Keel Guard and Skeg Guard on my Vexus

[Capt. BassinLou]

My fishing areas are tough on my hull. So I decided to put on a Keel guard and Skeg Guard on my Vexus AVX 1880.  I went with Megaware product line.
Both came out looking pretty sharp!

[Princeton_Man]

I love my Keelguard. I've hesitated on the Skeg guard mostly due to having to drill holes. Does it have any effect on handling or performance?

[Capt. BassinLou]

I love my Keelguard. I've hesitated on the Skeg guard mostly due to having to drill holes. Does it have any effect on handling or performance?

I will let you know about performance once I get the boat in the water tomorrow.

[Donald Garner]

Lou, the Keel Guard and Skeg Guard look great.  I know I'm glad I had a Keel Guard put on my Stratos when I did.  Gravel, rocks, boulder and even timber will take a toll on the keel. 

There's a few guys I've seen with the Skeg guards on their motors over this way. 

[Capt. BassinLou]

Skeg guard was tested today that's for sure. It did its job well!

[Capt. BassinLou]

I love my Keelguard. I've hesitated on the Skeg guard mostly due to having to drill holes. Does it have any effect on handling or performance?

I will let you know about performance once I get the boat in the water tomorrow.

Performance has not been effected. My speeds were the same today.

[Princeton_Man]

I love my Keelguard. I've hesitated on the Skeg guard mostly due to having to drill holes. Does it have any effect on handling or performance?

I will let you know about performance once I get the boat in the water tomorrow.

Performance has not been effected. My speeds were the same today.

Good to know, Thanks Lou.

[Pat Dilling]

My buddy who got a Vexus was told by the dealer that Keel Guards will not stick.  He tried one any way, not sure what brand, and it came loose pretty quickly. Then he had one heck of a job getting the residual glue off.  Hope your experience is different.

[Capt. BassinLou]

My buddy who got a Vexus was told by the dealer that Keel Guards will not stick.  He tried one any way, not sure what brand, and it came loose pretty quickly. Then he had one heck of a job getting the residual glue off.  Hope your experience is different.

Fortunately for me I had it installed by a professional installer. I learned a lot about the install process. Proper preparation is critical. Mine is installed pretty good that's for sure.

[Princeton_Man]

My buddy who got a Vexus was told by the dealer that Keel Guards will not stick.  He tried one any way, not sure what brand, and it came loose pretty quickly. Then he had one heck of a job getting the residual glue off.  Hope your experience is different.

Fortunately for me I had it installed by a professional installer. I learned a lot about the install process. Proper preparation is critical. Mine is installed pretty good that's for sure.

Yes, proper prep is everything. It's a one shot deal, you can't afford to do it wrong or screw up while installing. I installed mine myself, but before I did, I watched the manufacturer's video and read over the installation documentation several times. I also read the FAQs and watched a few other DIY videos posted by other DIY'ers and called the Keel Guard support line to make sure I understood everything. One piece of important information I received was do not use anything other than isopropyl alcohol to clean the prepared surface area. When most other solvents dry, they leave a dry film that will contaminate the prep when it's applied. I even did a couple practice runs, identified points where I could have trouble, and came up with solutions before I started. Then followed every step to the letter and sealed all of the edges with 5200.

One step mentioned in the videos and instructions is after using taping off the area and sanding the area, is to wipe it down good with isopropyl alcohol, once dry use a clean cloth to wipe again before applying the prep and keel guard. This was a very important step and not following it to the letter will lead to failure. Failure to sand off all of the gloss and using something other than isopropyl alcohol are two big reasons for failures

[Capt. BassinLou]

My buddy who got a Vexus was told by the dealer that Keel Guards will not stick.  He tried one any way, not sure what brand, and it came loose pretty quickly. Then he had one heck of a job getting the residual glue off.  Hope your experience is different.

Fortunately for me I had it installed by a professional installer. I learned a lot about the install process. Proper preparation is critical. Mine is installed pretty good that's for sure.

Yes, proper prep is everything. It's a one shot deal, you can't afford to do it wrong or screw up while installing. I installed mine myself, but before I did, I watched the manufacturer's video and read over the installation documentation several times. I also read the FAQs and watched a few other DIY videos posted by other DIY'ers and called the Keel Guard support line to make sure I understood everything. One piece of important information I received was do not use anything other than isopropyl alcohol to clean the prepared surface area. When most other solvents dry, they leave a dry film that will contaminate the prep when it's applied. I even did a couple practice runs, identified points where I could have trouble, and came up with solutions before I started. Then followed every step to the letter and sealed all of the edges with 5200.

One step mentioned in the videos and instructions is after using taping off the area and sanding the area, is to wipe it down good with isopropyl alcohol, once dry use a clean cloth to wipe again before applying the prep and keel guard. This was a very important step and not following it to the letter will lead to failure. Failure to sand off all of the gloss and using something other than isopropyl alcohol are two big reasons for failures

Yep, pretty much.

[FD]

One of the reasons they fail on aluminum boats is the position of the weld lines.  Dave ground the tops of the rough spots on the welds a bit to make them smooth.

We also used a plastic dead blow hammer instead of a rubber mallet.  The glue is pressure sensitive and the dead blow imparts more force than a rubber mallet. 

I don't think that guard is ever coming off Lou's Vexas.

[Pat Dilling]

I will pass this info to my buddy!  Thanks

[Capt. BassinLou]

I wanted to provide you guys with an update on these 2 upgrades so far. Both upgrades have paid for themselves already. Over the last few weeks, due to dropping water levels and poor ramp conditions, if I didn't have a keel or skeg guard, my boat would have had some serious scarring, a possible broken skeg, and damaged prop.

If you encounter very shallow, rocky bottoms on your home waters, do yourself the favor and buy yourself the skeg guard. Trust me!! After running with a skeg guard for the last few weeks, performance is effected, but very minimally. I'm sure if I had a hydraulic jack plate, I could correct the slight performance change. But over all I wouldn't change a thing. I'm kicking myself for not making the upgrades sooner. The keel guard is doing great. That thing is not going anywhere. 

[FlatsNBay]

I had a skeg guard on my flats boat for many years and loved it. I had to buy it out of necessity because I broke a big chunk of my skeg off on a rock. It worked great.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

[Capt. BassinLou]

I had a skeg guard on my flats boat for many years and loved it. I had to buy it out of necessity because I broke a big chunk of my skeg off on a rock. It worked great.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

I would look into it for your Merc.