: Team

: It seems that the one area of my yaks that get the worse abuse is the keel
: line in the rear, the last 30-36 inches. My yaks all were made with a
: definite keel that lead to a Vaclav style blunt-but-faired stern. The
: abuse is a wear through of the glass down to wood which requires sanding
: and reglassing.
: I recall one of Barry's designs for the Azul yaks having a plastic rub-strip
: which got me to thinking that a replaceable rub strip isn't such a bad
: idea, or maybe go further and install a faired "fin" idea that
: would bolt on and serve a dual function of being a rub strip and something
: to enhance to some yet unknown degree tracking in jello seas. I'll post
: some tentative drawings and cardboard simulations for the sake of
: discussion.

: Second, are there woods out there that can be submerged in salt water without
: any treatments or coatings and resist wear reasonably well? I'd like to
: use wood over plastics for the aesthetics, and hopefully, find a design
: where I can then retire the rudder permanently. I think it was Tim Matson
: who put it well that he just didn't like the way my yak performed (BTW
: Tim: I can't thank you enough for your honest and concise evaluations and
: thoughts).

: Thanks everyone
Give ironbark a try. I'm not sure how it takes to glue but it lives up to it's name, wear a mask when you machine it, nasty stuff.
Bob