upon hauling out about 3 years ago, we found that our keel was separated from the stub by about a 1/4" gap in the front.
It looked like a previous owner had already attempted a repair that had not held up very well (evident by the presence of an unknown sealant). Our repair (outlined in West System's fiberglass repair manual available for free here: https://www.westsystem.com/wp-content/uploads/Fiberglass-Manual-2015.pdf) was as follows; first we ground out the old sealant and created a bevel using a 36 grit zirconia flap disc on an angle grinder.
Then after we checked torque on all the keel bolts (the spec can be found here Index of /wp-content/export/Miscellaneous). After that the joint was filled with Pettit's Flexpoxy, which provides a structural yet semi flexible joint. After curing overnight it was sander fair.
We just hauled out again 3 years later and am happy to report that this repair has held up flawlessly.
It looked like a previous owner had already attempted a repair that had not held up very well (evident by the presence of an unknown sealant). Our repair (outlined in West System's fiberglass repair manual available for free here: https://www.westsystem.com/wp-content/uploads/Fiberglass-Manual-2015.pdf) was as follows; first we ground out the old sealant and created a bevel using a 36 grit zirconia flap disc on an angle grinder.
Then after we checked torque on all the keel bolts (the spec can be found here Index of /wp-content/export/Miscellaneous). After that the joint was filled with Pettit's Flexpoxy, which provides a structural yet semi flexible joint. After curing overnight it was sander fair.
We just hauled out again 3 years later and am happy to report that this repair has held up flawlessly.