How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

[Sailor98277]

How would I go about fixing a keel that has its gel coat missing from being grounded on a beach? Would you first fill in the divits with small pieces of fiberglass and resin, then rough sand and put on gel coat or would you just fill in the divits with gel coat? I will take pics tomorrow and post them here to give you a better idea of what I am refering to. Thanks all for your help.

Vr,

Michael

 

[eavega]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Quite honestly, if it is still watertight and you intend to continue to beach, I would "repair" by installing a keelshield or keelguard strip. I abused the heck out of a previous boat for one season by beaching it multiple times. by the end of the season the gelcoat had worn completely down to where you could see the cloth. I just sanded everything smooth and installed the keelguard over the worn gelcoat. When I installed the keelguard I sealed it all around the edge with 5200, and for two more seasons of boating/beaching I never had an issue. Keelguard looked practically brand new when I sold the boat at the end of last season.

When I purchased my new boat, the first thing I did was install a keelguard.

Good luck

Eric

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Yup ^^^ sound advice. If no more beaching will occur then mix up some thickened resin using resin, cabosil, and some copped up CSM to fill the divots then sand and shape. Use some 3M premium filler for final fairing, then us a Preval Sprayer to spray on 3-4 coats of Gelcoat. Sand and Polish. DONE

 

[Sailor98277]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Thank you eavega for the information. I had asked this very question to some guys over at West Marine about using a keel guard to fix this and was told that it would not stop the water from leaking through the keel into the bottom of the boat. This was because when water is in contact for an extended period of time, water will seep through the fiberglass and into the inside of the boat. I do not know if that is true or not, hence my reason for asking you experts here. Thank you again for your help. I will be doing what you recommended.

Vr,

Michael

 

[Sailor98277]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Thank you woodonglass for your help as well. I will be sure to do as you said and put the keel guard over the patch. It will take me a bit of time as I still have to figure out a way to get the boat raised up so that I can work on the bottom of it and the trailer out from under it. Thanks again.

Vr,

Michael

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

If the keel is damaged bad enuf to expose the glass and water can penetrate then it for sure needs to be repaired prior to the installation of a keel guard.

 

[Sailor98277]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Ok guys, here are the pics that I promised. Tell me what you all think.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Yup, I'd be grinding that down, filling all major gouges and laying 2-3 layers of 1.5oz CSM over all of it and then 3-4 coats of gelcoat with a Preval Sprayer. If you are going to continue beaching her then by all means a Keel guard is in your future!!!

What kind of boat is this?

 

[Sailor98277]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Thank you Woodonglass,

I have never had this boat in the water. My brother-in-law convinced my wife it was a great boat for us to use on Puget Sound to go fishing and crabbing in. The floor was soft so that when you stepped into it you felt like you were gonna fall through, the motor wont start even though it has good compression, and the keel is all torn up from beaching. I won't be beaching the boat when completed, but I will be installing a keel guard to protect it none the less. If I remember right, it is an 18' 1967 Las Vegas Sierra Tri-Hull. I have done so many searches for information on this particular boat it is not funny, but have come up snake eyes. I planned on picking up some CSM tomorrow so that I can use it to put down the initial layer of glass and resin on the floor joints then cover that over with woven mat. I am using West Marine Polyester Boaters Resin that I bought in (2) 1 gallon cans. I believe that should be enough to do the joints in the floor and sides where the floor meets the gunnals. I hope that it will also be enough to do one layer on the floor of just resin but we will see as I also have to buy the pour in foam yet this coming Sept. I would love to have the floor all done before the rains hit here in a few weeks.

Vr,

Michael

 

[bakerjw]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Did you pay much for the boat? The reason that I ask is that soft floors are quite often indicative of other structural issues, namely wet or rotted stringers and bulkheads. Once you get the floor up, you are likely find that you've opened up a major can of worms. If that happens then you have to decide whether to do a half assed repair, go all the way on a restoration, or scrap it and try to recoup your money. I'm not trying to sound negative, just being realistic as I stumbled into the same situation and now have 36 days straight on my renovation.

 

[Grub54891]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Soft floor= rotted stringers,and transom believe me,same issue on my Larson.

 

[Sailor98277]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Hello Bakerjw and grub1grub2,

I paid $500 for the boat which included a 80 hp merc outboard that would not run, though the guy said it did. My brother-in-law convinced my wife like I had said and there was nothing I could really do about it as she had her head set on getting it. I pulled up the soft floor, took out close to 800 lbs of water logged foam, and found that one cross member was rotted out. The long stringers seemed solid at the back end of the boat but I had no way of taking the cap off the boat so I could pull out all the stringers and start from scratch. I intend to put 2 lb flotation foam back in which will give it some structural support as well as the obvious floatation requirements. I'm not sure if I will keep the boat or not but I will fix it up all the same as is. It is at best just a temp boat that when I have more money, I will buy a decent boat (like this will ever happen). However, it is only for doing some basic salmon fishing in pretty much calm waters, and wont be taken out into the heavy chop. I still need to fix the motor and find a way to lift the boat up so I can fix the keel with the recommendations from above. It's not the boat I wanted to get but the wife would not let me spend more even though this one will cost me about $1000 just to get it back to seaworthy status and that does not include a functioning motor. Oh well, what is a guy to do? I like being on and around the water so I will make do. When I have the floor done or further along with its first coat of glass, I will take a pic of it.

Vr,

Michael

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Several issues here. First with that waterlogged foam you need to drill into the stringers and inspect the drill shavings. I'm betting they'll be dark and damp. If so they must be replaced. Wet, Rotting stringers can render a boat unsafe. They are integral to the structure of the hull. You also need to drill into the transom down low about 1" deep and inspect those shavings as well. With a 70 hp motor there's a lot of torque placed on that transom and if it's wet and rotting that's a big issue too. Putting a solid deck over wet rotting stringers and transom is NOT a good idea. If these things are occuring and you don't want to do the repairs then you should put her up as a project boat for someone else to do. Right now, the KEEL is the least of your worries, IMHO!!!!

 

[Sailor98277]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Thanks Woodonglass,

I have checked part of the stringers where the foam was the wettest and the stringers were ok there, however that does not mean the whole of them are fine. As for the transom, it is solid. The motor on it will not be the one staying on it. the control arm that turns the motor left and right comes into contact with the left side of the troff in the top. I will most likely down grade the motor if I keep the boat to about a 50 hp. I have a neighbor who wants to buy the boat for $500 or so to include the trailer. I have been giving that serious thought. I do not have the funds to pull the whole bottom apart and redo as necessary being I am on such a limited income. However others might and this guy would most definately have the cash. Then again, who knows. Thanks for the tips and information as it is greatly appreciated... it is also a very good learning experience.

Vr,

Michael

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

Did you actually drill into the stringers and the transom to inspect the shavings or just do an outward visual inspection and some tapping around with a hammer and such??

 

[Sailor98277]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

It was a drill as I made a pilot hole when I put the new cross member in toward the rear of the stringers. When I screwed the floor down, the screws again had pilot holes to follow, and the ones at the back were or seemed fine, but the others might have been a bit to easy going in now that I think of it.

 

[pauloman]

Re: How to fix or repair a keel that has exposed or pitted fiberglass

repair with a kevlar reinforced epoxy paste - you can use glass with it , but sounds like you don't need to

google wet dry 700 epoxy


Paul Oman - MS. MBA
A.K.A. “Professor E. Poxy”
Internet Epoxy Confederation (IEC) Homepage
epoxies since 1994
Member: NACE (National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers) -- SSPC (Soc. of Protective Coatings)