Keel Abrasion from beaching

Hi Guys, first time posting here. I bought a 1996 Bayliner Capri 1950 and have had it thoroughly checked out by a mechanic (130 merc I/O) and taken it out two times. i was crawling around under the trailer last weekend and noticed that the keel in the front of the boat has an area about 2 inches wide and about 4 feet long that has been sanded down to the glass matting probably by beaching the boat over the years. I am thinking of covering up the glass mat with Marine-Tec, sanding down smooth and then putting a rubber "keel guard" over it for future protection. Any thoughts good or bad about that type of repair??? I haven't used Marine-Tec, but it sounds like pretty tough stuff and with a keel guard, I don't think I will have to gel coat it or worry about color matching. Anyone have any ideas on this?? Thanks.

Re: Keel Abrasion from beaching

You could do that, or you could just roll on a couple of coats of gelcoat, sand buff and polish and then put on the keel guard. Really no need for the Marine Tex IMHO. The Keel Guard will do all the work.

Re: Keel Abrasion from beaching

Woodonglass said:

You could do that, or you could just roll on a couple of coats of gelcoat, sand buff and polish and then put on the keel guard. Really no need for the Marine Tex IMHO. The Keel Guard will do all the work.

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Thanks, I thought about the gelcoat, but from what I have read (don't know for sure) the Marine-tex is a lot tougher than gelcoat. I know this is probably overkill, but would rather over than underkill. I called the mfr. of keel guard and was told that it will stick to the marine-tex so I have ordered a 7' roll of white from Amazon which had the best price.

Re: Keel Abrasion from beaching

Like I said you can do it that way but with the keel guard what good is the toughness of the Marine-Tex going to do. The Guard takes all the abuse. Marine tex is epoxy based and once you use it, you will not be able to apply gelcoat again. It will not adhere to epoxy.

Re: Keel Abrasion from beaching

Or just sand it smooth and keel guard it ..

Saves money and time to prep to gel or Mtex.

YD.

Re: Keel Abrasion from beaching

Thanks for responses. Think I'm going to go with the marine tex and then the keel guard. Like before, this is probably overkill, but I don't think I would ever have to be concerned with gelcoating this area for a good look, since you can't really even see it except from under the boat and I think the protection of the marine tex is just a little added insurance against any leaks through the glass mat. The keel guard will protect it in the future as far as I know and have read on the internet. Thanks for all your help and comments, this is a great forum and as ex US Navy, glad to be aboard.

Re: Keel Abrasion from beaching

After taking a second look, the keel abrasion was very slight, so I just applied the Keel Guard as per the instructions without any other applications. It went on easily as per the instructions that came with it and seems like a good solution. All I got was a sore neck from being under the boat for 45 minutes.