BUCHAN 37 Encapsulated Keel rust spot and weeping. (Pics inside)

[OLDSON]

I am now a few years on the hard due to both life and financial situations and now am turning my attentions toward finishing the boat. I have a diesel engine Perkins 4108, which i have been told will likely slip right in the spot left by the Isuzu 40 that was pulled last winter. I was at the boat inspecting the bottom and blocking and found these two areas which look to need a little love. This boat has an encapsulated keel and from what i can see there is no cracking or separation of where the keel meets the bottom of the hull. I dont see delaminated fiberglass around the areas, just two rust spots where it ooks like the metal has been comprimised. Please respond here or call me. 206 390 7816
Try and find out how to do it? best way to do it? Apparently I have to load the pictures later as it needs to have a hyperlink in order to be posted

[OLDSON]

Bump... or possibly someone with more search ability than I perhaps point me in a direction with links that discusses this subject in greater detail.... oh yeah and pictures should be up, as much as I wish they weren't pictures of my own boat, they are... to clarify I already own this boat and have for several years many thousands of dollars have already been spent in my quest to bring her back to functional so probably not going to intimidate me with long winded discussions of fiberglass lay up and how I shouldn't try and fix this

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[OLDSON]

They both (there are only two spots of whatevers going on) have nicknames now.... the 1st one is "the astroid" the other is "the slog" the astroid is the one that looks like a rough rock and the other is red brown weeping spot with less actual surface damage but might be a more leaky side of the boat. These is the only areas where this is happening. I am familiar with the process of whats happening, water intrusion inbetween fiberglass and metal or wet from above seeping into fiberglass and eventually causing keel to oxidize and swell which breaks fiberglass surface and then metal is being worked from both ends by water/brine from the hull and intrusion water from the top. What I need to know is how best to repair areas and stop further damage from occuring. Steps seem to make sense is grind out bad, fiberglass over bad, water proof bilge, eliminate water exposure from decks, other sources, paint,
Put boat back in water.

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[robwilk37]

i just responded to a similar thread on encapsulated keel repair, you should be able to find it. since you likely have ferrous metals as ballast youll need to be sure its absolutely dry before you flood in the epoxy. i used acetone and flushed it through several times, but alcohol would work too. then, yes, grind/glass/seal the bilge and go sailing

[Orion Jim]

Robwilk37 has good advice and this is the link he referred to
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...st-154603.html

[OLDSON]

i just responded to a similar thread on encapsulated keel repair, you should be able to find it. since you likely have ferrous metals as ballast youll need to be sure its absolutely dry before you flood in the epoxy. i used acetone and flushed it through several times, but alcohol would work too. then, yes, grind/glass/seal the bilge and go sailing

How many gallons of epoxy did you dribble into the keel well? 16? And I read that you used microballons after the first few pours of straight thin epoxy? Were you able to reuse any of the epoxy slurry that drained out before hole was plugged? How many gallons of acetone did you go through before switching out to epoxy? If you have any sources to get large quantities of either I would love to know. Then finally did you have the ugly metal part I have sticking out, and if so did you do your grinding/drilling before you sealed or the other way around?

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[OLDSON]

I more than appreciate the input as it is giving me hope that I will not open up pandoras box of devils in attempting to make the boat good for another 30+ years :thumbup::thumbup:

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[robwilk37]

yes 16 gallons. probably 13 just filling the voids on both sides of the cast ballast then the rest to level out the bilge. no balloons, i used milled fibers. i was worried that a full 50% mix right from the start would be too viscous to seep to the bottom of the crack b4 kicking so increased the fiber ration as i mixed subsequent batches. but wanted a full structural mix in the last pour as it was in the area of the turn of the bilge. only a small bit of ooze then i plugged the holes with machine screws til the epoxy cured. i used 16 gallons of acetone to both clean out (and dry out) the void but also to measure how much epoxy to mix up. i got a screaming deal on 90 gallons of an industrial resin system, excellent for casting but not too user friendly for laminating. id check into local formulators who service industry, no way i would have been able to do this from cans with boats on their labels. no metal bits poking out, my keel is a long bulb filled with lead bits and then cast in with concrete.

ill see if i can find some pics...