Painting before installing Keel Guard

[eavega]

Hey folks

So, I have been doing some repair work on the underside of my little 15' tri-hull. Specifically, I was reparing some gouges and chips in the keel where I sustained some wear and tear damage over last season from beaching the boat. One of the uses I never envisioned with my boat was beaching it. It never occurred to me that we would want to get off of the boat anywhere but on a dock
Anyway, my plan this year was to install a keel guard to protect the underside of the boat when we are beaching. The catch here is that I have done the repairs on the keel with 3M Marine premium filler. It is recommended for repairs below the water line, and I have had good luck making ding and chip repairs with this stuff. Previously I had made the repair with the filler, then sanded it down until smooth, and finished it off with gel-coat. That has held up very well over two seasons in other spots. My questions is do I need to do the gel-coat piece if I am just going to slap the keel guard over it? Mostly I am worried that the keel guard won't adhere correctly to just the filler, and some kind of "bonding" surface (i.e. gelcoat or at least paint) will be needed on the spots where I have used the marine filler.

Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Rgds

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

If she were mine, I'd gelcoat to seal it all up and the apply the Keel Guard.

 

[eavega]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

If she were mine, I'd gelcoat to seal it all up and the apply the Keel Guard.

Why is it that the right answer is not the one you want to hear

Okay, breaking out the gelcoat paste and the wax paper. Thanks for setting me on the right path.

Rgds

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

Meh..Scuff and install the guard..

Unless you think that water will get under the gelcoat..

YD.

 

[tfret]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

I have the same question. My gel coat on the keel is gone from beaching and I'd like a keel guard for protection. If the keel guard will adhere without issue then I'd like to skip gel coating (since you won't see it anyway) unless it is needed to make the hull water proof or something like that. If its just for looks then I'm not concerned.

 

[tfret]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

So is the gel coat actually needed to make the bottom water proof? If not will it hurt to simply put the keel guard on without gel coating?

 

[eavega]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

My understanding is that the gelcoat is not strictly necessary to make the bottom waterproof. That having been said, gelcoat is tough, UV resistant, and does provide a measure of water-tightness. I elected to do the gelcoat over the keel repairs, then paint with a good marine paint before installing the keelguard.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

Just remember that the keel guard will only stick to the top surface. ( so if your paint fails your guard will come off with it ).

Gel is not needed for water proofing. The only reason I can think that gelcoat would help is 'surface area' bonding.

If you have a lot of pinholes in your fiberglass your bond will not be as strong compared to a nice clean gelcoated surface.

In most cases you dont need to seal it with gelcoat..but its a boat to boat kinda thing. Without a visual inspection its kinda hard to give a proper suggestion one way or an other. I guess best bet is to seal it with gel or a resin coat prior to the keel guard.

Happy boating

YD.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

Im with WOG on this one.

 

[eavega]

Re: Painting before installing Keel Guard

Just remember that the keel guard will only stick to the top surface. ( so if your paint fails your guard will come off with it ).

I prepped the area carefully, and at first blush it seems that the paint adhered very well to the keel. I base this on sanding it with some 400 grit to scuff the paint prior to installing the keelguard. The paint sanded without flaking at all. We'll see how well it all stays together over the season.

Rgds