Re: 14' Sea Nymph Oh Yeah!
Re: 14' Sea Nymph Oh Yeah!
Hey bear_69cuda. If you decide to go with a tin over patch of scab patch you could try it this way. Go to your favorite local home improvement store or hardware store and pick up a few supplies. Depending on the length of the tear in the aluminum keel, get probably a minimum of 1 square foot of flat tin for patching material. You will also need a few other things.
Straight edge tin snips
Flat headed hammer
80 grit sand paper
A small box of 1/8 or 1/16 inch diameter blind rivets(or pop rivets, the length must be at least 1/4 inch longer then the combined thickness of the keel and the patch.
1/8 or 1/16 inch drill bit and drill
rivet gun or installer
Duck billed pliers and some waterpoof sealant or epoxy
I can't really tell for sure from your pic wether the tear is on the transition toward your bow or on a straight flat surface. If it is on the transition, you will need to make a series of relief cuts on the sides of your patch material in able to make the necessary bend in the patch to fit the contour of the transition. So now I will try to describe how I might go about it.
1. Use the duckbill pliers to straighten the edges of the tear back to as close to its original shape as possible.
2. With the sand paper, sand at least 2 inches past the tear lengthwise along the keel and then all of the way down to the the edge of the keels structure but not on the boat itself.
3. With the tin and snips, cut a patch the width of the hump of the keel and at least 2 inches longer than the tear itself.
4. Lay and center the patch on the top the keel in stout spot, not on the tear area, then use the hammer to lightly tap the patch into the shape of the keel. Try to find something that will match the shape of the keel if you can for this step if you feel as though the forming of the patch on the keel itself will damage it.
5. This step is only for if the tear is on a rounded section of the transition to the bow. In order to fit the shaped patch to the bend of the keel without a bending press of some kind is to snip out releif cuts along the sides of the patch. So now with the snips make a cut inward on the patch toward what would be the bottom of the keel on both sides directly accross from each other leaving about 1/2 inch in between the cuts. Now you will be able to bend the patch to match the bend of the keel and allow the edges of the releif cuts to overlap with the first cut section overlapping the second and so on toward the rear of the patch.
If it were me and the overlaps had enough underlying material, I would also rivet each section of the overlaps together with one small rivet in the center of each overlap. If you use this method for patching, make sure to seal in between your overlaps with your sealant or epoxy wether you choose to use rivets on the overlaps or not.
6. Depending on how much surface area you have to drill into will decide wich size diameter of rivet you will use for this step. Now lay the patch over the tear so that it extends 1 inch past each end of the tear. Hold it in place and drill a series of rivet holes. 3 on each end of the patch(one on each side and one on what would be the bottom) and then a few along the sides if you have enough keel material to rivet into.
7. Spead a thin layer of your sealant or epoxy on only the sanded area and where your patch will meet with the hull. Now lay your patch back down matching the holes back up and push your rivets through all of the holes so that the patch won't shift as you pop them permanently into place.
8. Permanently pop set one rivet on each side, one toward the front and one toward the back on what would be the bottom of the keel. Next, pop through a couple on each of the sides and then alternate the rest of them. This is a wet install so try not to let your sealant set up(except for the sealant between your overlaps.)
9. Let it dry. Drink a beer or something and plan your next project.
I only suggest such a large peice of patch material in case of redo situations or experiment patches.
Now I know that this isn't an area where water will get into the boat, but I would still recommend that you use sealant for the purpose of the tin and the aluminum coming into direct contact with each other and creating higher risk of corrosion due to the dissimilar metals. This patch may not be pretty but it should work. Just an idea for ya. Have fun and happy fishing!