After six years and several thousand miles of paddling, the keel of my Impex Currituck was showing signs of too much contact with rocky shores, shallow water encounters with hidden rocks and oyster beds and being dragged onto sandy beaches.  I was through the gel coat in several places.  I felt the situation needed attention, but the only solution I could come up with was to lay a fiberglass strip long the keel.  I found some good do-it-yourself directions on doing the job, but I was hesitant about going ahead for two reasons.  First, it appeared that laying a sacrificial fiberglass keel strip would add several pounds of weight to an already heavy boat, something I hoped to avoid.  Second, It had been decades since I had done any serious work with fiberglass.  I was concerned that I would do a really amateur job and spoil the look of a great boat. 

Then I got a response to something on Facebook, that led me to a product called KeelEasy.  I did a Google search and turned up a series of videos on how to apply KeelEasy, and found sites with reviews and details on how and where to purchase the product.  The claim was that the product is applied easily, that it is as durable as fiberglass and it is much lighter.  It sounded too good to be true, but I thought I’d give it a try.

KeelEazy costs about $4.00 per foot, which for a seventeen foot boat isn’t too expensive (KeelEazy is available from several vendors – do a Google search).  I ordered the white strip (it comes in several colors), hoping it would blend into my boat’s white hull.  The product arrived about a week later in a small USPS Priority Mail box. 

KeelEazy is a peel and stick product.  However, the installation video suggested using a heat gun set at 500 degrees to apply and mold the strip to the curves of the boat.  The heat helps set the glue, making a tight bond with the hull.  I purchased a heat gun on sale at Lowe’s for $30.00, so I now had about $100.00 invested in the project. 

KeelEazy is just as easy to apply as the videos show.  First, I cleaned the keel area of my boat thoroughly using denatured alcohol.  Then I laid KeelEazy out and cut it to the length I needed.  In order to make a neat and professional looking application, I used a French Curve tool to round both ends of KeelEazy.  Next I peeled back several feet of the peel and stick tape covering and applied KeelEazy to the bow.  I continued to peel back the tape while backing along the side of the boat until I had at least half the tape

uncovered.  Standing back and eyeing the length of the boat, I let the tape settle on the keel.  The glue on the tape is good, but still allows for lifting and repositioning of KeelEazy until you have it where you want it.  After applying and positioning all of the tape, I smoothed it down by hand and then fired up the heat gun.

The heat gun causes the tape to relax and settle into the curves of the boat.  This is especially important where the curves of the boat sweep up at the bow and stern.  Don’t focus the heat gun on one spot.  Sweep it back and forth along KeelEazy, shaping it into place with a gloved hand.

DO NOT exceed the 500-degree setting.  Being impatient, I did that in one spot and ended up with one small area of wrinkles and toasted glue.  500 degrees is the maximum setting you should use. 

My one area of concern was the skeg opening.  The instructions say to lay the tape right over the opening, then cut the tape with a razor knife to fit.  I was concerned that if I cut the tape at the edges of the opening, the edges might ketch on stones or other debris, tear and come off.  My solution was to cut the tape down the center of the skeg opening, leaving a tab at each end.  The excess material was folded into the skeg opening and set in place with the heat gun.  So far it seems to have worked.

I am very happy with the final result.  It looks classy and professional.  And after several uses, it shows no more damage than my bare keel would have.  I believe it will hold up well.  And best of all, once it is chewed up and nasty looking after many miles of paddling, I can remove it using the heat gun and replace it with another KeelEazy, something I could not do with a sacrificial fiberglass keel strip. 

Below is the basic KeelEazy installation video from YouTube.  There are several more videos that go into specific detail.

Link to KeelEazy website: KeelEazy.com