My Sea Island Sport build

   Pretty Boat!  I would love to here how it performs in surf.

As far as the wear, I would suggest that you stop/minimize dragging the boat.  Regardless what a kayak is made of, repeaded dragging will wear away the stern.  I like to grab the boat by the cockpit and carry it against my hip just far enough that I can get a cart under the stern.

Like Laszlo, I have had good luck with the dynel rub strip kit.  I used it on the first 5 boats and it has held up well.  When it get a little worn, I build it back up with more epoxy/graphite mixture.  The negatives are that it adds weight and takes a bit of time/careful masking to make it look nice. 

On my latest build, I decided to try a different product, called KeelEazy.  It is a thick plastic backed with adhesive that you apply with a heat gun.  This product has worked very well on protecting the shear of my racing boat from paddle strikes.  My success on the keel of the Frej has been mixed.  It adheres well where the keel is mostly flat but not where the bow/stern have sharp bends.  If you look closely at the bottom pict, you will see that the rub strip stops where the bow curves more sharply upward.  I could not get it to lay flat and stick farther up the curve.  Overall, I still beleive that the dynel is the best approach, but is areas without sharp curves, KeelEazy may be a quick and easy alternative.

Thanks for the suggestions re: the wear on the keel.  I decided to go with the KeelEazy and it worked great - well at least the installation of it did - I haven;t actually been able to get back in the water since installing it last week. I had no problems getting it to form / adhere over the sharp curves at the bow and stern - just used medium heat (hair dryer), a lot of patience and really taking time to smooth it out seemed to work for me.

My last project for the summer was to find a storage solution so my wife can still use the garage for the car in the winter. Voila - a bit hard to see because of the light bulb shining but my kayak now hangs from the garage ceiling with room for one more kayak to be made next year. The garage door opens with plenty of clearance.

The next big decision will be what to make next year for my kayak...leaning towards a hybrid so I can experience at least a partial strip build.  Right now looking at the Shearwater Sport hybrid, or maybe the Shearwater 17 hybrid, but that's still several months away.