Keel Repair

[DockH]

Something took a chunk out of the lower leading edge of my lead/fiberglass encased keel. No other hull or keel/hull joint damage. Do not know what is the core material and how to apply it and then fiberglass or Epiglass over the core. Do not believe it merits insurance claim deductible.

 

[dscribner]

What's Up Dock?

Those bite marks are a clear indication of the Humpbacked Granite Moray, common to most parts of the world. I'd use high density expanding foam (minimal injected into the deep cracks) sculpt and sand it then glass over well. If it isn't as big as it appears in the pictures, I's used gorilla hair worked into all the crevasses and built up. Then glassed over with woven mat. Once you fair, be sure to build up a few coats of barrier paint before repainting.

 

[r.oril]

That hurts! I pulled the DB on my Mac26D and was whinning about the "Nick" I found!
Good Luck and the repairs.

 

[DockH]

Thanks. The camera shot was at an angle that exagerates the damage. But it willl require some cutting before filling with the foam or other core material. Just lucky I got loose without being swallowed by the Lake Erie Granite Moray ;-)

 

[Ray Bowles]

Did it do any damage where the keel attaches to the hull? That looks like a very solid object that she struck.
Ray

 

[RON20406]

DockH, if you want to do a good job, you should remove all the damaged material (foam) inside the keel to where it is all attached solidly and evenly and refill using the damaged skin as a mold. Then, after the foam has hardened in the shape of the keel, cut away the damaged portion of the skin, if unusable, before reglassing the completed structure. You could use a Dremel with a metal grinder to remove the damaged foam. If you haven't done this before, you should consult someone with experience and/or study the fiberglass techniques described in West System's manual since a poor job will ultimately fail. Good luck and good sailing, Ron

 

[Merlin Clark]

What's Up Dock?

Those bite marks are a clear indication of the Humpbacked Granite Moray, common to most parts of the world. I'd use high density expanding foam (minimal injected into the deep cracks) sculpt and sand it then glass over well. If it isn't as big as it appears in the pictures, I's used gorilla hair worked into all the crevasses and built up. Then glassed over with woven mat. Once you fair, be sure to build up a few coats of barrier paint before repainting.

Do you use scissors to gather the gorilla hair or just rip it out in chunks? Then run really fast?

 

[Saildog5182]

Where do you get high density expanding foam ? Is there a marine type ? The material in the photo is very light as foam but dense. Seems there is no standard encapsulated lead keel design. Mine is encapsulated and bolted.