Belize 43: Glue for Keel to Hull Attachment

[Brit Horn]

I just bought my dream boat Belize 43 and have the exact same issue. The loose keel actually fell out after a couple days in the boatyard. I'm planning to head back to South Carolina soon and will probably re-attach it myself. Any ideas on approximately how many tubes of Sika 292 I will be using and where to apply the adhesive. I'm guessing about three fat 3/8 - 1/2" beads per side of keel from top edge to midway and bottom edge. Then a final smooth bead to hull radius after install. 4 - 6 tubes?

[AussieWayne]

Originally Posted by Brit Horn

I just bought my dream boat Belize 43 and have the exact same issue. The loose keel actually fell out after a couple days in the boatyard. I'm planning to head back to South Carolina soon and will probably re-attach it myself. Any ideas on approximately how many tubes of Sika 292 I will be using and where to apply the adhesive. I'm guessing about three fat 3/8 - 1/2" beads per side of keel from top edge to midway and bottom edge. Then a final smooth bead to hull radius after install. 4 - 6 tubes?

Brit Horn First of all congratulations on your purchase of the Belize 43. I hope your dream boat provides many years of safe and happy sailing.
Although a keel dropping out on the hardstand would be a bit of a surprise start for anyone. Better it happened then and there than out in the deep blue.
I think the reply from Lucky has good guidence in that FP sent 20 tubes for his repair. I would use as many as it takes to completely cover the keel box and then a neat bead around the landing seam when jacked into position to make it watertight.
Hopefully it will still break away when and if actually needed, if ever.

I did eventually receive a reply of sorts from FP from my enquiry and I copy it here as I received it:

''Sika is polyuretahne glue.
You must put glue all the keel box. Not only on the edge.
Both sides has to be cleaned before gluing''

Anyhow probably buy only 6 or so tubes if you are doing the repair on the hardstand near the chandlery where you can get some more in a hurry if needed. You always need Sikaflex for something around the boat.
Kind regards
Wayne

[AussieWayne]

Originally Posted by Lucky

Hi all,
Not quite sure if this is of interest any more, but I replaced one of the keels in my previous cat, an Athena 38. The Athena has the same keel design as all FP's. The removal was a monumental job as the entire cavity of the keel box was completely filled with glue.
I received a new keel from FP and a total of, as I can remember, 20 tubes of Sikaflex. The instruction was to completely fill the sides of the cavity and then use a jack to insert the keel. This was as mentioned earlier in the tread fully glassed and gelcoat finished, the substance of the keel is a polyurethane. Benefit with this is that it creates a great "lift" to the hulls as opposed to a mono where the keel is pulling the boat towards the crabs.

I also have seen small sepage of water when I lifted my Belize but did nothing, I believe the boat should be out of the water for at least 6 months to dry out completely before sealing the sepage holes. No point in locking in water if you ask me. In any case i cannot see a very small amount of water in the cavity will cause any damage to the fibreglass either in the keelbox or the keel.

Happy lead free sailin
Lucky

Hey Lucky you are probably right about letting it dry out for an extended period of time. If one hauled out and then removed the dodgy landing seam Sikaflex and let it sit that should allow any trapped water to leak out then dry out. With the seam removed I can't see where any water would hide due to the design of the keel top sloping downwards. Afterwards replace the landing seam with new Sikaflex, probably a coat of epoxy sealer then couple of coats of antifoul over the replaced seam area. Hopefully problem fixed.
Kind regards
Wayne

[aquaslav]

Hello Wayne, met you on Peter's boat the other day in Raby Bay. During most recent haulout in October I resealed the seam between the keel and the hull on my FP Antigua using Fixseal MSP 190. Came highly recommended and an Oz product. I chose black out of several color options. Try Muirs in Manly

[aquaslav]

Went back and read the entire thread...seams osmosis is a concern! My boat was on the hard for almost 2 weeks and the hulls and keels were sanded back to gelcoat. No problem on the port side but the keel on starboard had numerous small blisters. Shallow grind and epoxy putty mix followed by 2-pack undercoat sealed them. Water was dripping from the bottom of the keel and sealing did not help much since seepage continued. I agree with Lucky...it would take ages to dry and who knows where the water is getting in. However my early 90's boat showed no water leaking from the hull-keel seam, although I pulled out a lot of old sealant and refilled with Fixseal MSP 190. I suspect the inside of the starboard keel is a bit waterlogged since the boat has a slight list to starboard, not getting as much lift as a dry keel. But I can live with that - the bilges are dry. Slava

[AussieWayne]

Hi Slava
It was good to meet you guys last week as well and crawl all over Peter's Belize.
Thanks for your input on the landing seam problem.
I guess when I next haul out I will remove all the sealant around the joins allow it to dry as long as possible and reseal with Sikaflex or similar.
Fair winds
Wayne