: My wife's Pygmy AT14 is pretty beat on the stern keel line. I'm
: planning a keel strip of Dynel fabric, epoxy and graphite. I've
: taped off the area (following Atlantic Kayak Tours method) and
: have sanded.

: My question is about the varnish - what happens if I don't get all
: the varnish sanded off, down to the epoxy? I can't tell from
: looking at it if all the varnish is sanded off. Will I have
: bonding problems if some is still there?

: Any other suggestions on this process will be welcome!

Alan, I have been using a brass rub strip on my Lightning 17 for 6 years now to excellent effect (bow only). I had an ash strip on the stern but there is nothing left but splinters where it remains. This month I will be replacing the broken ash with another brass strip on the stern. I have images posted at my Flickr site if you are interested in seeing how it is done or I can take pics and post new images of the work I will do on the stern. Let me know if you are interested. Any fabric based materials you put on your keel will wear out eventually. Brass seems to be the final lasting material to use for rough handing.

Robert N Pruden