Keel Repair

[Billy Buck]

Cheoy Lee Perry 35, seeping encapsulated keel. Looks to be resin seeping from a previous repair but I am open to being wrong.

First photo is aft end of the keel where it curves into hull. Second photo looking forward from behind keel, you can see what looks to be a repair seeping resin.

Do I cut the entire old repair out and have a do over or trap this resin with a new repair?

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Billy Buck

Cheoy Lee Perry 35, seeping encapsulated keel. Looks to be resin seeping from a previous repair but I am open to being wrong.

First photo is aft end of the keel where it curves into hull. Second photo looking forward from behind keel, you can see what looks to be a repair seeping resin.

Do I cut the entire old repair out and have a do over or trap this resin with a new repair?

Attachment 218856Attachment 218857

The concern I would have is whether or not the cracks are open to the interior of the voids inside the incapsulated keel. This is a fiberglass, keel shaped, hull filled with ballast. (Verify that with Bob Perry.) Water inside of it is not good, and much worse if the ballast includes any steel or iron.

If so, what you want to do is stop sea water from getting into the keel, and, if possible, get what's in there, if any, out.

Grind away the area where weeping is occurring. Go deep if needed to get to clean, dry, laminate.

If there is any indication that the cracks lead to any void inside the keel, then I am not sure how to proceed, someone who is expert in this situation could probably give some advice. At a minimum I'd drill a hole at the bottom and see if anything pours or seeps out.

Otherwise, (no cracking into the inside of the keel) then grind back and make a new layup.

Again, I have no professional knowledge on this type of repair (when did that ever stop me from doing it?) so the fiberglass keel experts should chime in.