Keel repair? will marine tex be good?

[Tailguner]

got the hull scratched up from beaching all the time. I do plan on getting a keelshield or keelguard but want to fix this before i do. I am not getting any water thru this so thats good. The dark brownish spots are very smooth and i dont see any glass fibers. The whitish parts seem to be either epoxy or gel coat cracking off and are rough to the touch. here are some pics

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2827289400065094294prkhka

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2545226840065094294UsjlDa

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2049346500065094294JEuxTO

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2609376700065094294mmyMfb

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[Bob's Garage]

Re: Keel repair? will marine tex be good?

Marine Tex is definitely not the way to repair this damage. I am by no means an expert, but have had some experience.

The white areas are either air pockets where the glass has little or no bonding, or (where there are "lines") de-lamination on a small scale.

The holes are where the air pockets were opened by the scraping.

This damage needs to be repaired by sanding/grinding the area to find and expose good glass and then apply layers of epoxied glass then smoothed and gel coated or painted.

Half a** measures to repair the damage will only cause worse problems in the future. The correct repair will not be difficult nor overly expensive.

Others will advise you differently, I'm sure.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Keel repair? will marine tex be good?

I'm with Bob. (We Bob's stick together, I guess.)

 

[gozierdt]

Re: Keel repair? will marine tex be good?

The Bob's are right, the fiberglass mat that is the main structural element in the boat has been torn and damaged. You will need to grind/sand away the cracked and damaged areas, replace the mat and roving with new that overlaps the old (making the patched area 8x as wide as the damaged area is recommended). A very good guide is available from West System at

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/boat-repair/

Look at the top of the table for the "# 002-550 Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance Manual".

After the structural integrity of the boat is repaired, Marine Tex makes a good overcoat, tinted to match the gelcoat and blend in the repair.