Hull fill coats and sacrificial keel tape.

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The hull will get three fill coats of epoxy. It will also get a sacrificial strip of fiberglass tape that will run the length of the hull and most of the way up the bow and stern stems. This tape will provide protection to the keel of the kayak when beaching the boat on sandy or rocky shores. This strip will get replaced/renewed every few years when the kayak gets refinished.

Getting the sacrificial keep tape to lay down straight, and smoothly was difficult for me. I really struggled to get the air out from under the fiberglass tape and keep the edges from lifting off the keel in the bow and stern curves. I thought it would be an easy step, but not so much. It worked out ok though.
The sacrificial keep strip will be feathered in by sanding and with each fill coat of epoxy will become smother and less noticeable.
Here the keel tape has been feathered in, and the hull has a couple of fill coats. I am sanding between coats with 220 grit sandpaper using a Bosch random orbital sander.
This photo must be out of order as it is clear that I haven’t yet sanded smooth the fiberglass overlap or the keel tape.

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