chetpk Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 The latest Sea Kayaker magazine has a tip in the "Off the water" section showing how one individual has had success using 3M Marine Grade non slip tape for a keel strip. Supposedly the adhesive is aggresive enough to make a sold stick and the tape is flexiable enough to follow the hull's curves. He states that he gets two years of service out of it, then peels, cleans and re-applys for another two seasons. The tape in the photos looks like the spray on Rhino surfaces that are put on the bed of pickup trucks these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Speaking of Rhino spray, that's what Bob and Deb have on a few of their boats. Rockpoolkayaks is thinking about "Replaceable plastic keel strips" http://www.rockpoolkayaks.com/menai/menai.html -Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruguru Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 The latest Sea Kayaker magazine has a tip in the "Off the water" section showing how one individual has had success using 3M Marine Grade non slip tape for a keel strip. Supposedly the adhesive is aggresive enough to make a sold stick and the tape is flexiable enough to follow the hull's curves. He states that he gets two years of service out of it, then peels, cleans and re-applys for another two seasons. The tape in the photos looks like the spray on Rhino surfaces that are put on the bed of pickup trucks these days. If the predominant need is as an abrasion-guard, I've had success with strips of 2" wide Velcro (the hook end, not the fuzzy part). It's available in 25' strips at the Depot for $27. I always have some around for covering auto cosmetic blems, so if anyone wants a foot or two to protect a keel end I'll mail you some. Cheers. Ern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Nystrom Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 I've played around with tapes to a degree and what I've found is that the tapes that are really abrasion resistant aren't very flexible and those that are flexible enough to conform to a kayak hull aren't very abrasion resistant. Nothing I've tried has held up to rocks. The tape tears and you end up with shreds of it hanging off the hull, adding drag (they look nasty, too). Applying tapes with aggressive adhesives can be frustrating, particularly at the bow and stern where you're trying to stretch it to get it to conform to the compound curves, yet keep it from sticking before you get it positioned accurately. I haven't seen the article in question, so perhaps it illustrates a good method for this, but it's best to be prepared for a struggle and have plenty of extra tape on hand. Once you have the tape in place, it will probably creep in areas where it's been stretched, leaving goo behind which picks up dirt like a magnet. It will tend to shrink over time, exposing goo at the edges. At the bow and stern, it may also peel away from the sides, exposing sticky pockets that collect crud as well. Removing tapes with aggressive adhesives is not fun at all. Peeling them off takes some effort - especially if the tape is all torn up and you have to pick off lots of pieces - and removing the glue residue requires a lot of solvent and elbow grease. While the idea of just slapping on some tape can be appealing, it seems to me that fiberglass or bed liner keel strips are a better way to go in the long run. Tapes work best for protecting decks, where the surfaces are easier to conform to and they're not subject to extreme abrasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glil Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 If the predominant need is as an abrasion-guard, I've had success with strips of 2" wide Velcro (the hook end, not the fuzzy part). It's available in 25' strips at the Depot for $27. I always have some around for covering auto cosmetic blems, so if anyone wants a foot or two to protect a keel end I'll mail you some. Cheers. Ern Ernie, I'm curious about your use of velcro on autos. My car has quite a few "cosmetic blems" (most from loading/unloading kayaks by myself), but the visualization I'm seeing of my car with multiple various sized velcro strips stuck on it is making me laugh. It's looking like one of those velcro dart boards that my patients throw little fuzzy balls at. Different colors could be worth different points. I could make it more challenging by giving them a moving target as I drive thru the parking lot. What am I missing? Just curious. Gay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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