Need Help, Epoxy recommendations - Keel and Tabbing repair

[Carl Wonderful]

I'm new to epoxy and I'm lost here. I've tried to figure this out but....
Can someone please give me a specific EPOXY product list to buy if possible? Also any tips on how to go about this or other materials/tools I'll need would be helpful too.

1971 Catalina 22. Owner passed away 5 years ago so I know nothing about the boat but the rest of it seems in pretty good condition all and all.

* Keel is off and about 20% needs repaired...It's rusty on the surface.
* The tabbing is coming apart in the "bilge" areas where the "under" cabin areas meets the hull. (See photos)
I originally thought it was de-laminating (as listed in photo) , but I realize its the tabbing coming undone.
[More details below about all this...2 projects that I will need some sorts of epoxy for.]

1. I have removed my keel on my 1971 Catalina 22 and it was about 15-20% of the surface showing rust, the rest of it looks pretty good. I know I will have to scrape all the rust completely off then I believe I add some sort of Epoxy immediately over it? Can you please recommend exactly what products I will need and also how I should apply it. I will be doing the work in a heated room, 70 degrees or so.

2. I also have issues with the tabbing coming "undone". Looking into the berths and under cabin areas, The tabbing which used to connect the cabin to the hull are basically cracked and peeling off from the hull. The vertical parts of the tabbing seem to be holding mostly well, but a couple inches down on the horizontal parts of the tabbing, which touched the hull, have failed and are basically "peeling off" from the hull. Help!? Do I use the same epoxy as I would for the keel like in my first question? OR do I need a whole other epoxy system? I head I can get tabbing fabric that comes in strips maybe? Please help with step by step specifics and specific products if you can. This will have to be done in a colder environment cause the boats outside and I'm in PA. I can run a heater inside the boat but its still cold out.

THANKS SO MUCH I'm lost and really need to figure this out.

 

[Davidasailor26]

This is two different types of repairs and probably best to use two different products. For the keel repair you’re on the right track - clean off the rust and get to bare metal. Some people use a metal treatment like Ospho to convert any last traces of rust to stable metal. I skip that step on my iron keel, but it can help ensure you have a good surface for the epoxy to bond to. After that, and quickly before any new oxidation can form, you coat the keel with a barrier coat epoxy. Barrier coats are epoxy with specific fillers to help build up the right thickness while remaining waterproof. Interlux Interprotect or TotalBoat Total Protect are probably two of the most common for this. If the surface is rough after removing the rust you could apply an epoxy fairing compound like Total Fair to smooth the surface after the first coat of barrier coat. Then build up more coats of barrier coat to ensure the surface is waterproof. The product instructions will say how many coats and the target thickness.

For the tabbing repair you’ll probably be using a more structural epoxy without filler. West Systems and TotalBoat each make good products for this. West Systems has a guide that goes into a lot more detail on this type of repair and that’s a good reference, and TotalBoat has some guides and videos as well. Since you’ll be in colder temperatures you’ll want the fast hardener for whichever product you choose, but even then you’ll need everything to be at least 40 degrees for a proper cure.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

For a beginner I would recommend West Systems or TotalBoat epoxy. I've used both and I can't tell the difference. TB is cheaper so I'd go for that. I would recommend picking up some West Systems 404 filler. The filler can be sanded so it can be used as a fairing compound. It will take longer to sand but for a starter kit, it will work well.

90% of your repairs can be done with fiberglass tape. This is the same cloth/mat you can buy in a sheet but in a 4-6" wide roll. 1708 is great for heavy duty repairs but requires a bit more finessing to get it completely saturated than your typical cloth. Either can be used for your tabbing project but I'd lean more towards recommending the cloth for a beginner

The above products will give you a pretty good starting kit.

 

[jssailem]

Carl. The “Keel” images look like an original swing keel on the Catalina 22. You want to remove the rust. You can use epoxy filler (total boat would be a good source. Follow their instructions to assure a good bond to the keel metal) to provide a smooth and good shape to the keel. Measure the available space of the Keel Trunk so that the refurbished keel will fit back in the trunk after your repairs.

Once shaped I’d follow @Davidasailor26 ’s recommendations for an epoxy barrier coat. Then you can apply bottom paint. Again be sure of your trunk tolerances you don’t want to get it all done only to find that the repairs made the keel to fat to fit.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Measure the available space of the Keel Trunk so that the refurbished keel will fit back in the trunk after your repairs.

Heed this warning! I've been in this situation. For two years it took a couple of weeks for my cb to drop. Leave some extra clearance if you can

 

[Davidasailor26]

Also, for the tabbing repair, you might find you have a sharp inside corner where the two surfaces meet after you remove the old tabbing. Fiberglass doesn’t like to make sharp turns like that, so you may need to add an epoxy fillet to smooth the corner. To make the fillet you can use whatever epoxy you’re going to use for the glass layup, thickened with something like colloidal silica.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Once shaped I’d follow @Davidasailor26 ’s recommendations for an epoxy barrier coat. Then you can apply bottom paint. Again be sure of your trunk tolerances you don’t want to get it all done only to find that the repairs made the keel to fat to fit.

Lol, who would make a silly mistake like that . Certainly not me. I’ve never built a centerboard for a sailing dinghy, faired it, and painted it, only to find I’d built up too much fairing compound to fit in the trunk. Nope, never happened, nothing to see here

 

[jssailem]

Way back before I can remember, I got a tee shirt for that.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

At least I'm not the only one who made this mistake! Mine was too wide by a hair. Eventually the issue solved itself as the fairing compound wore away with use

 

[jssailem]

I can check the storage to see if I have a second tee shirt.

 

[shemandr]

A trick I saw on the Off Center Harbor site for doing fillets was to make a "Tool" to form the curve you want out of scrap wood. The tool made it fairly easy to get a round shape with minimal ungulations which fiberglass tape doesn't like either. You can join for a 2 week trial membership. This builder was an artist with filled epoxy. It would be worth the time to watch. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the video.
If you don't want to make many of these templates make one of plastic or check online to see if anyone is selling them. Maybe that would be a good 3d printer project. Like this but with a radius good for a fitted.

https://www.westmarine.com/3m-filler-spreader-11657392.html

 

[Davidasailor26]

A trick I saw on the Off Center Harbor site for doing fillets was to make a "Tool" to form the curve you want out of scrap wood. The tool made it fairly easy to get a round shape with minimal ungulations which fiberglass tape doesn't like either. You can join for a 2 week trial membership. This builder was an artist with filled epoxy. It would be worth the time to watch. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the video.
If you don't want to make many of these templates make one of plastic or check online to see if anyone is selling them. Maybe that would be a good 3d printer project. Like this but with a radius good for a fitted.

https://www.westmarine.com/3m-filler-spreader-11657392.html

It is good to use a tool like that. TotalBoat sells stir sticks that have sharp corners on one side for stirring and rounded corners on the other side for smoothing things like fillets. Another option is a tongue depressor.

The other trick for fillets is to put the thickened epoxy into a plastic bag, ideally like a pastry piping bag. Cut the corner off and squeeze the epoxy into a neat row.