Has anyone fixed/patched the keel seam? I have opened it up by sanding a V into the seam and let it dry out for a month or more. I now am ready to patch it and was going to use a 2 part epoxy but just saw that you could use 5200 so the seam can flex. Any thoughts?
Keel Seam
- Thread starter Christiantalli
- Start date
The general consensus on that is to use a flexible seal like 5200. A rigid epoxy will just crack again.
Trying to repair the keel stub joint from the outside, some would consider a temporary repair. If the joint has been compromised leaving it open for water to seep in, the best repair would be to lift the boat off the keel, clean the joint and re-bed with 3M-5200. This repair was done on our boat in 2004 and remains as solid as when it was done several thousand mile ago.
A picture of your joint would help. Do you know the cause?
West system G/flex or Pettit flexpoxy. Either would work well for that application. I personally used Pettit's flexpoxy because it doesn't exotherm as much so you can apply more at one time. You can download for free on West Systems website a manual for typical fiberglass repairs. This repair is detailed in that manual.