Kevlar on the keel

[Robert Cox]

Wayne, in order to attach a sacrifial rail to the keel you do have to plan ahead. After we turned the boat over and before it was fiberglassed, we attached the rail with #8 x 1 1/2 inch screws and then took it back off. I then drilled 1 inch holes where the screws went into the keel. I then epoxied 3/4 inch birch dowels into each hole. This way if any of the screws where to leak the might rott out the dowel but the water would never get into the keel. Just make sure you have a good measurement from the stern block forward to the aft end of the rail when you attach it the first time. When the hull is done and painted you won't be able to see where you had it mounted. You want to make sure you hit the dowels when you mount it the finale time.

We did kerf the rail where it bends aroung the stem. We don't have a steam box so this was the easiest way for us to get the rail to bend around the stem. We bedded the rail with 3M 101 polysulfide compound and epoxied it after it was on.

Oh and the rail is a piece of Red Oak if I remember right.

Bob

[Florin {VACATIONER}]

Bob, that looks really nice! We should have done it like that too. Oh well, we can do that when we re paint the keel whenever that'll be. Good idea.

[Mike Pennington]

Chalk another one up for Bob. You won't regret that modification one bit. I got a few gouges, hard on the fiberglass. Them rocks and barnicals are tougher than jet skiers, uh, I didn't mean that. Well maybe a little bit.

[Robert Cox]

I really can't take credit for that modification. It was quite sometime ago when we where discusing keel damage on the BYYB forum. Johanna happened to mention that the skipjacks up in her area would put a sacrificial oak rail on the bottom of their keels to save the keel from damage. They made them removable so they could be replaced when they got worn.

I thought that if it's good enough for those guys then it should work for me.

Bob

[TexasPhil]

Looks Good Bob,

I like the wood strip there, it looks like it belongs there even though it's sacraficial in nature. I am convienced that I want to install sacreficial strips too, but I am a little leary of putting screws into the keel like that. I would be concerned about hitting the screw and it binding and torquing and what not, to cause some big damage to the keel, even with the sacraficial dowels.

[Mike Pennington]

I remember that post, I believe. At the same time, doing is a whole lot further along than conversating. Eh?

[Robert Cox]

I got lucky Mike. The post was before I fiberglassed the bottom. This way it wasn't a retrofit. I was able to incorporate it into the building. Sure made it a lot easier.

Bob

[waynemunro]

thanks again to those who have contributed here, I have decided to go with super-sturating the keel edge with thinned epoxy, kevlar strips, then a layer of glass... too late for changing my mind now.. as I have done it

if I were doing this again, I think I would choose a lighter weight kevlar.. I got the 9oz, and it didn't wet out that easily - put this one down to my inexperience .. this was the first bit of glassing I have done. onwards and upwards now....

[Barry Pyeatt]

Actually it looks good Wayne. 9 oz. is difficult to get to conform to the double curves that you are trying to subject the fabric to, but it looks like you have a pretty good fit.

Shouldn't take much to finish that off. Keep on keeping on. You are making great progress.