Ok How bout this for an "out there" keel protection: Take JB Marine Weld (just so you know I think JB Weld must have been invented by a glass boat owner :-)), or Marine Tex (My understanding is, They do the exact same thing, and since noone seems to carry JB Marine Weld, Marine Tex is probably the answer). heat up the tubes just b4 mixing the apoxy (don't heat too much. . . putting the tubes in hot water for a few minutes should do it). This thins it out and makes it more a paint type consistancy. (you may want to also heat the surface of the pallet that you use for mixing the Jb Weld together so it will stay that concistancy for a little longer. Then simply "paint" a strip along the keel with a brush. The epoxy is paintable, so if you wanted to preserve the the handsome appearance of your kayak, you could paint the strip once it dries. Thx, Rich P.S. Okay I confess - I haven't tried this yet, my glass boat is lest then six months old, and my friends say I'm still in the babying stage. I haven't had the guts to add a compass yet, much less experiment on it. I am thinking of doing this to my friends old Sea Lion though, and would like any opinions on how well you think it would work. wsmith16_at_snet.net wrote: >I ran into that very same question about 2 years ago. I had worn the gelcoat clean off my keel line from the stern forward about 8 inches. Dragged her up one too many beaches, and bounced her off one too many rocks. Nothing structural, just wore the gelcoat off. > >I took Nick Schade's advice, and made something better: I took some West System epoxy, loaded it up with colloidal silica until it was almost unworkable, and then added gelcoat pigment and hardener, and made a thick goo that was just thin enough to flow. I prepped the surface, and painted it on. 2 seasons, and it barely shows any wear. I also used it to re-repair the tip of my stern, where I had damaged it doing a stupid human trick (Got pitchpoled) when the boat was new. I'm very pleased with the results of the repairs, and they're easy to re-do when needed. > >If you don't mind contrasting colors, loading the epoxy up with graphite powder and silica works even better so I'm told, as the graphite cuts down any friction. If I ever finish the boat I'm building, I think I'll put that on the entire keel line. >Wayne > >Keith Wrage <keith.wrage_at_charter.net> wrote:OK, this will once again ID me as being out in left field but.... > >I know several people who have had 2-part spray polyurethane coatings >applied to truck beds and trailers. The stuff is unbelievably tough - >nothing seems to phase it - chemical or physical. So of course, I wondered >if this wouldn't make a great coating for the keel of a kayak. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Jun 08 2003 - 18:12:21 PDT
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