Keel Guard

[Andy-S]

Hi,

Looking to see if anyone has experience with fitting a keel guard and using a drive on floating dock. In particular I’m worried about added friction when pulling onto the dock.

Cheers
Andy-S

[ribber]

The added friction from the keel guard wouldn't stop the boat from being driven on/off the dock.
Some docks have rollers in the centre, where the keel slides. My dock has one sacrificial roller at the front. It's more for protecting the dock, as it has never spun in all the time I've used it.

I wouldn't have thought you would have any problems as long as the keel guard is well stuck on.

[Andy-S]

Thanks for the response - my dock has the same single roller. I’m always a bit worried that the dock would cause damage to the gel coat. What’s your thoughts on that ?

[paulbrown22]

I've never yet seen any particular damage to a GRP hull from using a Versadock/Tetradock or equivalent. Far more commonly see damage from people failing to get the boat on/off a trailer properly!

[ribber]

As paulbrown says, I have never chipped or damaged the gel coat when getting on/off the dock. More chips and dings when getting off the trailer... Nothing a bit of two part Gelcoat filler cant solve.

Still, I guess that's the point of the keel guard.

[Andy-S]

Thanks guys I appreciate the responses. I’m going to go ahead with the keel guard.
Cheers
Andy

[lakelandterrier]

I've had no damage to the hull gelcoat from driving on and off my tetradock for 5 years. I wouldn't worry about it.

[scrambler]

Originally Posted by lakelandterrier

I've had no damage to the hull gelcoat from driving on and off my tetradock for 5 years. I wouldn't worry about it.

ditto 1 year.

[Yardstick]

Oddly enough Gator Guards Keelshield isn't recommended for floating docks or even for resting on trailer rollers, have a read through the faq's here https://www.gator-guards.com/pages/faq
I fitted a Keelshield strip myself and it's stayed on so far but I was very particular with preperation, especially waiting for a day with the correct temperature as the adhesive requires the hull to be above a certain temperature to cure properly. There's loads of videos on Youtube for DIY installation.
I found the cheapest option was to purchase from the USA via Amazon and the lifetime warranty was still valid using this method. The warranty wasn't valid purchasing from a UK retailer as they aren't authourised dealers.

[jonp]

I used keel guard which split and came unglued in places of impact. After contacting the manufacturer I was told it's not designed to come in contact with trailer skids or rollers. It's extremely hard to remove when parts have become un-stuck and other parts still stuck. It wasn't the fitting which was the issue, it was the product wasn't designed for what I was using it for. I was told it's more for pulling onto soft sandy beaches to provide protection. The second lot off it I bought to replace the first had literature inside stating not designed to drive onto hard objects.