Keel wear depends on hull design
If it’s a V-hull the lowest part of the boat is an edge (the vertex of the “V”) and you will definitely get wear & damage the entire length of the hull.
With a U-hull the lowest part of the boat is a much larger area, so the wear tends to be spread out more.
My boats are a P&H Sirius (V-hull) and a Boreal Ellesmere (U-hull) and you can definitely see the difference.
This winter I’m putting strips on both kayaks, along with several others in our livery fleet; the Ellesmere will get end strips and the Sirius will get a full keel strip.
I am available to do this kind of work as well as other outfitting, maintenance & repair: www.oceanstateadventures.com in Bristol, RI.
a quick visual inspection
Just looked at the bottom of my boat and uh, yep, it’s scratched all over the place. Front, back, middle, even the top. I’m thinking extend the keel strip over the deck like a racing stripe.
yep
on a four panel s&g kayak I made the ends are thickened epoxy about 1/2" x 16" with a black graphite strip widening to 3" under the seat then narrowing down again at the stern. There’s extra glass under the graphite but the idea was that this kayak was going to be sat in on ashphalt and hard surfaces.
OSKA did the deed
Yes, the keel strip was done through Carl at Osprey Sea Kayak.
The material was ‘“polyester spray on bed liner for trucks.”’
Whatever it is, it’s worked well for me and the boat’s frequent rendezvous with MA/NH/ME rocks.
Do you carry your boat, or do you have
bearers to do it for you? How much weight do you want to add to prevent some scratches?
I coated two panels of my Merganser 16
– Last Updated: Oct-03-09 12:01 AM EST –
The bottom two panels (the V), extending the coating about half an inch above the joints with panels 3 and 4. Mixture of epoxy, silica powder, and graphite. Though I didn't weigh it after the addition, the boat does not feel much heavier.
I toyed with coating just a wide strip along the keel, or coating the entire hull. After seeing that there were scratches beyond the keel area but none on panels 3 and 4, I decided on the above.
Looks-wise, I prefer the all-clear finish. But the epoxy coating gives me a sacrificial layer that can be locally touched up without looking like crap the way spot-fixing varnish would.
An experiment with tape . . .
3M makes a highly durable clear tape, in various widths, made for abrasive wear. But I didn’t buy theirs b/c of the high cost, but got an off-brand that makes “compares to 3M” claims. They make it in clear and colored tape. Factories put it on their floors to mark traffic areas. (Imagine the wear in that!)
So, I got clear version of this tape and ran it along the keel of my Arctic Tern 14. Pygmy Boats has the builder add a strip of fiberglass tape for a keel strip, already, but my idea was to see if the tape would increase the time before a fiberglass redo would be necessary.
So far, I have only used this to beach the boat in coarse sand, but the tape seems to be holding up - except for a small edge pulling up where it bends along the bow. The tape is almost invisible. The ideal would be to only have to peel off and replace the tape once or twice a year.
The reason I tried this was due to the performance of a short strip sample of 3M tape. I scraped this tape and gouged it across the rock corner of my chimney and it held up beautifully - not even a scratch. What I’m checking out is whether the adhesion capacity of the tape would fail before the tape itself would tear.
I also put thin colored strips of a similar tape along the shear line for an instant
“rub rail,” but it tended to be pulled out of position where I run the tie-down straps. It is relatively easy, though, to cut out a section and re-tape.
I’ve recoated the fuzzy bottoms of two
whitewater boats. I can feel the extra weight. But then, maybe whitewater boaters are less likely to team-carry their kayaks. I know I solo carry and solo load my boats all the time. I don’t add weight to them if I can avoid it.
I have kept and used composite boats, hard, for more years than the average paddler. I guess my philosophy has always been to wait to fix something until it’s broken enough to matter. That’s why I don’t put keel strips or skid plates on boats that have little wear.
3m tape
I’ve been using the same 3m tape for two seasons now on my Tahe on mostly on Lake Superior and the Mississippi in Mn. and haven’t had a problem.
I use two 4 ft.long x 2 in. wide pieces on the bow and the stern. I leave the center alone. The stuff I got was from a local hardware store and is designed for use as a non-slip surface for steps. It feels like stiff rubber and is rough to the touch. After I applied the tape to the hull, I used an iron on low heat to smooth out the roughness and help to form it on the curves of the bow and stern.
It’s been on for two years now in some pretty cold water and some rough landings on sand and pebble/small rock beaches. It looks the same as the day I put it on. Keel’s in great shape but if you slide up on a rock or somthing it’s a lot grabber than gel.
I don’t know what colors are available. My small town hardware store had two rolls, grey and grey. Looks ok on a white hull; besides that’s the side that is to stay underwater, right?
Terry
There are different types of tape
– Last Updated: Oct-04-09 6:53 AM EST –
The clear, stretchy products simply don't hold up over time. They work fine on sand, but rocks shred them very quickly. Depending on the type you use, getting the adhesive off afterward can be a real bear. This is especially true of the "helicopter tape" products.
The stair tread/bumper tread products are more durable because they're harder, but they don't stretch around curved surfaces well. As you found, heating them can help to get them to conform better. They work great for deck protection. Neither of these is as durable as a fiberglass keel strip, but they're definitely easier and faster to apply.
Beautiful boat!
I followed your link, and couldn’t resist watching the slide show of your cedar strip replica building. Very nice! 
Melissa
floormarkertape
I’ve found Durastripe (a floormarker tape 1,8 mm) here in the Netherlands.
It costs around $ 100,00 and it’s enough for 5 keelstrips.
result;
http://picasaweb.google.nl/zeekayakforum/Kielstrip
http://papa.messageboard.nl/7535/viewtopic.php?t=477