RE: [Paddlewise] Keelguard?

> I do a lot of solo touring and inspite of best efforts the two or three
feet of my keel near the stern takes a beating on landings. 
> I was thinking four feet or so of Keelguard might do the trick. 

	I doubt I would ever want to spend $25 a foot or so for a grunchpad,
especially one 5 inches wide.  Truth be told, I have never done this on a
kayak, but sooner or later I do something like this on my open canoes. 
They're never screwed in but glued to the surface.  Old Town makes a kit
using a kevlar felt cutout for both bow and stern, and separate cans of
epoxy for each so you don't have to do it all in one shot....  Costs about
$50.  
	Currently I have one canoe with grunch pads made from an old bicycle tire.
This has worked out very well, much better than the kevlar ones.  --Not
just for the price but because it also preserves some of the boat's
maneuverability.  The kevlar/epoxy adds some weight to the ends and is very
stiff.  A friend actually had a whitewater boat break there because the bow
flexed but the grunchpad didn't.  --Like bending a paper clip back & forth;
eventually it cracks.
	--Which is why you usually don't get new boats with them installed...  
Joe P.
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