Rear keel protection?

[Brad Dunn]

I am ordering a 10ft keel guard for my 242. I wanted to get one for the rear to protect from backing into beaches. They said it will peel off since the front would be in the water. Any other ideas. Thick clear protection to stick on

 

[rsg1963]

I also have the 10' Keelguard. Good product. I wonder if that clear masking stuff they apply to the front of cars would work? You see it on Corvettes, Z350's etc. Like stone guard stuff. I know it adheres really well, but do not know it it would last at the stern of a boat.

 

[Brad Dunn]

I was thinking same thing. I guess they can custom length the keel guards so I might just get from front to back $$$

 

[subysti]

Try the clear bra stuff for cars. Cheep enough and you can just order it in whatever size tou want.

 

[scokill]

I am ordering a 10ft keel guard for my 242. I wanted to get one for the rear to protect from backing into beaches. They said it will peel off since the front would be in the water. Any other ideas. Thick clear protection to stick on

Personally I wouldn't beach my boat stern first. Perhaps the definition of beach is different for some. I'm assuming that beach means you back it in and the boat is resting on the beach. I would set anchor from bow and set anchor from stern to beach where the stern was at least in knee deep water. I would not let the boat rest on sand or whatever material is on the beach. In this case you wouldn't need any type of protection for the back of the boat.

 

[Brad Dunn]

yes that is the plan most of the time. sometimes we do a quick pick up of someone on shore and may accidently hit bottom

 

[Ronnie]

My 2 cents:

3m makes the protective coating tape/clear bras for cars. The more you spend the higher the quality - longer the warranty but I don't think it will survive constant cycling in and out of the water or being submerged for hours/days at a time.

I wouldn't beach my boat stern in but am concerned more about damaging the steering nozzles when I'm anchored close to shore since these are the items that will contact the shore first. A scratch to the keel is cosmetic, damage to the steering nozzles could leave you stranded.

There was a member here who got a 13' to 15' keel guard to cover damage to most his 242 ls keel. The thing to be concerned about is not getting the guard to close to the intake grate(s) which could cause a disruption in the follow of water to it /them and lead to cavitation. More of a concern for boats with a single center mounted engine than a twin engine boat.

 

[scokill]

yes that is the plan most of the time. sometimes we do a quick pick up of someone on shore and may accidently hit bottom

This is risky for more than just scratch. Sucking up mud, debris, sand, etc. is not something I would risk.

 

[CCarroll]

2018/242 LSE cobra jet magnum steering with dual AK keel.
Just snapped my articulating keel in Destin by beaching too hard to stern but while inside a bay with easy waves in that soft sugar sand. I’m removing plastic OEM keel that broke. I’m Installing additional inside aluminum Cobra Jet fins on inside of each jet since the tie rod won’t be restricting if inside plastic factory keel and rods are removed . I’m convinced from riding the waves the high speed steering improvement is all from lower hanging metal Cobra fins below the Boat’s draft at all speeds so I’m expanding them instead of reinstalling a plastic rudder that is even with the keel at draft depth. I’m looking for ideas to protect my stern in shallow waters without the rudder as a “fuse” . I’ll also be “beaching” from now on more conservatively from the stern regardless. Any ideas y’all have are gold and I appreciate any and all thoughts or related experiences!

 

[Luke welsh]

Same problem, I think I'm going to make a rudder with aluminum mounts and a simple screw in plastic fin that can be replaced cheap and easy. I'll post pictures when I complete it. I think it should be a sacrificial bump stop,but not at 278$

 

[Nightmare]

Not the trip in the pic, but the very next time. I was a little closer to shore. SO much traffic right outside the no-wake zone sent a pretty good couple waves. I had the Thrust Vectors flipped up, but the boat was still about 6" from landing on the beach. It dislodged my Box anchor too. Ass on the Beach seems like a bad idea.

I plan to pick up a 10' Keel Guard in the next couple of weeks. I'm not looking forward to the installation AT ALL

 

[84rzv500r]

While I do beach my boat occasionally in sand (its mostly coral and rock here) I tend to use a bow and stern anchor and keep it safely floating as the tide goes out... that said I used 0.125" 6061 plate aluminum and plated the last 24" of the hull between the jet intakes...and extended the keel 3" as well... bow first always for many reasons...

 

[Marvin willis]

I put two 9 ft keel guards on my ar240. The second pulled back a little. I tried to reinstall it using 5200. Im Hoping it holds now. Some of the 5200 squeezed out the edges. And that white on my blue bottom is about to drive me insane. Luckily it’s pretty far underneath so I have to really look to see it.