I have a Bonafide PWR 129.  I currently transport the kayak in the bed of my truck followed by a bed extender.

When I pull the kayak off the bed of the truck, it comes down nose first.  As it comes off the bed, I have the nose coming down on my transporting wheels.  I pull the kayak to the water from the rear handle, while the front is on the wheels. once I get to the water, I remove the wheels, set the nose on the ground and I pick the rear up and slide the kayak into the water.  As you can guess, the nose then scrapes the ground.  Over the last 3-4 times out, it has really shaved some plastic off the front keel.  it's pretty bad.  I don't have any holes, but the amount of plastic that has been grounded off certainly has me concerned.

 

I am trying to find a local shop that can build the hull back into shape so that I can either coat with jb weld or some type of keel guard.

 

for those of you that launch a heavy kayak from a bed of a truck, how are you unloading the kayak into the water WITHOUT jacking up that front keel?  Suggestions would be appreciated. Short of getting a trailer, I'm not sure how to avoid this damage.  All boat ramps are sloped so pushing the kayak down the ramp isn't helping. 

BerleyPro guard on the front and Hobie hard rubber guard in back (which I've replaced a couple times.)

  I drag my Hobie over gravel and concrete all the time.  

Adds character. 

have you ever used jbweld on a keel?  just weighing all options, good and bad

I made a keel guard for my Hobie Outback with JB Weld last year after watching a You Tube Video.  I am surprised at how well it has lasted.  I had previously made a keel guard by forming a piece of plastic bucket over the keel with a heat gun.  It worked but eventually came off and I didn't want to get to aggressive with the heat gun.  The JB Weld works great and is easy to apply.

Piece of indoor/outdoor carpet should work, easy to roll up and store.

Tom

9 hours ago, crankbait2009 said:

how are you unloading the kayak into the water WITHOUT jacking up that front keel? 

 

I'm 'resonably' careful with my Lure, but wearing them down goes with your membership in the plastic Navy.  I've worn through two Lures over the years.  I take a piece of S40 pipe, slice it length wise with my table saw, heat bend it until it fits, then epoxy it in place.  Here's my last one.

 

I used KYDEX Thermoform Sheet, been on mine for 4 years now.

There's a bunch of Youtube videos on how to apply it.

Bow and stern, I fish some real rocky launches' my kayak is not roto molded, it's thermoformed which is much lighter and thinner. 

The autopilot had a replaceable rubber/plastic piece under the nose and rear equivalent and I just drug it as needed. It’s plastic. It will scratch. 
 

if you really care (and you seem to) then put a kydex keel guard there and call it a day. 

I'm wondering if flex seal would work?

I spent some time looking at keel guards for kayaks. I then decided to use .080 gauge "Kydex T" which comes in different colors, I choose grey to approximate the color of my kayak.  Watch out for the color black because it may be a recycled-grade "Kydex V". Although still useful but may not be as durable.

Then I used WEICON Aqua-Flex Adhesive and Sealant since it will flex with the kayak and still have a strong bond. Aqua-Flex seems to hold to the kayak plastic better then other materials.

Cheers.

https://www.berleypro.com/product/bumper-bro-kayak-keel-guard/?attribute_pa_kayak-brand=native-watercraft&attribute_pa_kayak-model=slayer-propel-10&attribute_pa_select=bow&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23066277774&gbraid=0AAAAA-sNN8pa4zmsJvxzkMIGPYNcq5dxc&gclid=CjwKCAjwi4PHBhA-EiwAnjTHuZMpOZnCQ9zqnZH7ze1XNijdzPpzxi4a5Md9-TFibOr-uIBCK3yjhxoCE3oQAvD_BwE

I will second @herder. A Kydex Keel guard is the option. It heat forms easily, tough and holds up well. Least expensive option too.

Adhere it with jb weld, epoxy or 4200 caulk but VHB tape is an excellent choice.

 

The Berley’s are a nice premade option but you can make three for the price of one store bought, if you like diy projects.

I too pull my kayak out of the truck Jose first.  Set the nose down. I use scupper wheels , but in your case I would lift the kayak off the bed extension and set it on the wheels. 
 

Then:

 

I put the nose of my kayak into the water (and float the nose) and then lift it to drop the wheels.  I then pull it parallel to shore and hop on. 

I back my truck up in the water and get in the bed and push it into the water. The keel only hits water. This is a bonafide ss127

I trailer my Titan 13.5. It's just too big to fit in my little Tacoma bed so I modified a jet ski trailer to haul launch and recover my plastic bathtub.

^ This is the way if you have space. Keel guard if you’re handy, cheap rubberized carpet if you’re not. All have their positives and negatives.

When ‘heavy’ and ‘kayak’ appear in the same sentence, one of them is out of place.

I trailer my AP 120 and wet launch, but occasionally while on land I need to take the kayak off teh trailer to service the trailer.

 

To do that I push the kayak a little further off the bunks with the stern still off the ground.  Then strap my Wilderness Systems cart to the bottom of the kayak. From there I push the kayak the rest of teh way off and gently set it on the wheels.

 

From there I can grab the handle on the bow and guide it the rest of the way off the trailer and set it down. Thankfully, I have a winch when I need to load it back up.

 

Can't you just load your kayak bow first on your truck and then strap the cart when you want to pull it off?

Funny, I was going to post pretty much the same thing but "backwards".

 

How do you put your kayak back IN the bed of your truck?

 

I have ZERO problems taking it out of my truck, it's putting it back in.

 

I'll lift the front of the kayak and place it on the tailgate, but then when I move to the back to lift it in, it normally wants to slide off the tailgate.

 

I normally have to catch it and then struggle with it.

25 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Funny, I was going to post pretty much the same thing but "backwards".

 

How do you put your kayak back IN the bed of your truck?

 

I have ZERO problems taking it out of my truck, it's putting it back in.

 

I'll lift the front of the kayak and place it on the tailgate, but then when I move to the back to lift it in, it normally wants to slide off the tailgate.

 

I normally have to catch it and then struggle with it.

 

I throw the back of the kayak on the tailgate, and awkwardly try to keep it from sliding off.  When that fails and it falls off, I throw my hands up and mutter to myself a bit before trying again.  

 

It's usually only an issue at steep launches, and I'll just pull all the gear off the kayak and use a cart to haul it back to the parking lot if that's the case.  

 

As to the original question, I've got about 4 seasons of launching my Bite FD the same way with no issues.  I did finally buy some Kydex to make a keel guard for that and my 106MK over the winter.

44 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Funny, I was going to post pretty much the same thing but "backwards".

 

How do you put your kayak back IN the bed of your truck?

 

I have ZERO problems taking it out of my truck, it's putting it back in.

 

I'll lift the front of the kayak and place it on the tailgate, but then when I move to the back to lift it in, it normally wants to slide off the tailgate.

 

I normally have to catch it and then struggle with it.

 

What I found helped a lot was a bed extender.  not for extra support since the one I got was a little too short to touch the kayakwhen it was sitting in the bed of the truck.  But loading and unloading it helped a ton.  It allowed me to stand between the extender and the bed of the truck which let me lift the stern of the kayak vertically without twisting my body.  Once I got the back of the boat up on the extender and centered there, walk to the front and start sliding it on.  Before the extender it was a bear to lift 75# or so while I was standing next to the tailgate and twist 90 degrees to put it on the bed.  

I dont use the berlypro thing.

 

believe it or not, I use that Orbits pipe tape.  it comes off clean and a $5 roll lasts me a long time.  I just change out the beat layer every once in a while.

 

and heavy is relative.  I can hork mine around easily.  

1 hour ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Funny, I was going to post pretty much the same thing but "backwards".

 

How do you put your kayak back IN the bed of your truck?

 

I have ZERO problems taking it out of my truck, it's putting it back in.

 

I'll lift the front of the kayak and place it on the tailgate, but then when I move to the back to lift it in, it normally wants to slide off the tailgate.

 

I normally have to catch it and then struggle with it.

for me, the getting it into the bed of my truck has become a struggle due to the weight.  I was trying to load the kayak in the truck while removing as little equipment as possible.  last Friday I broke down and removed the 100ah battery from the rear to help assist loading.  Although the battery is rather light, those pounds definitely made a difference.  I think the only way to load without having to remove everything, is to get a trailer.  might be my only option, other than unloading everything each time.  I'll do that for now.

 

but to answer your question........I load the kayak on to my wheels and I pull it to the edge of my bed/hitch extender.  Once I get there, I lift the rear up as high as I can go till I can pull it onto the extender. Once I get it there, I go to the front and lift up and push the kayak into the bed of the truck.  I'm finding that is nearly impossible for me to do while on the ramp or if I am on any kind of slope.  All of my ramps are steep.  so I have to load the kayak onto the wheels and roll it up to flat ground before I can load into the truck, as well as unloading.  It really limits me to where I can launch from since I need that flat ground.  but the wheels on the front of the kayak work wonders.

 

I really do think having a lower trailer would help me since I wouldn't have to lift the kayak so high.  but the trailer would take up a lot of room here in my garage, which is why I am trying to avoid it.

I have read all the suggestions for the keel protector.  I appreciate the feedback.  now I just need to determine if I can place the guard on the keel as it stands now, or if I have it built back up, then apply the guard.  

For what its worth, I'll add my vote to making a kydex keel guard.  I drag my SS127 all around gravel and concrete ramps.  Between the replaceable rear drag plates that bonafide designs in, and the keel guard, all the spots that take the brunt of it are replaceable.  I've had the current keel guard on there for 2 and a half years, and I think I have another 3 or so before I replace it.  I attached mine with lexel but there are a bunch of adhesives that will work.

 

I also use a truck bed and extender.  If the ramp is steep, I get everything loaded and set somewhere else in the lot, then wheel it over on a cart.

6 hours ago, crankbait2009 said:

for me, the getting it into the bed of my truck has become a struggle due to the weight.  I was trying to load the kayak in the truck while removing as little equipment as possible.  last Friday I broke down and removed the 100ah battery from the rear to help assist loading.  Although the battery is rather light, those pounds definitely made a difference.  I think the only way to load without having to remove everything, is to get a trailer.  might be my only option, other than unloading everything each time.  I'll do that for now.

 

but to answer your question........I load the kayak on to my wheels and I pull it to the edge of my bed/hitch extender.  Once I get there, I lift the rear up as high as I can go till I can pull it onto the extender. Once I get it there, I go to the front and lift up and push the kayak into the bed of the truck.  I'm finding that is nearly impossible for me to do while on the ramp or if I am on any kind of slope.  All of my ramps are steep.  so I have to load the kayak onto the wheels and roll it up to flat ground before I can load into the truck, as well as unloading.  It really limits me to where I can launch from since I need that flat ground.  but the wheels on the front of the kayak work wonders.

 

I really do think having a lower trailer would help me since I wouldn't have to lift the kayak so high.  but the trailer would take up a lot of room here in my garage, which is why I am trying to avoid it.

I have read all the suggestions for the keel protector.  I appreciate the feedback.  now I just need to determine if I can place the guard on the keel as it stands now, or if I have it built back up, then apply the guard.  

There was an older gentleman I used to see now and then fishing from a kayak. One day I watched him load it into his truck bed. He had mounted a small electric winch on a mount in the front of his truck bed. It was on a  quick release mount so he could take the winch out when he wanted to use the truck bed for other uses. Anyway, he would get the kayak near the be back of the truck, toss a blanket on the tailgate, hook the winch cable to the bow cliip of the kayak, and just winch the kayak in. It seemed to work well for him. I only saw him do that the one time.