Keel Protection for Hobie

[Yak Fish]

I have a welcome mat that I put down for the exact same location and reason. Funny enough, I just ordered the Keel eazy for that location. It was only $8 for the strip I needed. I got tired of putting that mat down and lining it up just right

[Mark]

Jeremy,

Please post a photo when you've installed the Keel Eazy.

Like a few others here with the same issue, I place a carpet on my driveway during loading to protect the stern keel. I'm pretty good at estimating how far from my bumper to place it after all the times I've loaded my kayaks. When I get to the launch, if it is all hard surface, I use a floor mat from the van. Otherwise, I unload my kayak on a grassy surface whenever possible. Most of the launches I use are not exclusively hard surface.

[AbuMasgouf]

KeelEazy does the job pretty well. I have it on my Revo on the keel as well as the sides. It's a thin pvc type material and holds up decently. If you are pilling rubbing it starts to loosen after a couple of seasons. But some goop will help it stay longer.

I have yet to put anything on my outback because I'm not fully convinced by the cost effectiveness of the KeelEazy.

[J.A. Veil]

I have not added protection to a keel, Hobie or otherwise. Here are two brainstorming ideas that may or may not work.

1) Some kayaks come with a replaceable plastic section at the back of the keel. After is wears down, you can remove it and add a new piece. Even if your kayak does not have that feature built in, perhaps you could glue a strip of plastic (cutting board, Star board, etc) to the rear of the keel as a sacrificial strip. It may add a small amount of additional drag, but probably would not be a noticeable reduction in speed.

2) Get some the tough material that is used to coat beds of pickup trucks (for example Line-X). Mask the keel area and spray a strip on the bottom of the keel either along the full keel or just in the rear.

[Salty Dog]

For what it is worth, and I believe I found it a few years ago on this site, I used weather and ice shield flashing, cut to length and cover with numerous layers of HD gorilla tape. Going on my 3 year with it.

[mchottie]

For what it is worth, and I believe I found it a few years ago on this site, I used weather and ice shield flashing, cut to length and cover with numerous layers of HD gorilla tape. Going on my 3 year with it.

Seems like this would also be easily attainable as well at something like Home Depot / Lowes etc.

[Salty Dog]

Seems like this would also be easily attainable as well at something like Home Depot / Lowes etc.

Just realized I stated going on 3 years. from November 2015, 2016 and starting on the second full year.

[ronaultmtd]

I'll just be careful...I have used my "Ugly Duckling" Outback for four years and the bottom has just normal ramp rash...so Lady Luck has a few but with the Berkley Pro side scan sonar transducer cover that protrudes an 1 1/2 inch lower than flush...I have to be mindful of how to launch and recover...and the side scan feature of the unit is amazing- near photo quality images if you learn how to adjust the contrast and signal strength to optimize the bottom images...takes a while to figure out what you are looking at on the screen, but once you figure it out, it is an amazing tool...especially good in shallow water to stay near a channel or structure...

[Steve6902]

How about a flexible cutting board and some 3M double sided tape?? You can cut it to shape and when it wears out just heat up the tape and replace. Here's a link to a cheap Wal-Mart brand.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Progressi...&wl13=&veh=sem