Keel / Hull Joint

[sailorboy1]

My external keel to hull joint is showing a "smile" crack. Probably from the sand bar I was on last year. So I figure I might as well wire wheel it down and fair it.

What do most use, a caulk or expoy? If expoy do you tape it as the West System book shows this.

[barnakiel]

If there is no movement, you can epoxy and glass over. If there is any movement, you can 3M 5200 and glass over.

If you do not glass over the crack will come back.

Make sure there is no structural damage (a bolt or adjacent laminate).

b.

[feelsgood]

If you want to reseat the keel get in touch with Scott Bader and ask about Crestoma. The strongest adhesive in the world.

[Ocean Girl]

I thought you are supposed to use a compound for that area (?) like dolponite or such. I am kinda rusty about keel work stuff but I would be concerned about an epoxy due to the possible need to remove the keel one day for keel bolt work. It being a Cal and a boat you can take offshore, have you thought of just glassing up the entire keel? I have never done it but have seen it done, never worry about keel bolts again.
Erika

[sailorboy1]

I think the dolponite is just boat "bondo". I picked at it a little today and it appears to only be crackled in whatever it was faired with before. I thin I'm going to wire whel it clean, fair it with thickned expoy, then put 1 layer of expoy/tape over it. Even if I ever have to remove the heel I can just cut the tape seal.

[mike d.]

if you only have a smile is it leaking. if not just use boat life or dolphinite . because if there is movement your epoxy fix will only look good until launch and then will start weeping. when you get a smile you have disturbed the whole and need to correct same. obviously sitting on the sand moved/jarred keel and have caused a loss of integrity.

[sailorboy1]

It's not leaking. When I went to the boat last week after 3+ onths there was a foot of water in the lower bildge and the outside was competely dry of any leakage.


The boat was in the water for 6 moths after the sand bar grounding and I had no problems with waterin the bildge other than otherleaks when it rained.

[sailorboy1]

I thought this would get more input. I was at West Marine today and didn't see anything that seemed to be much different than a caulk or expoy type of material to do this. Would Boat Life caulk stay in the gap you think?

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I thought this would get more input. I was at West Marine today and didn't see anything that seemed to be much different than a caulk or expoy type of material to do this. Would Boat Life caulk stay in the gap you think?

The goo will stay put in the gap, but the paint will not stick to it. So even if you go for the goo, then it is a good idea to glass over and prime.

b.

[feelsgood]

Scott Bader company ask them for ADVANTAGE 10 I have used it for exactly this kind of job and works realy well and you can sand it and paint over

[sailorboy1]

Wire wheeled the joint and it was 95% just cracked paint along the caulking between the hull/keel. The other 5% was some fairing that was used to just finish up the connection for smoothness.

Went to West Marine and they wanted to sell me some 2 part flexible expoy for $40. Seemed too much for what it was. In the end just masked it offt and put down a layer of Life Caulk. It's good in water and paintable for the bottom paint later. Not excatly smooth, but enough for me (maybe I will made it smoother if I run out of real things to work on). Now I have a nice black rubber 1" line around the keel.

If I remember I'll report how it worked out when the boat gets hauled end of the year.