UHMW for keel protection

[capt jake]

Well, they are not totally finished... as they take a lot of time. I found a super deal on some Lewmar racing blocks with ball bearings. All told it was about $100, so I went that way. They move smoother.

Who knows; I may change as Phil has done, to keep with the 'appeal' of the look.

[Ken]

Jan - .....well.....I did it!

I cut tow pieces of UHMW 3/8 x 2 x 48 and mounted them on the keel. One up front and the other about a foot from the aft end of the keel.

Tonight I will remove the strips and drill the holes out to fill with epoxy. I think I'll be glad I put this on - hopefully it will save on the wear from beaching and trailering - we'll see.

I'll get some pics to share soon too.

Ken

[Jan Williamson]

Ken, So that sounded easy What is nice about it is that it is easy to swap out if you need to. I am contemplating using this piece of UHMW that I got from the local mill. I believe it is the kind that has ceramic in it. So it may be a challange to cut and shape with the tools I have. So is this the stuff you got from Ebay? I am a couple weeks away from being ready for it. I am going to try cutting it with a rented diamond bladed saw, so we'll see.

[Ken]

Jan,

Yes - ebay - just look around enough to get a good deal - lots of it out there under several names.

Ken

[capt jake]

I believe it is the kind that has ceramic in it.

Never heard of that before!! interesting.

What about Spantex (Barry??) How owuld it fair below the waterline in such an application??

For that matter, there are a lot of Oregon river boats that have had the Rhino Lining (or other truck bed liners) installed and have had great reports about their stability.!!

I think that a rolled on protection or even sprayed would provide a better measure of keel protection than a simple strip of UHMW, as it would go up the sides of the keel.

Thoughts???

[Ken]

Oh Jake,

Rolling something on - you always have the good ideas - but alas.... just a little late for me - I already attached the strips on the keel bottom. Here's the pic I promised Jan - if not already viewed in a different post:

[attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

[capt jake]

Yup, that'll work. :)

I just thought of the rolling application the other day. Why it didn't dawn on me sooner?? I am still wondering if the Spantex will take submersion; this would be the least expensive and easiest to apply.

[Joel]

I found this old thread while searching for info on UHMW. I was wondering if anybody has used this material as a shoe for the bottom of the keel. I was planing on screwing a 3/8" strip down along the length of the keel. I found a local source that sells a reprocessed product fairly cheap. They can supply 1-1/2" x 20' for $16.00 it is not UV stabilized but they said the black material will not degrade for a long (over 5 years ) time . I am also planing on putting this on the trailer.

I was wondering if 1/4" would be thick enough?

Also had some ideas about making a rudder out of some 3/4" UHMW ???

joel

[capt jake]

I used it for the bunks and keel bed on my trailer for the runabout. It does expand in the heat I noticed. :roll: It goes right back into place when the sun goes down though.

[Joel]

It does expand in the heat I noticed. :roll: It goes right back into place when the sun goes down though.

That's something I didn't think about. I had the same problem with some plastic lattice I put around the bottom of my deck. I did oversize the holes so it could move a bit. I don't think would be a problem on the keel.

What is the thickness of the material you used?

joel

[capt jake]

Mine was about 3/8" strong. As long as the sun doesn't hit it, it stays pretty stable.

side note....what ever happened to Jan anyway???

[Bill Paxton]

For what it's worth, here's a link to a thread from 2 years ago on this site where some of us discussed how we used metal for a shoe:

http://www.messing-about.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3402

[capt jake]

I installed brass half oval on the forward section of the keel. I got it at Alaska brass and copper in Seattle. If I recall, it was about $45 for 6', maybe it was longer...

[Tony Pratt]

Ive been using it on my boat for the past 3 years and been working great no scratches on the bottom of my boat, I also put it where the bunks sit when the boat is on the trailer here are some pic dry filled.

[Joel]

Tony, What is the thickness of the UHMW you used? How did you fasten it to the bottom?

By the way... I checked out your website. Your boat looks great! You really did a nice job

joel

[Tony Pratt]

Thanks Jole, The shoe is 1/4 of an inch thick, I used 1 1/4 phillips tapered stainless screws and pre drilled all holes first, Then I tapered the UHMW so the screw were flush and would't get caught on any thing, then I mixed some epoxy up and brushed it on the keel and layed down the shoe and screwed it down to seal it so far no problems.

[PSwan]

Jan, I was going to go with UHMW on the Tiki, but with all the rocks and oyster shell around the spoil banks I like to pull up on I decided to go with 1/4" X 2" brass. I drilled and counter sunk #12 x 2" brass screws about every 10" on each side into the plate to attach it to the keel. Before screwing it down, I epoxied the keel bottom and filled the screw holes with epoxy too. It makes a great "skid strip" as well as adding about 80 lbs of ballast.