Does anyone have experience on protecting the keel of a thermolite hull of a Precision kayak. It’s a 12’ recreational kayak that’s exposed to beaching on cement or sandy, rocky surfaces of canals , rivers, and lakes.
Keel Eazy is quick and easy to apply. That said, the best protection is to not allow your kayak to touch anything hard. Carry the boat into ankle deep water then get in/out. Picture shows Keel Eazy on the bow of a Pygmy build.
Hi Paigeme,
can you double check your references. did you mean perception kayaks? vs precision kayaks? did you mean “thermoform”…not “thermolite”?
if its peception kayak and a thermoform hull i would not worry about beaching and would not bother with trying to attach extra protection. thermoform hulls are pretty bullet proof to begin with.
that said, mark has the answer i would give, which is minimize the contact with an abrasive surface by picking up the boat as soon as reasonably possible in lieue of dragging it.
the thermoplastic hulls are the kinds of hulls that do not need to be babied and is what i will use if i know i am going to be scraping against stuff like beaches and boat ramps. they also tend to be heavy making them hard to simply lift out…so depending on your strength, marks advice may not be particularly valuable.
but i would not waste keel easy on a thermoform/ABS plastic hull. that’s why we have hulls made of this material.
h
Yes, I did mean perception Kayak, but it is only 37 pounds and I believe the term thermolite is what it is. It’s a two piece Kayak and fairly easy to maneuver and lift. I’m only 115 pounds and it’s fairly easy to lift to waist level when I load it onto my Malone Kayak loader. I generally enter/exit it on the water. I was hoping to save it from scratches by applying some kind of shield. Thanks for the advice.
Hi Paigeme,
my guess is that you have a perception sonoma which is made from something called "airalite’. and i am assuming when you said its a two piece kayak, you meant that it has a hull and deck of different colors that are attached to one another vs the one-piece plastic boats.
the airalite is a lightweight acrylic/plastic composite and should be treated with more care than a thermaform/abs plastic boat. the airalite line is known for its light weight…but avoiding the cost of a full-on fibreglass/composite boat.
the easiest answer is to just be careful and not drag it. but if you wanted to go to the trouble, a piece of Keel easy, as Mark described above, would be the next best thing. the only down-side of the keel easy is, absent a skilled installation, they tend to come loose over time and look unsightly.
if you can manage it, i would just lift it as you described and treat it with more care than the heavier plastic boat. otherwise, consider keel easy…and potentially have it installed by a skilled installer.
is this the boat in the picture below? if so, we are now all talking about the same thing 
h
Similar, but older as the hatch in the back is covered with a rubber cap. It is called the Tribute…I have a bit of a spotty memory! The idea of a professional install for the Keel tape is a good one if I choose to go that way, thank you.