Keel to hull

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John H25

OK second question, what do you use to fill the gap betwen the hull and the keel? I'm repainting the bottom and noticed a few places where it's missing. Thanks everyone for all the help here. John
 
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Ed Schenck

My solution. . .

was to use a Dremmel to open it up and clean it out. Then I filled the crack with 5200. It has never reappeared after four seasons. The only problem is that the bottom-paint will not adhere. When the boat is on the cradle you see a 12" white stripe so it looks like a crack. Possibly I could use some cloth and resin to fair it but it would only be cosmetic.
 
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David Foster

Remount the Keel?

Ed is right if the keel is tight against the hull, but still shows a gap on the edges. If the keel is not snug against the hull, then you should get yard help to lower it, clean out the joint, and then reset it - probably with 5200. David Lady Lillie
 
Jan 22, 2008
275
Hunter 33_77-83 Lake Lanier GA
Epoxy.... is your answer..

at least that is what I used. Just did a major bottom on my 33, the keel on my boat does not leak, sits tite against the hull, but there is this off set that has to be faired in if you want a smooth bottom that is going to "slide" thur the water. I used West Systems Epoxy to do the blisters and to do the fairing on the keel. Used the High Density filler to thicken the resin and applied it in several coats to get the smooth transition from hull to keel. Then barrier coated the whole bottom then bottom paint.. you would never guess its not one continious layup. Good luck and God's speed be with you.
 
Jan 22, 2003
744
Hunter 25_73-83 Burlington NJ
Rebedding the whole keel-?

I have a 1974 H-25 on which the PO said he had rebedded the keel. He used 5200. It's a mess outside-- an inch of ooze, easy-- but inside the bilge it looks fine. No rot and no structural faults. The problem is that he says when he last put the boat in, the water came right in through the bolt holes. The boat was immediately lifted and it is still out of the water from that fiasco. I have been preparing to re-bed the whole thing-- lift the boat an inch, lower the keel, scrape it clean and re-fill it. At Cherubini Boat we used what we called mish-mash-- a nasty little recipe of polyester resin, cabosil, and even DIRT-- which could easily hold the whole weight of the C-44's 11,000-lb lead shoe without the bolts (we had it tested). Then my cousin told me all they used on the Raider 33 was 5200, and they faired the outside over with polyester filler. And that keel weighs as much as my whole boat. Hmmm. Who's got experience solving a leaking keel-bolt problem, and what all did you do? After reading these posts I am of the mind to simply Dremmel the outside out, run a good bead of 5200 round it, and back off the keel bolts to ensure they have enough under them too. This keel is only 2000 lbs!!! --it can't be that crucial. Maybe I am being anal-retentive about overkill here. I'll appreciate all informed responses! JC 2 JComet@aol.com
 
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David

JC II

John, when I was associated with a Hunter dealer we had a new boat delivered with a defective keel. They forwarded a replacement keel and we proceeded to remove the original. After removing the keel bolts and raising the hull the keel would not drop. The 5200 holding it almost had to be completely removed before the keel would come off.
 
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