The Best Front Skid Plate for any Kayak (D.I.Y. Keel Gaurd) 

Probably THE most scratch resistant diy keel guard idea! Thanks so sharing!

Awesome job! Glad to see others using pvc for their skid plates. I started adding them to mine last year when i realized that the river gravel was eating up the bottom of my diy kayaks. Pvc takes forever to wear down!

This is a great idea SMF and a tidy addition to any kayak. It worked out perfect for me. Thank you. ATB.

Great work and thanks for sharing. I’ve been looking at ways to make a keel guard that wouldn’t break the back. This idea is the perfect answer. Thanks again for the detailed description and handy hints

I was looking for a keel guard last week . Well heck now I will make my own. Thanks so much!

Great video! I just made one for myself with a few minor differences. I didn't go with the PVC route, instead I used some scrap 1/8th plastic sheeting that I had laying around and I gave the outside surface a solid coating of spray bed liner. Thanks for the idea.

I'm a newbie kayaker. So, to be honest these skid plates never crossed my mind. I saw a kayak for sale and it had these. I came across this video by accident looking for where to buy them. You have definitely given me a little project to keep me busy. Thanks for the great video and your knowledge on how to complete them, Great job. I also think the bed liner spray is a nice way to finish them.

Great, thanks for sharing...I'll be doing this before warm weather gets here. Thanks for sharing 👍 😊

Great video. Very useful, I’m going to give this a try this evening on my quest 13.

Great idea. Use a heat gun to reduce scorching. Also use a heat gun to soften adhesive between parts you want to pull apart. A loosely filled leather sand bag can also help in shaping.

I see another great use for leftover braid line. Just slide it under one edge and then saw thru using both hands... That stuff really works.

What a great doit yourself project, just bought a Hobie compass and will be doing this shortly Thanks

Great idea i just got a kayak and wanted the best way to protect the front and i think this will work great.

vary nice.i just finished doing the same thing to my lifetime fishing yak.i used the electrical conduit.took 2 hours .was that nerve racking .came out clean.thank you for your help.

I made a trolling motor mount out of conduit and a heat gun worked great for bending it. I bet you could stick it on with plumbers/marine goop. Black pipe is probably ABS. It takes a different glue than PVC and might not stick to the tape. I wore a spot on the nose of my kayak from picking up the rear and turning it to put it on the wheels. I’ve used a pad under it since then but I like your idea better.

human ingenuity never ceases to amaze me

Maybe utilizing a heat gun over the keel guard the adhesive will loosen faster for removal. Ever tried making a silicone mold to make this keel guard out of acrylic.

Thanks for your great video. Today I successfully made several of these for me and fishing buddy's.

Great video definitely gonna make one for my 12ft Perception..👍🏼

Great job! Gonna have to try making a coupe of these! Thanks.

Thank you for the awesome video very informative, I'm going to do that to my new kayak.

Really glad I found this. It works so well

Just like to say THANKS this is by far the best way to install form fitted, extremely tuff and removable skid plates. I have two royalex canoes and after 20 years there were some thin and worn away skin spots. All other options were messy and 1 time applications that once those wear out...what do you do then? I used a heat gun and created form fitted skid plates that will extend the life of these canoes another 20 years...one piece of advice for anybody that wants to try this...you can order PVC that is colored...wont be a perfect match of course...but closer than white or grey....once again...giant thanks for this video!!!!

I didn't know keel guards was that important.. Plus other practical things for kayaks I didn't know I could make very good use for thanks

Thanks for making that video. I’m going to give it a try tonight.

that is awesome mate, great tutorial and thank you sir.

cool idea! thanks for sharing it

I wanna say thank you so much for the video i made one for my predator kayak and its awesome and strong thanks again

Awesome video..Thanks! I just bought a new Pelican fishing kayak and was just looking at Keelguard websites to protect the hull and came across your video...Man, a whole lot cheaper than Keelguard or Gator guard and will last without affecting the original hull...THANK YOU!! :-)

This is a great idea man, I’m gonna try it out this evening.

great Idea. I think when you attach them use the torch on the boat very lightly just in the gluing area and use epoxy to attach the skid plate to the boat

Nice tutorial, thanks for sharing

Just found this video. I’ll be doing this to my kayak. Wish I would of found this sooner. 👍🏼

Thanks for this - big help - I will do this for my old towne PDL

excellent idea thank you I'm going to try make a mold from plaster Paris to form the piece with the torch

Much better than spending big bucks for a commercially produced product. I use a heat gun to form these pipes for handle guards on my axes. Would work great for this keel guard. Thanks much.

Great idea sir I will be doing this soon!

Excellent.. I like your idea. It’s one of those Pinterest ideas that you think “why didn’t I think of that?”

Great video !

Damn good idea! Easy to make! Thanks!

Anyone tried to use Fiberglass resin sheets and epoxy to make these things? seems that It would be easier than heating up PVC. Im going to try this on a small piece I need to make should be less of a risk with the heat. Thanks for the detailed video!!

Thats a great idea, iam definitely going to have to try this. Thanks

You can also use Kydex sheets and mold them using a heat gun to the contours of your kayak. Other approaches people have taken is to use JB epoxy and apply that in a neat way by using masking tape to shape and seal the edges.

Friggin awesome 👌👏😎

I did that for the back of my yak which works well but had concerns doing that in the front. I'm not sure what that extra piece will have impact to the ability of the yak to glide through water as that front piece might introduce drags. Good video thought.

No Way!!!!!! I Can’t Believe It, How You Made This Kill Plate, This Is This Is The Best DIY And in Fact One Of the Best Method I Ever Saw

I made one from pvc before seeing it on RU-vid. Only difference is that i placed the pvc in the oven and only used the heat gun for the minor stuff. It works better for the longer pieces because it heats evenly.

Use Coleman white gas, the kind you use in your old camp stove squirt a little of it in there and let is sit for a while it won't damage the plastic but it will loosen the adhesive from your tape. you can also stick the PVC in the oven to get the whole thing soft.

Looks good. Any consideration for running the skid plate a few feet back beyond just the nose area.

Appreciate your ingenuity. What are your thoughts on boiling the pvc?

I found the one I'll be making also I have an outrigger so I'll make one for it too, thanks so much.

Use braided fishing line and work it back and forth like a saw and it will cut through the adhesive tape to remove it. Then goo gone for the remaining residue. Just like removing car emblems.

Awesome video. Going to make these and put them on my Jackson. Question, when you talk about the thicker pipe which size did you go with?

I have a new kayak on the way and will be doing this before i use it.If your ever looking for a cheap way to do outriggers type in Ebay golf trolley addons and look at the brolley holders they are around £5 a piece.

You might want to try kydex sheets. Same stuff that is used for holsters and knife sheaths

Perfect!

This is the best skid plate I've seen and would like to purchase one of the thicker skid plates for my 2018 PA14. Are you still making these for sale?

I've found the easiest way to heat up the pipe is to put it in the oven at 300 degrees for a few minutes. It's best to use a heat gun for the initial slice with the razorblade because the plastic will be too hot and soft to make the cut if you put it in the oven first. The installation of schedule 20 PVC (pictured above) is the easiest way but also the thinnest. Schedule 40 PVC is over twice as thick as Schedule 20 and will last much longer.

Nice video..👏👏

I would like to purchase one. I own a 2017 PA12. Please let me know thanks. Awesome idea

Actually a good idea!

Dont know if it'll be on the the yak long enough to make much difference but the grey PVC is UV stabilized and won't get brittle as fast.

Damn good video!

You can use typical,wood working tools.. I use a table saw to split even heavy pvc pipe. Mitre saw, jig saw, really speed things up.

I have no problems with the extra strength double-sided tape. Works very good, you may want to abrase the area you are applying tape too.

Great #DIY project will definitely try it. Have you thought about painting the PVC? I realize it will get scratched up over time. Thanks for sharing. All I need is some thick gloves 👍🏻🎣

I like this mine kayak has a pinhole leaking from that noise tip I’m going to sand it down ceil it with some epoxy then make this thanks. But why are you taking it off? Did I mis out on some details? As to why the removal of it??

Muy bueno , felicidades y gracias!!!!!

Very very good

Fantastic

I already bought the 30lbs Scotch double sided tape before noticing that you don't recommend it. However, what I did is that after sticking the keel guard to the kayak, I sealed it by applying some hot glue. It seems to work so far and is probably also helping a bit by reducing drag.

Nice guard! I was thinking of doing something like this only tap a few threads in the pvc to mount a replacable stainless strip about 1/8" or 1/4" thick. then mount the whole thing with tape. I wonder if heating it up with a glue gun would make it easier to remove? What exact tape did you use?

If you heat the existing scratches that are on the keel a bit they melt back in the grooves and end up giving the surface a smooth finish to get the keel protector to bond well. No need to use a razor blade. Obviously don't heat too close to the surface and keep moving around and check out the results occasionally.

Good job... I've done some PVC mods for rod holders.. I heat in the oven. But I see the point of torch "spot" heating.. I did use a torch on one mod. BUT.. what is your opinion on placing hot PVC on the HDPE plastic (Rotomold plastic).... Deforming the existing kayak shape.. obviously you didn't have problems. I'll probably do oven first.. finishing off with torch. Also... you mention cleaned with Windex.. I would suggest then with Isopropyl Alcohol which won't leave a residue. Thanks for your vid.

This is awesome! Thanks. Does the heat discolor the kayak in any way?

Great info thx

do you have a popular/common kayak that everyone else has? or are most keels the same size and dimensions that the guard would be interchangeable?

Great idea... can it be done with a heat gun? I'm wondering..

wish I would have found this video before messing up my fiberglass hull when removing some vinyl wear tape that didn't hold up but stuck on a little too well, I'm even considering removing my keeleasy guard as it wasn't able to make as tight of a shape as I needed 100% doing this the day after watertesting my dad's new kayak!

Just found camo pattern kydex on Amazon. Might look good on your boat.

What type of double sided tape do you use? I didn't see it mentioned...maybe I missed it

Awesome idea! Thanks for posting this, going to have to give it a try. Did you rough up the bottom of the the kayak before you stuck the PVC on with the double sided tape or just do it smooth?

I have a PA 14 how much you charge for the thick one and how long it take to make one?

Check in the dumpster behind any B&thf1tter store and you'll find great pieces of heat moldable acrylic.

I just got a Hobie Outback. Do you think it would also be beneficial to protect farther down the center of the boat and even wider out from the center near the middle where I sit?

Thank you for posting this! I will be doing this to my canoe and 2 kayaks. I stopped by Lowe’s and didn’t see any 4 or 2” tubes. All the “irrigation” pipes they had were small. I did find the large pvc and abs pipe. Can you give more info on that white thinner pipe you used? Exact name or perhaps a link? Thanks this video is much appreciated

great DIY! have you tried using marine goop or silicone base adhesive instead of the double sided tape?

This is an excellent video. PVC is probably the best material for this protection since it is thick, moldable, and inexpensive. I put one on last year and can see all the scuffs it has taken. My problem is that although I use the exact same tape as you do, I sometimes find the skid plate separating. Have you found any other glues that bond well enough to the hull and PVC over the past 15 months? Thanks

So how much would it cost me to have you make me one for my vibe sea ghost in the grey

um that will come off a whole lot better for you if you use a heat gun which you can also get at your local hardware store .\ great video by the way ill be using this on my canoe...

That's some fine DIY on the cheap, mi amigo... gracias!

the electrical conduit has uv protection none of the others do ....also some double sided tapes are not to be used on polypropylene plastic .....good idea but I think I would use marine goop

You really should sell these!

I wonder if regular PVC primer and glue for plumbing would work? Probably would not be removable though, so once applied you are stuck with it. Yes I think the tape is a better idea then glue

Did you ever try putting on a thin plate, and when that is done and all cooled down, use the same process to put on a second or maybe even third thin plate? If that works, I guess you could put a new thin plate over an old worn patch too.

What kind of double sides tape you use?

Cool mod dude 👍🏻. Also, I quit drinking Coke and my acid reflex symptoms subsided 🙏🏻

There is a balck and green color irrigation pipe at lowes

I didn't see any cold water and towels during the process. If you don't use it, will it warp or ruin the kayak? I have a Sundolphin Journey SS. Had a big dent in it and a small hole. I fixed it the best I could (5 gallon bucket fix from RU-vid) then I put some silicone over the patched area and I want to put one of these skid plates on it too.

Can you do one for a Hobie Tandem Island? How much would it cost me?