To Fiberglass or not to fiberglass?

[D Berube]

Well I fiberglassed my Mac 22 keel and the response has been more to the negative than the positive! I thought the keel was fiberglassed when new, so why wouldn't doing it again be of benefit? I have started hearing all kinds of info that I shouldn't have done it! Lets hear some more imput on this, or even should I go and sand the glass cloth off?

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

been there

Years ago, the keel of a Mac 22 was originally fiberglassed. The keel need s to be removed to do the job correctly. First, grind all the rust out. Use Zinc chromate to protect from rusting. Fill in the pores with two part epoxy.Lay your glass and make sure to cover the area so not to get crap on the ground. You will be able to fare out the edges. It will take some time but the boat did perform better when the job was complete.Be careful as any keel is heavy and please use gloves that are chemically resistant.Crazy Dave CondonI assume you were refereing to a MacGregor 22

 

[Vic]

What's done is done ...

i fiberglassed a cast iron keel on a 30 yr. old Rhodes 19 about 7 years ago ... fiberglassed it right into the bottom of the boat so it looked like it was part of the fiberglassed hull ... seven years later it doesn't show any problems.All i did was chip the old cast iron off ... a little wire brushing ... sanded the hull fiberglass so that the glass was a little fuzzy ... a quick wash with acetone and then West epoxy and glass matt.Don't try to fix what ain't broke yet again.Vic

 

[Curt McClain]

what about for a Venture 21?

The keel is off on the 21 that i just bought and is bare metal. Was this originally encased in fiberglass? I was assuming from other boat sites that it was and that it needed to be redone.

 

[D Berube]

Ventures and Mac keels

From my understanding, both Ventures and Macs, had fiberglassed keels! After doing mine over, there seems to be a difference of opinion whether the keels should be redone in glass cloth, or just to remove the rust, and paint it!It seems that if the job is done correctly, fiberglassing is the way to go however! It is each to their own and who you happen to ask! I will say that mine looks like new, now it is glassed, and I really like the results. Whether she will rust from underneath now remains to be seen! If I get 2 or 3 years out of her before it needs to be redone again, I will be happy and go that way again!