Keel Guard
- Thread starter GW VOYAGER
- Start date
journeyman
GreatGrady Captain
I put one on my 208 after a couple of years and was one of the first things I did when I bought my 258. I think its a good idea for several reasons:
1. If you are likely to beach your boat, intentionally or not, it will save any abrasion on the keel.
2. If you sometimes bump a cross member while loading or unloading your rig at the ramp, ouch!
3. The unseen stray (small) floating object.
One tip: I had every intention of tailering my 258, which I did for the first year, so I bought the almond colored Keel Guard which matched the gelcoat perfectly. Then I decided to slip my boat and painted the bottom black around the almond Keel Guard. Not so pretty :cry:. You want the Keel Guard several inches above the waterline. I know I'm being picky here but I couldn't live with that so I stripped the almond one off. WOW, what a job that was!!!! I replaced it with a Black one and that was that.
I think it's worthwhile for a little piece of mind.
1. If you are likely to beach your boat, intentionally or not, it will save any abrasion on the keel.
2. If you sometimes bump a cross member while loading or unloading your rig at the ramp, ouch!
3. The unseen stray (small) floating object.
One tip: I had every intention of tailering my 258, which I did for the first year, so I bought the almond colored Keel Guard which matched the gelcoat perfectly. Then I decided to slip my boat and painted the bottom black around the almond Keel Guard. Not so pretty :cry:. You want the Keel Guard several inches above the waterline. I know I'm being picky here but I couldn't live with that so I stripped the almond one off. WOW, what a job that was!!!! I replaced it with a Black one and that was that.
I think it's worthwhile for a little piece of mind.
Thanks journeyman
I trailer my voyager and have a couple of chips in the gelcoat.
I think on steep ramps I may be touching the cross member.
Myself like most other grady owners want everything to be perfect or so close that you can't tell the difference.
I trailer my voyager and have a couple of chips in the gelcoat.
I think on steep ramps I may be touching the cross member.
Myself like most other grady owners want everything to be perfect or so close that you can't tell the difference.
I put my boat on the beach often and installed the product as soon as I got my grady. Why you ask because my old Chris Craft "my first boat ever" had worn thru the gel coat to the main stringer in one year. Parking on the sand is like parking on sand paper. The keel guard is a great product and the 3m adhesive will hold it on like it was weilded on.
Great product IMOP. :wink:
Great product IMOP. :wink:
I have 85 Trophy Pro and had the 3M keel guard put on at my local marina. They prepped the hull and did everything by the instructions but it peel away almost immediately from the hull where the keel meets the trailer roller. I am thinking about having a rhino liner sprayed on the keel. My marina states a lot of boat owners are going this route but I have not seen a boat that had this done. Any thoughts would be helpful as I too love my Grady and want to protect it as much as possible. Thanks
Poor prep made the 3M adhesive fail...the Rhino lining will fail as well if all oils/wax and surface roughness is not correct for the product....have not seen Rhino on a hull....as it stands alone its pretty tough....keep us posted on how it comes out.