Major Keel Repair

[adla]

OK - i am finally willing to talk about my keel.

SO, what happened? It was the fourth of July when I was sailing with my dad that I heard a POP. I didn't think much of it (although, I did think it was strange) until we were hauling Morgaine out of the water and I noticed that her keel and the dead wood had separated .... the keel was moving one way on one side, the other way on the other side and the dead wood didn't want to be anywhere near either of them....WHY? because i am a nimwit. I know lots of stuff about fiberglass fabrication - but as a disclaimer a long time ago, I admitted nothing I ever worked on had to float or be submerged in water. While filling the small gaps and screw holes I quickly used body filler (bondO) and between that (btw -the bondo is fine where covered with the glass weave but not when it is just epoxied over) and the lack of resin glue (this was because the keel is the first thing you glue up and I was clue-less at the time) the keel just went thPpPpepPppppp :PppPPP~~~~~~

to fix it I had to sand the Heck out of the keel - cut the kevlar off (about 2 feet on each side) and scrape the bondo out of the cracks and fill with epoxy/404 filler. No problem just a HUGE job. I used duct tape and that rascal gravity to keep the epoxy in place....and a slight clamping pressure. When that was done, I started the fairing process. I am on the last coat of expoxy and crud and have this to say:

I should think about painting the bottom a lighter color that black (this is the desert)

I don't think the keel will ever split there again - not even if I ground her hard on pavement.

I don't like making repairs that could have been avoided by better practice in the first place.

I thought about glassing the seam where the dead wood is but decided against it. I want to avoid glass on the keel - I see the pine soak up so much water - I think glassing it would be a mistake.

Live and learn:

I didn't let it cure all wrinkly - I hit it with the squeegee just before it set off

It should be completely repaired by the end of the week and ready for the lake on Sunday!!!!

I hope this helps someone avoid the mistake I made....bondo bad - epoxy/404 good

a.

[Greg Luckett]

We always pay for education one way or another. Just think of all you have learned and experienced from building a boat?

[kydocfrog]

I don't know about everyone else, but I get exhausted just reading the sheer amount and velocity of work you accomplish...

DocA

[adla]

Doc Frog - i have to get it done today -- this is the first and last day it has been under 100 degrees in months....i could get used to 96 degrees. 8)

i had to fair one more time - better to do that than sand away too much and be where i started...should have it sanded and left alone for a couple of days of curing before primer and paint.

now - to find some d-rings to weld onto the trailer....

a.

[Craig]

Been there my girl if you remember. Never a plesant task. Don't glass the keel and never, but never, use the matt!!!

[Ken_StJohn]

Adla - Hmmm - remember our conversation regarding my deadwood separation from the keel and how to fix it? Looks like this is a trend. My original glue up was tight to the keel and screwed with 1-1/2 to 3 inch screws. The assembly sat dormant for nearly a year and the huge gap which opened over that time was greater than 3/32 all the way along the keel between it and the deadwood. I caught it just before attaching the bottom panels so I was able to tape off one side, lay the keel over and fill the gap with epoxy.

Obviously yours was a lot tougher to fix. Maybe we should all check this joint periodically for "issues".

[adla]

After two days to think about it --- I have decided that part of the reason I had the problem I did was a lack of resin glue in the first place. I just didn't use enough glue because when i went to repair the problem sanding was a pain but i didn't have to scrape old glue. What you didn't see (because I didn't take pictures of it) was what it looked like before I repaired it...the front keel pieces were peeling outward or warping outward in opposite directions. I think this could have only happened because the joints were glue starved. And the dead wood - yeah that is an area to watch and epoxy/fill for sure. I really didn't know squat about woodworking when I started the project - laying the keel up was not a perfect exercise...I predrilled the holes but not big enough in the outer pieces and some of my screws pushed the pieces away from each other instead of squeezing them together.

The number one reason i decided to post the big mess was that it really did only take two afternoons to fix (and this was due to the heat and epoxy cure times)....I am a big believer in the fixability of things.

Craig - yeah, I got the gravity duct tape idea from you...and i used compressed air and squeegees to fill the joints...and let gravity do the rest in the front.

no matter the temptation to glass just that dead wood joint - i didn't do it.

now - the big thing is that my motor should be here today and the mount tomorrow! I sOOo look forward to sunday!

a.