[Rhodes22-list] Cracks in keel

Wed Jun 18 13:27:10 EDT 2014

Rob.
Great idea using the plastic and very reassuring. I have the Casey book and will review it. I was interested to see that you think 3 to 4 layers of cloth would be sufficient. That was what I had in mind but without any factual foundation. 
Thanks for the advice.

Graham 

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of The Rhodes 22 Email List
Sent: June-18-14 11:25 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Cracks in keel

That looked like the swing keel to me... if not then disregard but...

You should take a grinder and grind it down until all lose fiberglass cloth is gone and only solid fiberglass remains.  then build it back up using rove and 2-part epoxy resin.  Don't go crazy with the grinder.  You only want to take off the stuff that is structurally compromised.  You can get nice smoothed forms during the build up by using plastic sheeting (like you
use for drop cloth painting).   Put 3 or 4 layers off whetted fiberglass
cloth onto the plastic, then form the plastic over the repair area and tape it in place until the resin sets.  The plastic will peel off and the job will have a nice smooth finish and shaped the way you want it to be shaped.  Then sand it a bit...paint and viola

Get Don Casey's book on boat maintenance.  It has a nice write up about doing this sort of fiberglass work... and I can post some pictures of the holes in my hull and cracks in my keel that I fixed following his advice.

You can do this in a single afternoon.  The trick is .... don't be scared to try it.... if you screw it up you can always grind it back off and try again.  I'm now a complete fiberglass convert.  The stuff is easy to work with once you get some practice.

The other Rob

Dr. Robert Granger
Department of Chemistry
Sweet Briar College
434-381-6403
rgranger at sbc.edu
⛵️⚓️⛵️⚓️⛵️⚓️⛵️⚓️⛵️⚓️⛵️⚓️

On Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 10:01 AM, The Rhodes 22 Email List < rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:

> You may want to read up on using fiberglass.  All I have read 
> indicated that you need to sand or grind the fiberglass to a gradual 
> taper.  Taper to the crack enough to apply the new glass in layers so 
> that the hull has the strength it had before.  Three to four inches 
> might be correct.  Look up how to repair cracks on boats. I just 
> Googled it and watch a lot of You tube.
>
> Like you lift.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Chuy
>
>
> ---- The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:
> > Graham,
> >
> > I love your lift. Maybe I will build one some day. It would make 
> > bottom
> painting so much easier.
> >
> > I have not done any of this work (hope I never will) so I cannot 
> > offer
> advice.
> >
> > Stephen Staum
> > s/v Carol Lee 2
> > Needham, MA
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > On Jun 17, 2014, at 4:31 PM, The Rhodes 22 Email List <
> rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:
> >
> > > I have finally put my boat  into the lift I built so that I can 
> > > begin
> work
> > > on the cracks in the keel and would welcome any advice as to how 
> > > this
> might
> > > be fixed and speculation as to the cause so that I might prevent 
> > > it
> from
> > > happening again.
> > >
> > > Picture 1 is of the boat in the lift. This allows me to get under 
> > > the
> keel
> > > to work in reasonable comfort.
> > > The next two pictures show the cracks with the camera under the 
> > > keel
> looking
> > > up. The centreboard is removed. The cracks run along the edge 
> > > where the bottom of the keel meets the inside of the centreboard slot.
> > >
> > > As for the cause, I suspect that some time in the past the keel 
> > > was
> damaged
> > > leaving a crack that allowed water to enter where it might have 
> > > froze
> in the
> > > winter doing further damage. On the other hand I would have 
> > > thought
> that the
> > > water would have drained out before freezing temperatures were reached.
> > >
> > > There appears to be voids in the keel. The last shot shows were I 
> > > was drilling out osmosis blisters and went right through the skin 
> > > into a
> void.
> > > Tapping on the skin often creates a hollow sound suggesting that 
> > > there
> are
> > > plenty more voids. It seems to me that voids under the skin are a
> recipe for
> > > problems. Drilling holes and pumping in epoxy would not be that
> difficult
> > > for those I find under the outside skin but would be much more
> difficult for
> > > voids under the skin in the centreboard slot - which currently 
> > > looks
> intact.
> > > I thought I might drill a series of holes through the cabin bottom
> into the
> > > keel and push more epoxy down from above. To find voids I might 
> > > need to drill a lot of holes.
> > >
> > > As for the cracks, my current plan, absent any other ideas, is to 
> > > open
> the
> > > cracks to allow access with a cartridge tip and force thickened 
> > > epoxy
> up
> > > into the crack. I would then apply layers of cloth and epoxy from
> about 3"
> > > up to the slot down and around the bottom and up 3" on the 
> > > outside. I
> have
> > > ground out a bevel on the inside to allow for layers of cloth to 
> > > be
> added
> > > without making the slot too narrow for the centreboard.
> > >
> > > When all that is done I plan to do the whole bottom - drill out
> blisters and
> > > do the blister prevention program recommended by West System. I 
> > > don't
> want
> > > to ever do this again so suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
> > >
> > > Graham
> > >
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