In not sure if I've posted this as I can't seem to find it, but my apologies if this is a repeat. I'm looking for ideas to protect my keels on my P15. I sail alot in the summer months and beaching my cat regularly must be taking a wear on my thin keels. Wondering if there is a paid product or homemade product that someone is using for keel protection. Thanks!

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Frank
Prindle 15/Hobie 16/Hobie 14T
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I have reinforced the hull bottoms of the two boats i've had, no big deal, just took It to a local fiberglass repair. That's what i'd do again, not necessairily in advance but once i see some signs of wear. I saw that there are adhesive stuff for powerboats, i guess they might work, they are not particularly cheap.. look for keel guard or keel shield in Amazon.

I have done abrasion resistant buildup on two cats. A Hobie 16 and my Supercat 15.
On the Hobie, I layered a layer or two of epoxy and fiberglass mat.
On the Supercat, I used Marinetex. It was expensive, but it was already tinted white and kept me from a final finish as my hulls were white.
In both cases, it just took a bit of time and effort, but the most important thing to remember was to tape off the rest of the hull well, so the epoxy/Marinetex clean up was minimized. With the Marine Tex, I taped it off and added a thick tape on top of the painters tape so that I could use it as a gauge to get the right thickness laid on. Then the only “freehand” area I was working was the exact bottom “point” of the hulls. Used bondo type squeegees to lay it on.
You then have to sand the rough edges down, for either methods.
Both have lasted at least a few seasons. The paint I applied to the Hobie has worn off, but the epoxy and mat have held up well. Sold the boat to a neighbor and he is rough on the landings, but it has withstood at least 3 year’s of hard landings and dragging it around the beach.
I have 2 seasons on the Supercat with Marinetex, with no real visible wear to it. I am a little more careful on dragging it around the beach, ever since I had to rebuild the transom from bonsai beachings.



Edited by windwardde on Jan 03, 2018 - 11:14 AM.

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Supercat 15
Windrider 17
Several Sunfish and Sunfish clones
Ratboat built from Zuma and Sunfish parts
Shallow water sailor in the Delaware Bay
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I have a hard time believing ANYTHING short of metal strip would last

additional layers of glass and epoxy (or resin) is usually the easiest and cheapest method
a "bottom job" is considered standard maintenance after a few seasons of sailing (depending on use)

can be done at home with some practice -

your best bet is to get an anchor and beach wheels - keep in mind EVERYtime you rub sand .... you are sanding down your boat

I know its old but I was recently looking into this. This winter I plan on doing a bottom job or maybe even having one done as I'm new to fiberglass. After a few hours I have found that many have trouble with the Keel guard as it has a padding layer that usually leads to the protective coat peeling off of the adhesive. The keel shield has been more widely recommended despite having essentially the same make up they skip the padding between to my knowledge. Has anyone actually used either?

Half Round 3/4" Acrylic Strips epoxied with West 610 to each hull

sold in Six Foot Lengths, for my Hobie 16 it took a strip and a half per hull

might not help with boat speed but more time spent sailing than doing another bottom job

shipping wore me out but well worth not having to do another bottom job. if you can coordinate with a couple of other boat owners that would cut back on the shipping charges



Edited by topcat16 on Jul 17, 2020 - 01:19 PM.