Installed the Keelshield last night

[Rob LaMoy]

Well, I saved myself $400 plus from a factory rigged unit. I followed the directions to the letter. I cleaned the hull, then lightly scuffed it with the supplied brillo pad, then whiped it down with isopropyl alcohol and was very careful to never touch it with bare hands. The hull temp was 73 degrees F. I had a friend help just keep me lined up while I was on a creeper underneath in the driveway.

I went on fine and looks great. It starts 1/2" below the bow eye and runs half way down the pad. I think it will be on there forever.

I don't see why Tech 5 and Hamby charge so much. The guard was $170 and I had total of under 2 hours labor (having never done it before, probably get faster with experience), so at $60 p/hr, that's $120, plus $170 = still under $300. Why are Hambys $500??? Same bonding process right?



Anyhow, for anyone wanting to do this, I highly recommend it and Keelshield has a LIFETIME (as long as you own your boat) warranty.....no questions asked.

 

[Michael Snow]

Rob, NO...



First, I paid $325 for my Hamby's original installed. Most places want 400-450, but that's an argument for another day.



Hamby's ORIGINAL uses a different adhesive. Going from the hull out, they use an epoxy layer, a fiberglass mat layer and another expoxy layer, then the guard. The guard is held in place for 12 hours using something that looks like it came out of a Chinese torture camp . It's strapped around the hull using 4-8 straps (a guess on my part). Once the adhesive cures, the straps are taken off and she's water-ready.



The Hamby's light duty, Keelguard, Keelshield, and others use a contact adhesive.



Here's where the big difference is. If the adhesive fails, you have to rip the old one off and put the new one on. Of course, you have to sand off the old adhesive to get a flat surface to start from. With the Hamby's original, I take it back where I got it installed and THEY fix it. If I install the light-duty myself, *I* fix it.



If you followed the directions to the letter, I don't think you'll have any issues with your Keelshield at all. You seem like the kind of person that does things RIGHT (I usually don't have the patience).



The Hamby's original is thicker, so it can withstand more abuse. My problem with keel protectors in general is it protects ONLY the keel. Some people think they can beach on rocks and that they're now Superman . The hull isn't protected, just the keel and 2 or so inches on each side.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

I just had some nicks to cover up, and at a lot of tourneys the docks get filled quick so we have to beach, and mostly it's pebbles or sand with rocks, so it gouges up the keel over time. I think mine will be fine. I didn't know Hamby's was such an in depth process. Then that explains the price difference and it is worth it. We just don't have anyone around here that installs them.

 

[Michael Snow]

Rob, in that case, start doing it yourself . I considered it because everyone was so expensive on them. They figure 2 hours labor, $75 per hour, so $150. My math tells me that they're marking up the part by about 40% too (using 425 as the price). WHY it takes a blamed mercury-certified mechanic to install it is beyond me. A $10/hour flunkie could do it if trained. Same flunky can change water pump impellers too. I'm not sure why boat dealers don't have the equivalent to the car dealer's "oil change" person who does VERY light mechanical stuff. How else are you going to get a $65/hour mechanic to change your oil for $20? .

 

[Michael Snow]

As to WHERE to get them installed, check not only your boat dealers, but also fiberglass repair shops. You can call Hamby's, but the problem is that they sell to distributors and may not know who all the shops are. They sell direct too (to the dealer), but it's the dealer's choice to go direct or through distributor.