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Kayak Keel Guards #14381255 05/31/22 01:16 PM
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Jason1976 Offline OP
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I am about to purchase two kayaks I was curious does anyone suggest the use of keel guards as I want to protect my investment. What is the durability like with 12ft kayaks. Looking at the Old Town 120 sportsman


I spend most of my time fishing the rest I just waste
Re: Kayak Keel Guards [Re: Jason1976] #14381551 05/31/22 05:31 PM
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christian myrick Offline
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I know there is a cut to fit one mariner sails offers. You heat it in hot water and warm the hull with a heat gun and it just shapes to your bow and or stern. I have yet to use one but have many times thought about it


Re: Kayak Keel Guards [Re: Jason1976] #14381829 05/31/22 11:25 PM
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pocfishin Offline
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Berley Pro makes bumper/keel guards for certain kayak models.
I have no experience with their guards.

https://www.berleypro.com/product/bumper-bro-kayak-keel-guard/

Re: Kayak Keel Guards [Re: Jason1976] #14381907 06/01/22 12:55 AM
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Jason1976 Offline OP
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Thanks guys


I spend most of my time fishing the rest I just waste
Re: Kayak Keel Guards [Re: Jason1976] #14382126 06/01/22 12:16 PM
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Jerry713 Offline
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Originally Posted by Jason1976
I am about to purchase two kayaks I was curious does anyone suggest the use of keel guards as I want to protect my investment. What is the durability like with 12ft kayaks. Looking at the Old Town 120 sportsman

Durability depends on how you use them. Run the nose up on concrete ramps, rocks, or anything else hard and abrasive all the time and you'll have a hole in the yak before long regardless of who makes it. Keel guards are smart investments. You can buy a thick one that will last longer but will slow you down slightly though you probably won't notice any difference. I did a diy with a piece of pvc and didn't like it. I've used KeelEasy on my kayaks for years. It's a peel n stick type that is applied using either a heat gun or hair dryer super easy to install and the adhesion is excellent as long as you clean the kayak very well with 91% isopropyl alcohol. While I am careful with my kayak the KeelEasy has lasted. It's not thick at all but works well for me and it's 1/3 of the cost of some others in that peel n stick class.


You get out of it what you put into it!
Re: Kayak Keel Guards [Re: Jason1976] #14383084 06/02/22 01:24 PM
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Jimbo Online Content
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If you are going for short distances say from a parking lot to a boat ramp you can use a cart.
Beaching a kayak is easy to not get deep gouge marks on your keel if you take care.
Adding anything to the hull adds weight that will slow you down.
I thought about a keel guard way back when I first got my new kayak, and then I watched some guys on two different occasions drag their kayak across a gravel and asphalt parking lot about 50 yards down to the water.
I figured they were nuts or those kayaks were rented or borrowed.
Something I'd never do!
After that I never worried about a few scratches or patina as I call it.


Just one more cast!

Re: Kayak Keel Guards [Re: Jason1976] #14383097 06/02/22 01:30 PM
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S5Locks.com Offline
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I need to get a cart. Currently I just unload and carry it. Try not to drag it. But on the keel guard I'm sure you could get something thin that isn't a performance hindrance. But it seems like a spinning your wheels kind of thing. You're going to get scratches as time goes on. Seems to me that unless you were really consistently careless, ie dragging across the parking lot, it would be tough to significantly hurt the hull.


Bill Smith
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Re: Kayak Keel Guards [Re: Jason1976] #14387401 06/07/22 04:23 PM
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lconn4 Online Content
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99 percent of folks kayak fishing with a quality brand will never wear through the keel no matter how hard they try. roflmao


A good rule of angling philosophy is not to interfere with another fisherman's ways of being happy, unless you want to be hated.
Zane Grey, Tales of Fishes, 1919

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