keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph, Pics added

[lingcod]

had an unfotunate incident where the boat and trailer came unhooked from the truck. boat then came unhooked from the trailer and went sliding down the freeway at 65mph. thankfully, no major damage and just some glass left on the road. question is, the keel used to be a "U" shape and is now ground down on one side at a 45degree angle. can I build this up with filler and then glass over or should I use glass to build it back up? did not grind enough to create a hole and I glassed it up with 3 layers so I could use the boat last summer. boat is a little skittish at 40-45mph. thinkin that having an uneven keel is causing that. me and this boat went thru an extensive rebuild here on I boats a coule of years ago and I thank my lucky stars that the boat nor anyone was hurt during this incident.

kenzmad

 

[rich158]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

Hi kenzmad,

Would be easier to tell if you had some pics to see.

Cheers

Rick

 

[Bondo]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

boat is a little skittish at 40-45mph. thinkin that having an uneven keel is causing that.

Ayuh,... I agree, it makes total sense...

 

[erikgreen]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

For repairs to the road abrasion on my hull, I used a filler made from 3m glass microbubbles and chopped fiberglass (1/4" pieces). I mixed a small amount of it super thick and molded it into place.

I only had to make the stuff stick out about a half inch, and only in a couple small places. More than that, and I'd have ground back the hull around the missing bits, molded the shape, then laid cloth over that to really make it part of the hull, then faired that.

Erik

 

[basstracker219]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

oh man, thats like losing a loved one.

 

[lingcod]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph

ok got some pics up now. I basically need to re round the keel as it is ground off pretty flat. did not go all the way thru at any point. don't laugh at the patch job, it was done in haste with very few of the proper tools avail. laying on my back in 90deg weather. this will all get sanded off or at least smoothed out.pics.






will filler and then glass work or do I have to build it up just using glass?

thanks guys
lingcod

 

[lingcod]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph, Pics added

got the pics up now. all glass to build it up or filler then glass. you can see that the keel is ground off flat.

lingcod

 

[micks110]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph, Pics added

This is what I plan on doing with mine to get it smoothed out during the restoration. I made a template of the keel height and width with some 1/4" oak ply. I will use filler and spread it into the knoocks and crannies and then use my template and pull it along the length of the keel to level everything out.

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I'm not sure if this is the correct method for you(filler) or not since you lost quite a bit of your keel? I'm sure someone will chime in soon! Till then you got a bump to answer your question

Good Luck!

 

[NZjohnson90]

Re: keel repair on boat that came off trailer at 65mph, Pics added

I nearly finished a very similar job today, Just the gelcoat to go on in the morning and she's done. Mine was all ground down from the PO beaching it all the time, various chunks out of the glass etc but no holes.

I first ground out all the gelcoat along the keel section and made a bowl shape for the new glass to sit into. Ground out using a flap disk (120grit) on an angle grinder, followed by a sanding block to get it even.

Then cut out 2 pieces csm, 1 piece biax mat and 2 more csm, each progressively bigger than the last, so that they fit the bowl shape perfectly.

Then laid each piece of glass out on waxed/greaseproof paper from the grocery store. Simply wet out the keel, then wet out the CSM on the paper and roll with roller. Then lift the paper, press on to the bottom of the hull, squeegee all the air out and peel off the paper. Finish by rollering again to get out any remaining air. Wait 15 - 20 mins for that to get good n tacky and repeat with the next layer.

At the end sand off and finish with gelcoat.

It is not anywhere near as difficult as I thought, It was my first time doing anything like this, and it has turned out pretty much perfect so far...... Gelcoat tomorro!!

It is time consuming but mine is done in 2 days (maybe actually about 2-3 hours per day for 2 days!), and it does take two people or you cant lift the paper up neatly by your self. But it was worth the extra effort in the end. Have patience.

Lastly find a local boat builder and go ask for the resin/glass/gelcoat leftovers, thats what I did and it cost a 5th of the shop price, and you get good advice. - take some jars with you though!!

I'm new to this too, but I hope that helps