minor keel damage- what to do?

[mattttt25]

boat i'm looking at has some minor keel damage. gel coat is gone just at the very tip of the keel, and runs about 6-7' back. owner had trouble figuring out his lift needed to be down further when coming in.<br /><br />no structural issue, and just the gel coat is removed, showing the glass and fiber below. we're talking 1/16" removed. i want to repair it and then paint over with bottom paint. what do i do?<br /><br />looked into the keelshields, but i don't like attaching something to the running surface of the hull. would also cost me about 180 new.<br /><br />could i use marine tex or another sort of bonding putty? i figure it wouldn't have to be very clean. i could sand the area a bit, apply the putty, let it dry, then sand. paint would cover everything anyway.<br /><br />or is there a better method involving gel coat repair?<br /><br />thoughts?

 

[tengals123]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

i would do something similar to what you said. Just make sure it's washed first, then rough sanded, then cleaned w/ acetone or similar, then patched etc.....

 

[biloxiriver]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

I recently patched some minor damage of this nature to my keel using MarTex. Worked great.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

A few coats of Gluvit... It's an epoxy, by the same company that makes Marine-Tex.. Just brush or roll it on... <br /><br />Good stuff!..

 

[mattttt25]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

thanks snapper- i'll check out gluvit. if it's a sticky epoxy i can roll on, that sounds like the right product. the location of the damage is right at the tip of a sharp keel and such a small area, that getting marine-tex to form and bond properly may be difficult.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

quick question on gluvit- looking at the megastore here at iboats, seems to be 2 products. one is gluvit and another is marine tex gluvit. two different manufacturers, two different cans, but seem to be the same exact product. even has same product number. but price is a bit different.<br /><br />did marine tex buy gluvit and just start marketing it? or did gluvit break away from marine tex?<br /><br />i really don't care, just want to hear they are the same product. sounds like it's the thing i want to use.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

I searched "gluvit" in the megastore.. The two that came up are the same stuff...

 

[Realgun]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

Heres what I did to solve your issue on my boat. I first sanded the area. Then I used acetone to clean it up and looked real hard for any fibers that were loose. Sinnce no loose fibers i just coated with 2 coats of epoxy. then I put a KeelGuard over it all per thier instructions.<br />Basically sand, acetone, then put on an adhesive, then KeelGuard.<br /><br />Looks better tha new.<br /><br />If there had been fibers I wuold have put on a layer or 2 of glass then the KeelGuard. <br /><br />Yes they are expensive but I wanted it to look good and be immune to some of that rubbing and such.<br /><br />And no I have no pictures during sorry.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

thanks realgun. i think i will sand the area, clean, and then use the gluvit. couple coats and then sand. the whole thing is getting bottom paint, so i don't really care how it looks. but we're talking the very tip of the keel, so i don't have much to do.

 

[tengals123]

Re: minor keel damage- what to do?

yep, by the sounds of it you don't really need glass. This job really isn't a big deal, it's quite easy. The main concern for you is to make sure it's super clean and dry before you start coating/filling it.<br />cheers