Hobie Cat Forums

so i have an 84 H16 and the keel is starting to get really worn and the lake im moving my cat to has a really rocky/rough shore line and vertually no sand, just small rocks.
so here is my question, has anyone ever installed a keel protector or anything similar on their cat? if not, what is the best way of protecting the hull on an older boat?
right now im looking at the keel protector like the one at keelguard.com

There are a couple of guys in our fleet that swear by JB weld, I think that would be expensive after a few seasons and it has to be replaced. I personally am going to have our local LineX (Best spray on bed line in the world!!!!) http://www.linex.com/ spray a bit on the bottom of the 16. If that works, I will pay a few extra $$$ to have them color Match my yellow h18.

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Sail Like you Have a Pair
Bluish gray 73 - 83 H16
Super Nice Yellow 84 H18

thanks for the reply, i have been thinking about the spay on stuff as well, but not sure how long it would last, and yes the keel protector would run me about $400!

I wore out the bottom of my hulls several years ago. One hull had started taking on water. I was at the beach and a friend of a friend fixed it for me. He turned the boat over and, using aluminum tape, formed channels on each hull. He poured resin in the channels and built up solid blocks about 2" wide and 1/4 to 1/2" thick, most of the length of both hulls. I never have had any leaks since. I tried to shape the hulls when I got home a few days later but the resin was so hard I gave up. I have been sailing it that way for more than 15 years.

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Howard

Gymbuff - We have a 79 H-16 and it gets a lot of use. About 20 yrs. ago I did a bottom job on the hulls. Flipped it over and used resin and fiberglass. Ever since then, whenever I have a small project where I use resin, I mix up a little more than I need and brush on the remainder on the bottom of the hulls while it's on the trailer. A thin coating once every year or two is like preventative medicine for your hulls. That resin is really tough.
Most of our sailing is off a sandy beach in Mission Bay, but during the winter we often go to Otay Lake where it's warmer. The shore is also rocky. I lay some carpet remnants to one side of our trailer and rig the boat on the carpets. When I bring the boat in I aim for the trailer and turn toward the carpets at the last moment. I still slow the boat down because of the kick-up rudders.
My hulls are always in perfect condition.

If you do go with the spray on, do your homework!!! Rhinoliner and other roll/spray on liners will not hold up nearly a well as LineX it is more expensive, but a far better product.

I did a bottom job on my h16 this last season and it seems to be holding very well. It is not that tough to do either and I expect it to hold for a few seasons if I do not do the LineX thing.

Sam

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Sail Like you Have a Pair
Bluish gray 73 - 83 H16
Super Nice Yellow 84 H18

thanks for all your suggestions, richandpat; that was my original thought and probably will do something to that affect, altho i may end up purchasing a keel protector for both hulls that runs 1/2 way down each hull, just to proctect the hull in case i come in too fast or accidentally hit a rock, either way i will post some pictures in the spring when i get around to actually doing that kind of work on my boat, and since im in canada, spring is a long time away

Gymbuff: Definitely look forward to hearing what path you take and seeing pictures! I hate having to fix the bottoms of the hulls because they've been dragged around. Any long-lasting solution to the keel wear problem would be awesome.

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-Roland
Sailing vintage Hobie Cats in West Africa.

theres a company hear in Cincinnati that makes stuff called "Dufasurf" they use it on the bottom of fan boats, kite boards,skies, etc. it scratches and scuffs but slides lie a dream. it'll protect from abrasion (sand and pea gravel) but it doesn't add any impact resistance. I just had to repair the hulls on a 16 that were chewed to (censored) and we talked about glassing an extruded aluminim rail into the keel. given nobody wants to do glass work. No, what we need is a hammer formed keel that you epoxy/glue on....Hmmmm.....How many people would be seriously interested in aluminium keels?
hell it'd take me a week to sand up a form. we'll make a wooden form, hammer out some aluminum sheet and wholla!

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Jack

Hey, if they are decently priced put me on the list, as for installation, would u epoxy them in?

i'm thinking glue/epoxy a formed aluminum rail. just like the "Keelguard" system but metal.
you could use some super industrial double sided tape, but i'd hate to see it fail.

(as for runners in the keel, it's a lot of work! we worked one up and decided on the cross-section but it gave the glass another place to fail and the keel line proved to be a VERY dynamic bend that was near impossible replicate without devoting serious time, money and worse; shop space! to the project.)

you can sort of see what it looked like

----= fiberglass


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--I I--
-''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''-
------I I------
-----I I-----
\'''''''''''''''''''''''''/
\ /
\ /
\__/

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Jack

I protect my hulls by finding the right spot on the beach.
It does protect the boats hulls, and makes it like ice, so its easy to move the boat and fall on your tea kettle.

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ALLEY CAT 1984 RED LINE HOBIE 18 MAGNUM
Sail # 10505 or 277

The problem is that i live by a COLD water lake, it is too cold for Algae to grow, also the shoreline is laced with rocks, none smaller then the size of your hand!

How far back should these go? I just bought a 300ft roll of 1/8" durasurf from Crown Plastics for this purpose.
Do These cats rock fore or aft when you leave em on the beach? (I'm a trailer sailor and I never see mine sitting)
if there is serious interest I'll have my pal put some full length strips on ebay.
Durasurf is UHMWPE slick on one side rough on the mounting side. The only color I have is sky blue with like glitter in it.
The aluminum thing is out, to expensive & time consuming!!!

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Jack

Jack: Why not run the material the full length of the hull? You never know at what angle you're going to hit the beach.

What was the cost of the 300 ft roll? How wide is the material? Will it conform to the sharp edge at the bottom of the hulls? Have you tried to install it on your H16 yet? How are you planning to attach it?

I'd be very curious to hear how you fare, as my local club has issues with excessive wear on the bottom of hulls due to dragging on the beach.

PS, gymbuff: Any progress on your side?

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-Roland
Sailing vintage Hobie Cats in West Africa.