Keel damage opinions?

[SkipperK]

Came acrossed a boat online that I'm thinking about buying, what's everyone's opinion on the keel?
Best picture I could get.

[denverd0n]

If it is just surface gouges, then that's easy to fix. I can't tell from the picture if there is any structural damage, which would be a much bigger deal.

[Kettlewell]

Doesn't look bad from the photo. Keels tend to get gouged up in use.

[boatman61]

Strip back all the paint fill any cracks/gouges with epoxy filler... paint and away you go...
Looks like scrapings from launching and retrieval on the trailer

[SkipperK]

Thanks everyone. I didn't think it looked serious, just wanted to get some feedback before I make the drive to check it in person.

[Teknav]

When the paint is stripped off...if you see cracks in the keel extending sideways, don't even consider buying this boat. If cracks are up/down in length, it can be fixed; albeit pricey fix. Mauritz

[phorvati]

Originally Posted by Teknav

When the paint is stripped off...if you see cracks in the keel extending sideways, don't even consider buying this boat. If cracks are up/down in length, it can be fixed; albeit pricey fix. Mauritz

There are a lot of external balast boats that have a crack where the keel meets the hull. Its referred to as a "smile". Ive been an owner of a boat with that kind of a crack for over 10 years. The famous C&C smile. Most C&C owners will tell you they have it. Ive done numerous things but no matter what, the crack always came back. It's the nature of the joint. So just because it has a crack it does not mean it's a red flag. You need to find out if it's due to an incident like grounding, or perhaps due to neglect or lack of maintenance and the structure is compromised.