CRACK IN KEEL

smokeysailor · May 20, 2025

Hello, I have a homemade 14' boat and it is leaking water right now. I assume it is from the crack in my keel. The piece is lose, and I want any suggestions as to how to repair this. Should I go back to where ist is still firm and attached and make a cut to remove the piece and then make a new piece? Screw it in and epoxy it? There used to be a brass strip that ran up the front of the keel for protection but it got ripped off when taking my boat off the trailer.
Any help or insight would be great! Thanks.

MikeSchinlaub · May 20, 2025

Fiberglass is fixed by grinding out the damage and layering new glass over it, then bodyworking and paint. You won't know just how far the damage extends until you start. You'll also need to take the interior apart and check it out from the inside. Do that first.

smokeysailor · May 20, 2025

The inside of the boat is bare, exposed ribbing. Can't see any damage from the inside. No cracks.
Its fairly difficult to fiberglass over and around something isn't it? without getting bubbles and gaps?

UrbanNomadX · May 21, 2025

Sounds like a tricky repair, especially without seeing damage from the inside. Would wrapping the new keel piece in glass before attaching help avoid some of the usual bubble/gap issues?

Scott Danforth · May 21, 2025

looks like someone attempted to patch the crack from the outside with body putty

do you know if they used poly or epoxy? if poly, then you will need a few yards of CSM, a few yards of 1708 and a few gallons of resin. if epoxy, you need some light cloth, some 1700 and a few gallons of resin. in both cases, you will need ground fibers and cut fibers to make PB

the way I would repair the boat. pull the motor, seats and rigging, flip the boat over. grind back about 8" each side of the keel down to the wood, and feather the remainder of fiberglass back about another 8"

address the no-longer attached keel. this should have been glued and screwed. re-glue and re-screw.

PB the seam

start tabbing the keel from the outside. start 2" wide with 170X and go wider until you end up with 3 layers minimum. then a top layer of csm or cloth.

mix up some fairing and fair the surface.

paint or gel.

then from the inside, mix up some hairy PB and fill the gaps. use a masonry bag to pipe it in. smooth out the seams .

paint or gel

then re-rig

smokeysailor · May 22, 2025

Wow, major job! I did not make this boat. I just have done a little work to it. I put in a floor, re-built part of the tramsom, and put a new deck on it. Sorry Scott I don't know what your abbreviations stand for. Could your please write out in full. Flip the boat upside down...! Not going to happen. What ever work I have to do I have to do it alone. Don't have anyone to help me. Doesn't sound like its going to be a fun job upside down.

MikeSchinlaub · May 22, 2025

Csm = Chopped Strand Mat

PB = penut butter. Slang for thickened resin. You use cabosil to thicken the resin to the consistency of penut butter to fill small voids and attach wood to hull.

So your keel piece will be covered with purty, pressed onto the keel, screwed on, oozed out pb smoothed out, and glassed over.

Scott Danforth · May 22, 2025

If Ted can flip a 22 foot sailboat by himself, you can flip this little boat

MikeSchinlaub · May 22, 2025

Scott Danforth said:
If Ted can flip a 22 foot sailboat by himself, you can flip this little boat

Success

Scott Danforth · May 23, 2025

was more talking about in his garage using ratchet straps

Scott Danforth · May 23, 2025

smokeysailor said:
Wow, major job! ........ Flip the boat upside down...! Not going to happen. What ever work I have to do I have to do it alone. Don't have anyone to help me. Doesn't sound like its going to be a fun job upside down.

that 14' boat probably weights 250# (400# max) without the engine, rigging or interior.

with 4 ratchet straps, you can flip it over yourself with a beer in your hand.

back boat and trailer into garage. using 2 ratchet straps per side, raise off trailer. pull trailer out. lower one side to ground, while raising other side.

then when the boat is nearly sideways, push the bottom one direction and the top the other direction. then lower the straps

I have the experience to work upside down, however on my 3600# boat..... (2000# hull only), that was a requirement because the boat wont fit in the garage and the HOA would frown on me building a gantry around the boat. however on every 16' boat or smaller, just use a few ratchet straps and flip it. the job is not only 2000 times easier than working upside down, you dont end up with resin on your head, grinding dust covering your head, or any of the downsides of working upside down.

redneck joe · May 23, 2025

Do not work on it upside down. If you can't figure out how to do it yourself and have zero friends that can help you for the three minutes it will take, post on a local Facebook page for 25 buck someone will respond.

nola mike · May 23, 2025

Scott Danforth said:
the job is not only 2000 times easier than working upside down, you dont end up with resin on your head, grinding dust covering your head, or any of the downsides of working upside down.

Having spent another day today doing this exact thing with the same consequences, I can second that this absolutely sucks. If my boat flips, it isn't on purpose.

cyclops222 · Saturday at 7:25 AM

You are alone. Boat falls on you ?

smokeysailor · Sunday at 9:13 AM

Thanks guys, but I don't have a garage. The boat sits under a shelter logic. I managed to get a neighbour over to help me take the boat off the trailer and put it on blocks, and that was a lot of work. I hope my neighbours back it ok! By how that went I am asuming 4 strong guys and myself might be able to flip it, but finding 3 more guys and getting them to my place at the same time is highly unlikely!
I had to put a new declk on the boat and trying to make new trim and attaching it was a nightmare. I put ads online looking for any help or guidance....no replies. It has taken me 3 years to complete and I am sure it was not done correctly, but I want my boat back in the water so bad that I have to say "oh well."
It would be really nice if I could find the plans for the boat. Supposibly the plans were in an issue of popular mechanics. I have spend may hours looking to no avail.

smokeysailor · Sunday at 9:16 AM

upon inspection, wood from the keel is sticking out of the fiberglass all the way to the back.. from the rollers i'd imagine, and it feels like silicone was used. What a mess!

smokeysailor · Sunday at 9:18 AM

Anyone, going on a road trip by Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada! Ha Ha!

tphoyt · Sunday at 9:28 AM

Any boat building schools or high schools with shop classes near by? Offer a BBQ and a place to stay for a night and get a crew together.
Sounds like you have a big repair to make. Flipping it is definitely your best option for 100 different reasons.

smokeysailor · Sunday at 10:39 AM

I wish! I would love to be apprentise to a boat builder for a year!

smokeysailor · Sunday at 10:43 AM

Guess, I just have to buckle down and just get her done.

CRACK IN KEEL

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