.
Keeleasy
Looks like the leading contender, about $20 for what appears to be some protection.
Thanks
KeelEazy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0897sgs0lk
$2/lf plus your labor costs…that sounds even cheaper than masked and painted on pickup bed liner!
You can get PVC tape
at the hardware store for about $15 for 100 feet in a 4" roll. Haven’t tried it before. I just paddle like I rented it.
I bought Rock Guard tape
about $16 at Cabelas in the 4x4 dept. It’s about 6" heavy clear tape made for the rocker panels on trucks. It’s impossible to curve on the bow you’s have to fit several pieces together but works great wher the hull starts to flatten out.
Good Luck
Randy
Cheap yet durable
For $24 you could put 2 feet of 2" KeelEazy and 2 feet of 4" Keeeleazy over it and have a bomber bow patch on your canoe.
Nailed by BOB (nt)
Epoxy with carbon powder
Mix up carbon powder in epoxy. Paint it on thick.
The carbon makes it hard and very slick. When it wears down, just re-coat.
How does the carbon make it hard?
I’ve rolled epoxy over the bottoms of two boats, with graphite in one job, straight epoxy in the other.
They are the same in hardness. The graphite boat slips a little easier on rocks.
You haven’t even told us what material
was used to make your canoe. If you don’t care about “ugly” then why is there an issue? I’ve paddled boats in whitewater for over a decade without needing to do anything about keel protection.
What sort of canoe are we protecting?
J B WELD
If your boat is royalex ,it will work good . it will be strong and it will last… I did it to a wenonah canoe i used to own that i had skined up the tail end somewhat and i was pleased with the results… i didnt make a skidplate with it … i just covered up the damage… if you want to you can paint it to match but the paint will scratch off pretty easy when you scrape bottom the next time … I must have repainted mine six or seven times …lol…
Contact paper, wallpaper, vinyl flooring
He said it was a OT Disco
That is cross linked poly.
If it is down to the inner layer, it must have been badly abused. And if is the entire bottom, I think it is time to can the boat.
Ours is twenty years old, and has slid over many rocks and ledges and is still in good shape.
One other alternative is to use West Systems G-Flex epoxy.
jack L
The BEST solution. Canoe only in soft water.
Great information to add to a 10 year old thread!
I agree that canoes should not be handled roughly. Approach the shore parallel.
I like to use fiberglass tape. First a 3 inch layer, set with epoxy then a 2 inch layer . It can be sanded and painted. I do not like big clunky kevlar mats, especially on a fast canoe with sheer entry lines.