Cracked Keel and stringers: Major Project and help required please

Hi All,

I have a 18' fibreglass cruiser. I recently bought a new Honda 115HP outboard. They sent my boat off to the have the transom re built as it couldnt handle it / was rotten. Cost me $3k Australian to get that done. I used the boat 3 times and then it tried to sink on me. 30 km's off shore. Was very scarey, but luckily for the bilge pumps we made it back safely. I've since found that the keel line was cracked. I cut some holes in the floor pan and could see that the longitudinal keel line was all cracked and rotten. My project started there. I'm too poor to buy a new boat hull. So fix this one it is.

I have previously re-built a marine ply and fibreblass boat when I was 18 - 20 with my dad who had previously built two boats. I've always been into woodwork etc so I dont think this is beyond me. But I will need lots of advice. I've just recently purchased some fibreglass boat repair books from Amazon and I'm feeling enthused. But I have so many questions to hopefully ask some experts on here.

Re: Cracked Keel and stringers: Major Project and help required please

Some more pics.

Regards,

Sean

Re: Cracked Keel and stringers: Major Project and help required please

So as we are around 12 hours a head of most of the people likely to reply I'll start asking some questions:

1) I'm assuming I'm going to have to cut out the bilge well at the back of the boat to get to the wooden beam and fibreglass underneath it.

2) Should the stringers and the wood that runs down the keel line meet up with the transom? I would presume they should so that the transom can transfer weight/power through these into the hull.

3) I'm also assuming I'm going to have to just do this properly and cut out the floors from the cabin back so I can get to the side stringers?

Please excuse me if I've used wrong terminology I'm only a novice.

The stringers to the side of the keel line apear to stop about an inch from the transom which I find odd?

If the consensus is that I should remove the floor pan, does anyone have any clever ideas how I'd achieve cutting/seperating the floor pan from the transom at the back?

Regards,

Sean

Re: Cracked Keel and stringers: Major Project and help required please

The boat is a 1979 Voyager MKII for what its worth. Seems to be a single laminate fibreglass hull (no wood core) and I presume polyester resin by its age.

I have CSM and woven fibreglass, Polyester resin, MEKP, Accetone, Fibreglass rolers of different sizes. I'm about to get some digital scales for weighing glass and resins. I have some flow coat and mold release waxes and PVA. Lots of sanding disks and safety gear.

I will need more resin and glass before this is finsihed of course especially if I'm rebuilding and replacing the floor pan.

Regards,

Sean

Re: Cracked Keel and stringers: Major Project and help required please

Not sure about your problem but that Honda looks HUGE on that boat.

LK

Re: Cracked Keel and stringers: Major Project and help required please

Hey dude,

Welcome to iboats! Cool looking boat, and I agree the motor looks massive!

I have the same cracks in my keel and it seems to be only the gel-coat that's cracked.... I have some glass repair to do from previous owner beaching or hitting rocks I plan on grinding gel away to investigate, then re-gelcoating that area after any repair is needed... You can track what I'm planning to do on my rebuild thread. Good luck!

Re: Cracked Keel and stringers: Major Project and help required please

Yeah I wasnt sure but the boat yard convinced me the 90HP wouldnt be enough for my boat as its quite a heavy old girl. I also thought if I did end up getting a 18 foot tinny or something else later I could just transfer the engine. It used to have an old Evenrude 175HP from 1979 on there. It was a very similar size but not as heavy as this 4stroke honda is.

bear_69cuda : All the best I hope your project goes well. Unfortunately as my damage had been happening for awhile and it seems all the wood re-inforcements are rotting and have caused the fibreglass to also delaminate along the keel line I'll be working on mine from both sides. I hope to kind of grind out enough rotten laminate, fibreglass from the top in. Put some wood back into the channel, fibreglass over it. Then from underneath try and grind back almost into the new laminate I've added from the top and then re glass and flow coat the underside. This way there should be minimal rotten/de-laminated fibreglass.

My process should be simple. Its just there is a lot of work. And the more of the floor pan I cut out the more restoration work I have to do once I actually fix the hull and stringers. :/

Regards,

Sean