Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

E_Man

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
127
Hey,

CRAZY STORY:
Well, last Sunday I had a day from hell. On the way to the beach, my trailer tongue snapped. Luckily, we discovered this hanging by a thread when we stopped at a Canadian Tire out of all places. At first we thought our day was over but after 1.5 hours of drilling we installed another tongue without the weld temporarily. When we finally got to the beach and launched, the motor wouldn't start. Apparently, the float was stuck it was spewing out gas from the carb. I'm guessing this happened because I ran out of gas the day before as it was going full throttle. I gave up on this 2 hrs later after tapping and what have you.

When I got home, I saw a gash underneath the bilge area (front) dead center. Well after dreading the dirty work ahead of me, I took initiative by first removing as much water and rotten wood as possible with a screwdriver. After realizing how much water was there since it was still draining 2 days later, I duct taped a hairdryer to the hole and left it for 24 hours. It actually worked and dried up nicely. FYI, this is an old Crestliner and I don't believe there is any foam inside, just wood between the layers since I can see the fiberglass right through the hole clearly. I then used an angle grinder to get to the actual fiberglass but accidently cut through the corner a bit so I sanded another 1.5 inches of the flat part to compensate.

My question is, shall I stuff fresh wood inside the center before I patch? Is this critical? I have done this work before when I first bought the boat just 2 feet behind this hole and glad to see its stronger than ever. I know the proper procedure usually would be to take out the floor and re-foam, but I really don't think its necessary here. I hate working upside down, I'm thinking of taking off the motor and tilting this fully on the transom on the grass. I'm also thinking that if I will end up working upside down, I'll resin the area first, and only stick a dry sheet and paint the resin over that. What do you think? I want to get this done ASAP so I can take it out on Sunday, I'll give it 8 hours between cures with a space heater and fan... Thanks for reading.

More pictures will be up soon as I am not home right now and they are on the camera.

Regards,

Eyal
 

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Joined
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Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Eayl,

Nice hole you got there. ;)

You really need to add several layers of glass inside and out. You don't necessarily need to do the final finishing but you definitely need to adequately support and fix that area. Is there a stringer that runs along that keel area on the inside?
 

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

yeah....there wont be foam there, that is a limber channel of the keel.

as said above....that is an inside out repair.

on the inside....3 layers (each slightly larger than the other) of 1708 bi axe, on the outside 3 layers 1.5 csm, with a finishing veil (if you wish) and gellcoat.

.cheers
oops
 

E_Man

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
127
Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Just added a picture of the sanded product. More to come. Now I'll stuff some wood or non-expanding wood foam and then fiberglass it :S. I know the proper full procedure would be to rip out the entire floor and re-foam but again its not worth it for this 14 footer - it should hold just fine... I've done it this way before on another section with success. Thanks for the replies thus far. Stay tuned for results....
 

E_Man

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
127
Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Re: Cracked bottom-center Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

By the way, any tips for how to do it when upside down? I want it to stick when I apply the mat! The last time I did this I had issues with that...
 

Kiwifisher

Seaman
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
58
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

It does seem that you are not really looking for advice on how to properly fix it but more an affirmation that your plan is sufficient. :) As this is the area of the boat that takes the hardest and most knocks and bumps, you need to do this properly. If you don't want to go from the inside then layer csm inside the hole until it's full and level enough to take some mat on the outside.
 

Yacht Dr.

Vice Admiral
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Feb 26, 2005
Messages
5,581
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Hello Eyal..

You have alot more grinding to do on the outside..

You should not end your glass on the strake or any other sharp corners..

If this was my repair.. I would have to grind way down and glass from the outside .. ( because its overlapping on a stringer your kinda $crewed m8 ) .. and of cource the inside too..

YD.
 

E_Man

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
127
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Hey Kiwifisher,

I just attached another picture of the wood I stuffed inside. It took me nearly an hour to get all three pieces nice and snug but not too tight so that it could crack. How's that?

I already did the first layer of fiberglass and it came out very smooth and clean. More pictures to come.

As this is the area of the boat that takes the hardest and most knocks and bumps, you need to do this properly. If you don't want to go from the inside then layer csm inside the hole until it's full and level enough to take some mat on the outside.
 

redfury

Commander
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
2,655
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Well, you can do it any way you want, but if you want to do it the right way....well, you've been given the advice.

However, you KNOW there is a hole in the boat, so you KNOW you have to keep your eye on it and the level of the boat while in the water. If you decide to patch it from the outside, then painting resin on first, then applying the glass dry and then painting over it is the easiest way to deal with it, regardless of upside down or not.

Use at least 3-5 layers of glass, just keep putting them on top of the preceding layer after it has been wetted out until you are done. Let the glass harden on its own, no extra heat or your going to cook the resin. Paint it, let it sit over night and then take it out to the lake. If it holds, then do the pretty work when the boat is back in dry dock.

The fact that you had water coming out of the boat for so long makes me think that you are retaining water in foam somewhere, it shouldn't take HOURS to drain a boat of any water it has collected.
 

E_Man

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jun 12, 2006
Messages
127
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Thanks to all who replied. REDFURY, a special thanks to you for the support. I ended up doing 3 layers of FG even though I really think two would have been more than enough. It was like a rock. I can't wait to get out there. Just like the last time I did it a few years back, it is dirty and disgusting work - I much prefer to work on the motor than this. The only thing is, on the second and third layer I spread out the fibers that were sticking down after I applied the mat to the sides over the paint. Will this bond deteriorate over time? I will add a picture today...


Well, you can do it any way you want, but if you want to do it the right way....well, you've been given the advice.

However, you KNOW there is a hole in the boat, so you KNOW you have to keep your eye on it and the level of the boat while in the water. If you decide to patch it from the outside, then painting resin on first, then applying the glass dry and then painting over it is the easiest way to deal with it, regardless of upside down or not.

Use at least 3-5 layers of glass, just keep putting them on top of the preceding layer after it has been wetted out until you are done. Let the glass harden on its own, no extra heat or your going to cook the resin. Paint it, let it sit over night and then take it out to the lake. If it holds, then do the pretty work when the boat is back in dry dock.

The fact that you had water coming out of the boat for so long makes me think that you are retaining water in foam somewhere, it shouldn't take HOURS to drain a boat of any water it has collected.
 

redfury

Commander
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
2,655
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Ideally, you want to lay fiberglass over fiberglass. If the paint had any level of wax on it, the bond to the paint/glass will fail eventually...prolly sooner than later. However, if you sanded back enough around the gash to get a good bond, then the fringe edge of the glass won't be much of an issue as the strength of the glass alone will keep it in shape unless you scrape it against something...

Really, the bigger problem with that is water seeping in and osmosis doing the damage to the repair over time. Just keep an eye on it. I had to replace a metal section of the return line to my transmission because I could not source a replacement for my truck. Double clamped it with 2 inches of hose overlapping the metal hose that I cut. It'll hold, but it's not ideal. I have to keep my eye on the truck for the first sign of a leak and get the new line ordered. I hated doing it, but 6 hours of traipsing around auto parts stores and dealers with nobody carrying the part and the closest warehouse being in another state nowhere near MN, it was my only option...had to drive to work with it! It's holding fine, but I don't want to put my trust in a temporary fix.
 

Yacht Dr.

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
5,581
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

Hello Eyal..

Erm.. I dont mind some others posting some half *****ed response on a non-structural repair ( for the most part ) .. .. but ..

This repair is IMHO.. Done the way wrong ez way ..

You " I ended up doing 3 layers of FG even though I really think two would have been more than enough. It was like a rock. I can't wait to get out there. "

3 layers of "fg" isnt enough IMO.. your past was wrong..your only doing outside repair is wrong..

Look m8.. You want to cheat the system of "proper" glass repair may work for you and your conditions..but ANY hole below the waterline ( and as large as you have ) not only should be Inside and Out..but Needs to be ..).

Im glad Im not boating with you with My family aboard your boat .. thats for sure..( if your only doing the outside repair way ).

There is a reason why Holes in bottoms Suck..aye..you must do Inside/out no matter what .. even if it is a pain in the boat..

YD.
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

I been aching to say what YD just said, but I been restraining myself.
SAFETY FIRST.
THE RIGHT WAY IS THE ONLY WAY, BELOW THE WATER LINE!!!!!!
AND THIS AIN'T THE RIGHT WAY!!!!!

I'm just sayin...:D
 

Alpheus

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 3, 2009
Messages
1,757
Re: Cracked keel the of Fibgerglass Hull over a rock, CRAZY STORY! (PICS)

I don't know why people responded to this post. He has totally ignored any advise that was given to him and just kept posting his progress as if everyone was agreeing with his repair methods.

To th OP:

You better have very good safety equipment on your boat and have a damn good explanation to the authorities while their doing an accident investigation.

That boat is not sea worthy period...
 
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