DIY Keel for KaBoat by one of our customers

Описание: I took 1" galvanized conduit and bent it to form the bow. Then slid pipe insulation foam, taped and zip tied (not pictured) right after I got your email.

Took the boat out today to test it and it performed remarkably. Here's a pic of one of my ling taped out at 34" my buddy is holding. Made an 8 mile run today, started with 1 footer then built to 4 and I wish I had done this keep mod sooner. It handled so much better. It tracks much better and the issue went away!

1" galvanized conduit, 10 feet
2 pieces of 1" pipe insulation foam, 6 feet each
Zip ties
Roll of Gorilla tape

Reason I used galvanized conduit was it was cheap and well, it's galvanized, lol.

After bending, I did one last bend on the tip. This would probably have been better if I started with 13 foot piece to go all the way up the bow but this ended up working out fine. I stopped 6" from the transom because I didn't want to put pressure on that seam.

The Gorilla tape wrap on the conduit was for grip. Without it, the foam insulation slid on easily but slipped even when secured with zip ties and the precut slits opened up. With the Gorilla tape, it grips nicely but you can't slide the foam on anymore which didn't matter since my precut slits opened up anyways when it slipped around on the bare pipe. Left an inch of foam on either end and taped over with Gorilla tape for a little more protection.

The zipties didn't need to be snugged down super tight. The Gorilla tape below holds the foam nicely.

I just laid the foam wrapped pipe in the bottom of the boat and dropped the floor on top. Even pounding in 4 footers I didn't have movement. I banged against some rocks coming into the launch and still no issues. The foam is super sticky against the bottom of the boat. She'll be nice and squeaky if you try to drag it around on the bottom of the boat.

I am removing the keel to let it dry which isn't an issue since I remove the floor to wash the boat down after I get back. I have yet to come home without a little water in the boat and I don't need it getting slimy and nasty.

#kaboat
#diy
#mod