tfrei Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Hi, I have a used CS 17. In great shape over all, but the bottom looks a little roughed up. Looking for repair advice? 1) sand smooth and layer with epoxy/paint? 2) sand smooth and layer with epoxy/fiberglass/paint? 3) some other approach? I uploaded a couple of pictures for reference. Thanks in advance for your help. -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPower210 Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Hi Tom- I don't see the pictures, but I'll take a stab at it anyway- if there is glass already on the boat I would sand smooth and epoxy coat- if not, this might be a good opportunity to add glass, but it's a lot of work- Some folks have done tape along the bottom and chines and no glass on the rest of the hull- I am the opposite end of the spectrum and am just finishing the bottom of my boat which is sheathed completely with Xynole. Adds weight, but I think the trade off is worth it for the oyster shells, etc. around here. By the way- congrats on having a CS 17- great boat! JP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 It's a bit hard to tell, but my first impression is that there is a failure of whatever seal was intended and at least the first ply layer is peeling. I'd take this seriously if so. My repair would be to flip the boat. That is usually easier than you think. I'd be sure the boat was very dry. Remove/scrape all loose ply. Fill voids with epoxy / filler mix. Cover with tape at the least. Re-coat bottom of boat. Add a sacrificial keel to prevent this from happening again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfrei Posted April 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Thanks Steve. This was the kind of advice I was looking for. I wonder whether what I am seeing is the "sacrificial keel" being beat up. The damaged portion really is the keel-like part of the bottom of the boat. How would one go about adding a sacrificial keel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Agreed, it difficult to see what's affected, but the usual rules are to scab in a repair, if the damage is significant and fill minor imperfections with thickened goo. That looks bashed enough, to warrant a scabbed in repair, once completed, fill the seams around it and other dings and digs with thickened epoxy. To add a keel protection strip (rub strip), you lightly screw on a solid half oval, hollow back half oval, aluminum bar stock or a plastic strip. It's lightly screwed, so if you truly mash it into something hard, it'll deform, yank its fasteners and maybe fall off. This saves what's under it from major damage and you can simply replace the protective strip. I typically use 1/2" or 3/4" #6 flat or oval head screws for this. The CS series are designed to have a full length strip down the centerline. Some modest tracking improvement is had, but mostly it protects the bottom. The last one I did was oak, with a cut to fit aluminum bar stock rub strip, screwed over it. Solid back stainless is the best, but costly and difficult to bend uniformly if pre-drilled. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnjost Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Yup. Looks like your keel rotted. It is attached to the ply with fasteners and perhaps epoxy. Heat gun, screwdriver, and a small mallet should remove it in short order. I fastened mine from the inside http://jostboats.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-09-29T19:01:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=15&by-date=false Therefore, a hacksaw may also be essential. You could cut a new one and put in on afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 You guys have better eyes than me......but with my reading glasses on it looks like it really is a keel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfrei Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Thank you everybody. It really is the keel that has failed in one or two spots. I think I am going to turn it over and see whether I can fill in the damaged areas with thickened epoxy, etc. If a small section is really bad, is it acceptable to just cut it out and put in a new piece (with plenty of epoxy) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Best to cut out the "crunched" wood and splice (scab-in) some new wood. Get back to a relatively good, undamaged spot. Then fill minor damage with poxy putty and glass over to match the rest of the keel (If it was glassed---if not, just fill and epoxy coat). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Just gouge out the bad stuff, grinding and/or cutting back to good soild wood, then fit a piece in, to fill the void you've cut into the keel. It doesn't have to be especially neat, you can use a hatchet if you want, just as long as you backfill the hack job with thickened epoxy. Once cured, you can shape as desired to the original dimensions. I'd use a pull saw or multi tool to make the initial cuts, maybe clean it up with a plane or even a belt sander. Again it doesn't have to be perfect. Wet out the surfaces with neat goo, then butter it up with thickened epoxy and use a brad or two to hold it until the goo cures. Under some filler and paint, no one but you will know it's there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Be aware that there might be fiberglass between the keel and the hull - If so, try not to damage it when you cut the keel. If the plywood of the hull is undamaged under the glass you won't have to grind it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfrei Posted May 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 I started this thread and thought I would provide a follow-up to the original post. After a little bit of work, I was able to get the boat off of the trailer and up on its side in my garage. From there I was able to inspect the keel strip more closely. With nothing more than rough sandpaper, I was able to remove the damaged wood with little work. What I ended up with was the original keel mostly intact except for the front third whose edges were a tad more rounded. Since the damage didn't seem that significant and since summer will be here and gone quickly where I boat in northern Minnesota, I decided not to replace or scarf in a new section. Instead, I decided to layer on wood flour fortified epoxy in some of the most damaged areas. After this had set up, I also put a coat of carbon powder infused epoxy over the whole keel area. I also patched over two rectangles where the paint had been rubbed off a little ( from the trailer? I don't know.) with the same carbon epoxy paint. The carbon epoxy idea I got from reading something on duckworks. A lot of people swear by the stuff. I'm attaching pictures in the next post. You will see a rather ugly job since this is the first time I've worked with epoxy in this type of application. Drips are everywhere. Next time, I will. be more careful and use tape and newspaper to cover areas I want to keep clean. I'm going to see how this repair holds up over the summer and then possibly repaint the whole bottom this fall. Thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfrei Posted May 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Here are some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makenmend Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Good decision, use the boat have fun and make a thorough job in the off season. I've had good success on all my boats using Epoxy/graphite, easy to see any problems and quick to repair, if you disregard curing time. MM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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