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 Post subject: Wearing off skeg
PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:54 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:47 am
Posts: 5
Problem: The keel in the rear of the quest (skeg?) is a permanent part of the boat. Old Town kayaks (sit insides) have a sacrificial, replaceable skeg that affixes to this area so that it is worn, rather than the boat itself, when “dragged”. I realize the common sense solution would be to carry it and that the boat itself is manufactured for the demand in the salt. My only use of the boat will be in limestone rivers that have "wagon tracks". I have to get out and "drag" through and over a lot of limestone. The rear of the boat is going to take some dragging; for the investment I don’t want to wear it off in a season.

Any idea's on a solution to the problem? I've been told that this area of the boat isn't thick enough to drill into and create a sacrificial skeg. I was wondering about using a kevlar patch kit and putting an extra 1/2 inch of plastic back there that I can wear off. Any thoughts?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:09 am 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:15 pm
Posts: 122
Location: Sandy Eggo
Mad, I hear ya loud and clear! I have an Old Town Loon 138 and I always thought that replacable piece at the tail of the kayak was a great idea. I noticed a flat spot wearing on the front of the bow on my Outback from loading it (stern first) onto the top of my SUV. I've posted this issue online with hopes of some good ideas to resolve the problem. A few ideas surfaced but nothing remarkable. My solution so far is to place a strip of that adhesive backed material on the bow that's used for non-skid on stairs. It's a rubber like material with a rough finish. After a couple of loadings it's starting to show wear but that's OK because it's doing its job. When it starts to wear through I'll peel it off and put on another strip. I bought the material at an Ace Hardware store and I believe it's made by 3M. If you come up with a better solution, please post it here.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:20 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 6:56 am
Posts: 822
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Hey MCT,
A hearty welcome to the Forum! Where are you located? With that handle I would have to assume the far frozen North somewhere! That is an interesting question. With regard to loading stern first, I put a small throw rug on the ground beneath the bow to cut down on the wear and tear as I drag to load a boat, either on my roof rack or on a trailer. Of course, that would not help much if you have to drag a boat over some distance.

But I kind of like Noal's idea. Seems like some kind of replaceable material (fabric, piece of rubber floor mat, plastic strip, etc. should work for a while at least. I wonder if a strip of Velcro attached to the hull might work also. One half on the hull and the other half attached to a wooden trim strip or plastic strip (Teflon?) of some kind, probably with some small self-tapping screws.When the outer strip begins to wear, peel it off and replace it. Naaah--probably would not hold up to any kind of heavy duty dragging, but some type of adhesive matrial like that might work. I'd have to go to my local Ace, Lowe's, or HD and snoop around to see what I might adapt to the situtation.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:46 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2005 7:32 pm
Posts: 469
Location: Out There
You might try to bolt a strip of material like Delrin to the bottom of the keel. Delrin is a very durable kind of plastic often used for cutting boards and bearing material. You might be able to cut a thin strip, the width of the keel bottom and maybe 1/2" thick, drill holes in the Delrin, through the keel and bolt it in with a backing plate using silicone sealer on the bolts to prevent leaking. Countersink the holes in the Delrin so the bolts don't get ground down. While you're at it, make a few of the Delrin strips so when one gets ground down you can bolt another in it's place. You would only need to make one backing plate.

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