repairing gash in keel

[kerk fisher]

Hi. Last year our chain got wrapped around a deadhead log, and as we played with it to try to work it loose the chain "rasped" the forward tip of the keel covering off. The keel is painted with vc-17 extra. This is my first bottom job so I"d like to know if  I'm thinking this right. The gashed material (keel covering) looks like epoxy, without any fiberglass material. Am I reading this right?  So, I would sand a bit of the bottom paint away from the gash edges. Or do I even need to do this? Epoxy it (with What kind of epoxy??) and paint over.   Seems simple except maybe moulding the epoxy so it gets a good shape--Is there a special way to do this? How much time between coats? Is there anything I should be concerned with? Any tips on how to do this?   Thanks, Kerk 
---By the way does anyone know the measurement in the refrigerator from the top shelf to the inside top of the refrig (for a basket to be put instead of the shelf)? One month more And we'll see our 600 mile away baby!!

[Jeff Kaplan]

kerk, you didn't mention if the damage was done at the bottom of the keel, all lead, or above lead line.if it is at the bottom, you can just sand and repair. a few years ago, when i had a c27, a friend of mine was nice enough to put the boat up on rocks, leaving a fist size gouge in the keel and several other gouges caused when the boat came off the rocks. i pounded out the lead as much as possible and filled with marine tex. great product, get the grey as it is meant for below the water line. spreads smooth and can be sanded down. finish and repaint. good luck...jeff

[Ron Hill]

Kerk : There are a number of epoxy pastes out there.  Lead oxidizes almost immediately when sanded so you'll have to work fast to get the epoxy on before the lead forms a coating of PbOxide!!  Then you can sand & paint.   

[SteveLyle]

When I redid my keel fairing 5 years ago I used West epoxy.  They have several good manuals that cover application techniques.  Ron's right - when you expose the lead when prepping for epoxy, the lead will oxidize before you apply the epoxy, which causes you to lose adhesion (that's why my original fairing failed).  The trick to dealing with that, which is covered in the West manual, is to apply the epoxy to the lead, then wire brush the wet epoxy into the lead.  Since the lead is covered with epoxy, it won't oxidize (since it isn't exposed to oxygen).

The general application process:
- sand/grind all the loose material off, prep the surface
- one coat of pure epoxy, no fillers, wire brush it into the lead
- several coats of filled epoxy (West covers which fillers to use - you can get away with a light, easily sanded filler since this is not a stressed part).
- Sand/grind the filler to shape as required
- a top coat of 'waterproof' epoxy (you add a special additive for that). 

This process takes a few days, you'll need good, fairly warm weather. 

[kerk fisher]

Thanks for the input. The lead is not visible. All I can see is what I think is epoxy. Can I just put epoxy or marine tex on top of epoxy?  This is a wing keel and the gash is right at the front of the wing, where the keel meets the wing.  Also, this is very very inconvenient to do this now. The accident occured early in our sail last year and we only noticed it when we took the boat out two months later, SOOOO we were wondering if we could just sail with it this year and fix it when we get out at the end of this summer? Isn't the material (epoxy?) that covers the keel water impermeable?  Thanks, KErk

[Ted Pounds]

Kerk,

Sounds like you just took off some bottom paint and maybe some fairing compound.  If you didn't break the epoxy coating the lead you should be able to slap some paint on and go.  Even if lead is exposed you don't have to fix right away.  It wont affect the epoxy coat on the rest of the keel.  Again, just slap some paint on and go.  Fix it later when you have time to do the job right. 

[Fred Jackson]

Kirk,


I like MarineTex for these repairs, except that I have trouble getting it to sand to a really smooth finish.  I apply a coat of Marine Bondo over the MarineTex as a final surface that fairs better.

Are you really in the North Channel as your signature element suggests?   ...gotta be cold!!!  We've been cold even in July up there. 

Fred Jackson Catalina 36 #2209  "Amante"
Homeport  Sarnia, Ontario (Lake Huron)

[kerk fisher]

Ted, how can I tell the difference between fairing compound and epoxy? So I know what layer I'm in. How deep into the fairing til I get to the epoxy? What I'm hearing is that there are two layers- what does the fairing do? And what if i did break into the epoxy? Is it dangerous to sail and deal with later? You seem to be saying that It would be alright.  If i paint does it make it difficult to then repair over it? Could we just leave it bare? Pretty clean water up here. 
---Fred, we are up in the North Channel and love it. Our first year (on our 25) 14 years ago we went up in June and had to call home for Winter Clothes.  They now stay on board just in case! And we swim all the time in the water--with our two golden retrievers. Breathtaking way to start the day. Can Marine Tex go over epoxy or fairing compound?

[Jeff Kaplan]

kerk, marinetex can go over just about everything, but if area is painted, remove as much as possible and ruff up the area. it can be applied in thick layers.  fred was right on the last post when he said the stuff is a bear to sand smooth, but you can get pretty close. it hardens like steel and  is good for large and small repairs, but at the "smile" line, i would use a more flexable fairing compound. in my 30+ years of boat ownership, i have used plenty of the stuff with great results. cleans up with acetone. the white is for above waterline and the grey is for below. ..jeff