Keel to hull joint

Arrgh

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Oct 27, 2021
48
ODay 34 Bristol, RI
What does everybody think about fiberglassing the keel to hull joint. Is this an area best left alone? It doesn't look like there are any issues in my 34, but I do see what looks like bedding compound in the joint. Would it be better to just glass over the whole joint??
 

dmax

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Jul 29, 2018
971
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
What Don said - to refresh the joint, scrape out as much as you can and re-fill with 5200. Smooth over the joint with some filler and paint.
 

Arrgh

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Oct 27, 2021
48
ODay 34 Bristol, RI
The boat is new to me and there was a little water in the bilge… so my boat hypochondria kicked in haha. Thanks for the reply!!
 
Jan 22, 2008
1,654
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
We did ours that way. We got tired of looking at the crack at the junction that would seep rust stains. It did not ever allow water into the interior, but from a cosmetic standpoint we didn't like the appearance. So a few layers of glass cloth and West epoxy put an end to it.
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,077
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
We did ours that way. We got tired of looking at the crack at the junction that would seep rust stains. It did not ever allow water into the interior, but from a cosmetic standpoint we didn't like the appearance. So a few layers of glass cloth and West epoxy put an end to it.
I'd be concerned with trapping water in the joint which I would never know about
 
Last edited:
Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
It's almost always a case of keel bolt attachment, torque, age, and decomposition, of the bolts and various other materials which is often plywood in the keel stub.

It's always amazing that people do not want to know and will circumvent anyway they and others can dream up to hide the actual problem.
No matter what you do fiberglass will not bond to iron or lead it will stick but it will never Bond like fiberglass, epoxy and polyester bond. And if that is not enough a keel to hull joint is a mechanical joint and subject to some movement, hopefully none but it is the nature of that type of joint..
So as they say; "you can hide but you can't escape" (the actual problem)
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
Don't let a little water in the bilge upset you, there will be many future instances where you will find water in the bilge and most won't mean you have a hull leak. For starters the boat will probably already have many gallons of water trapped in the hull stringers below the sole that will get dislodged with boat heeling and boat motion. Then you have galley spills, rain leaks, plumbing leaks, sea spray, wash downs, refrigerator drains and many other sources.
 
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RoyS

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Jun 3, 2012
1,739
Hunter 33 Steamboat Wharf, Hull, MA
I would proceed with your plan. I did mine and it has never displayed the joint again. Bottom paint will not stick well to the exposed sealant and will show up as a crack. Once you add a couple of layers of fiberglass cloth, epoxy and cover it with bottom paint it should never be seen again. If it does crack again then there is some movement that will have to be addressed.
 
Feb 26, 2009
716
Oday 30 Anchor Yacht Club, Bristol PA
One of the reasons the bilge water is always there is the very long 1" ID pump hose. Hunter used a CK valve which will slowly back flow because they don't close 100% I'm guessing it's easily 2 quarts of water.
You also want to make sure the water heater isn't leaking sometimes you have to look really close, and the port water tank under the bunk tends to crack
 
Sep 11, 2016
12
O'Day 30 Halifax, Nova Scotia
Everyone is very calm, and I really expected some "looming catastrophe" like keel bolts rusting through... why isn't that a concern?
 

Arrgh

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Oct 27, 2021
48
ODay 34 Bristol, RI
There’s many reasons for water in the bilge, 99% of the time it’s harmless…I’m just a worrier sometimes
 
Oct 7, 2008
378
Oday Oday 35 Chesapeake Bay
Getting a wrench of your keel bolts to tighten them is the place to start. My problem is that mine are very difficult to get to. Viewing the joint when the boat is in the slings is a good way to see if the crack is larger than when it is on the jack stands. I don't see any difference so I don't think I have a problem but I would like to tighten the bolts if I can. I think 5200 or 4200 is used at the attachment.