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If you're looking to "sand" the epoxy/glass/resin on Sat w/ a D/A or R/O, think about picking up $15 HF 4-1/2" angle grinder and a couple different grade discs and save your shoulders.  Save "sanding" for medium density filler after you true up the surface of the glass with light touch passes of the angle grinder. It also provides an excellent grip surface to grab medium density fairing.

yup, got a whole box full.  i don't mess with elbow grease sanding resin anymore, learned that the hard way.  if the D/A w/ 40-grit doesnt make it come off easily, the flap wheels follow.

The process I usually use on flat surfaces is to apply resin, roll on the glass or carbon (which nicely adheres to the substrate,) roll on resin or "tip" in the glass with resin and a stiff brush. Only very occasionally will I saturate the glass then apply it (it tends to fall apart if handled anything more than minimally once wetted out.)

yeah i tried wetting the glass first and then laying on the keel.  bad idea, my skills aren't at that level.  i wasted a big stretch of glass and bunch of resin

PS when I said "nose" I meant the whole bow (doesn't benefit from adding glass, except to specifically band the joint.)

oh.  yeah you're probably right.  i'd thought about just using strips as well.  the excess glass in this case just made it easier for me because it's a vertical surface.  i'm sure it's wasteful and costly, but making it easier, even at a higher expense, meant i could actually get it done.  nothing more then that

I wished you had asked for guidance on glassing it up. What I see is having made yourself a LOT of unnecessary work to finish it smooth/correctly. 

The glass is used for structural strength not for bulk filling. So I would have banded the joint w/ 4" wide triaxial glass or even carbon fiber.  There's no reason to use glass on the nose above and below the crack - it doesn't add anything.

The remainder I would have filled to the band level w/ epoxy/successively less-hard filler.  Starting w/pure colloidal silica or microfibers.  You hit the first coat with a 60 grit angle grinder just to take off high spots/trowel lines.  Then proportion down the hard filler and proportion up medium or low density filler.   Just grade down to a pure medium density filler as the final layer, 120 grit sand, then last coat fair over the band and areas above/below to make a nice transition across it all, finishing off w/ 200 grit D/A or R/O sander.  You can use those type for the first couple hits, but an angle grinder just significantly reduces sanding/grinding time on very hard filler.

With the glass all over it's a HELL of a job to successively sand it level, no less smooth. It's possible to make a nice finish w/o adding a lot of fairing but it's a BEAR to sand structural epoxy because it's got such a high shore hardness.

Just IMO, I would never leave a nice smile job looking like a mess that was painted over. But YBowYC.

what i've done really isn't that far from what you're describing.  the thixo filled in the gap and levelled out the deep grind i did to get back to the lead.  the 3 layers of 1708 bulked up the joint and filled in the depression from where i sanded the bevel out. 

also keep in mind what i didn't mention is the glass isn't totally wetted out at the top, i cut the piece oversize taped it to the hull and then painted on the epoxy.  the top edge is going to come down 2-3" inches and it should be fairly straight along a straight edge from top to bottom of the keel.  i'll check it when i go down this weekend.

as far as the front edge.  it was easier just to wrap it around the nose and move on. 

i'll hit it with a sander on saturday, we'll see how it looks.  i think the camera + angle might be making it look a lot worse then it is.

I agree with the idea of fairing.  Those small dimples from the weave of what you used will create crevasses for bad gunk to grow in if you don't, even when painted.

the other two layers of glass i sanded before i applied that last third, it smoothed out fairly well even without fairing compound.  the ridges aren't as deep as they might appear on camera.  even with a couple layers of bottom paint, i'm not entirely convinced it'll be any more crater'ish then the rest of the ballast.

but i'll concede it could always be smoother, its just whether all that sanding and fairing is worth the pain in my shoulders. i'm mean lets get real, i'm not racing and it's not a visible section of the boat, how smooth does it really need to be.

put the third layer of glass on.  used a west systems roller this time.  made the process MUCH easier then trying to push the stuff in with a brush.  i'm debating on whether to put another layer.  i don't think it needs it.  now i have to figure out what to cover it with.  if i cared about a smooth hull i might fair it out, but that seems a waste, i might just use a barrier coat and then bottom paint.  any products recommended?

I've never tried that stuff. I just fill a west systems cartridge with my own mix, and then can control the additive/viscosity/cure time.

i hadn't either.  the theory was that the thickner/additives they used are more elastic then normal 406 or something akin.  so if there's flex the bond might hold better.  i'll concede that might totally be in my head.

i'll also note, that there's apparently something mixed into it as i have a rash on my arm where it touched me, which doesn't happen with regular west/totalboat epoxy.  so there's that.

so given the hassle, the expense of the stuff, and now my arm, unless i see some clear advantage down the road i'll probably skip thixo for anything in the future :)

now that august has passed and the burning ball of fire in the sky has moved a few inches further away, i'm back to this.  i tried in august to get some done, but even the slow epoxy kicked in smoking glory too fast to work with.

i sanded back more of the paint/gelcoat to open the area up a little more.

then i followed with thixo in the seem.  i pushed as much of it as i could into the joint using a putty knife.  in hindsight, i'd probably skip this if i had to do it again.  thixo is a pain the neck.  i broke one caulk gun and the hardware stores don't usually carry the 8:1 guns.  so between it hardening in the mixing tube and the fact that you need the hands of giant to get it out it didn't go great.  it's also seriously sticky.  much more so then regular epoxy.

after the thixo geled, i put two layers of 1708 glass over top.  i ran out of time and could no longer crouch under the boat anymore, so i'll have to sand it a little and put an additional layer over top.  after that i'll fair it out and it should be done

Can you elaborate why there should be a difference in Tstat temp for salt and fresh water?  I cant sort out why they should be different.

i'm no expert, but i believe the salinity of the water changes it's boiling point.

anderson power-poles are pretty common in the ham radio world.  though, since it's inside, i'd image you could use just about anything reasonable

just out of morbid curiosity, what would be the point?  there's certainly decent enough replacement engines on the used market if cost is a concern.

as for fit, i would doubt.  the transom isn't terribly thick.  i can't imagine it's cost feasible.

i remembered i had this in the garage, it came of my Mk1 when i pulled all the deck fills (i think, or it might have been in a spare parts box from the PO).  if it fits, you're welcome to it

i stopped at pepboys to pick up some oil/coolant, but turns out my local store is going service only, so no joy there.  but whilst perusing whats left on the shelves, i noticed there doesn't seem to be any 10w-40 CF4 oil.  looking online at autozone seems to show mostly 15w-40.  all the bottle images i see online say CK instead of CF, which i'm presuming is a better/more current standard then CF.  a quick forum search seems to indicate that should be okay, but i wanted to check

also it might be handy to update the maintenance page of the wiki with a selection of recommends from the popular store (autozone/tractor supply) items.  as well as, coolant, which i was not able to find on the wiki

You didn't supply the source of the cross-ref but if it's on the internet it's true, right?

exactly.  which, why i didn't include it.  i'm sure random site on the internet are trustworthy...  hence the double check

Why not check w/the source (wix) if questioning an oil filter x-ref of its products?  Or if maybe HM knows whether it's equivalent since they chose to carry it vs the listed wix number.  As far as the wix fuel filter
https://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,9888.msg75466.html#msg75466
https://c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Replacement_Filters,_Belts,_and_Lubricants#Diesel_Fuel_Filters
Based on published filtering efficiency why choose an inferior brand? 

ah, good point.  i missed that on the wiki page.  i'll skip it then.

i need to order some items from hamilton marine which i can't find anywhere else.  i figured i'd pickup an on engine oil and fuel filter and save a trip to the auto parts store.

i found this fuel filter which is listed on the c34 wiki

https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/products/fuel-filter-universal-4---yanmar-12.html

but i'm not able to locate an oil filter wix part at hamilton marine that matches the one listed on the c34 wiki.  i found the two below based on a cross reference sheet from the internet.

https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/products/oil-filter-yanmar-westerbeke-23.html
https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/products/oil-filter-john-deere-yanmar-28.html

i was hoping someone might be able to take a quite glance and let me know if their compatiable.

mdid : Beside the crack, I'm wondering where the RUST stain came from???  In the 1989 C34 production there should have been a solid fiberglass keel stub under the bilge!

dunno, it's possible it isn't rust at all but rather just dirt.  (though i agree it does look like rust)  the boat sat up on the hard for 5yrs before i got her, so it's also possible there was a leak through the keel bolts that's been plugged by grime.  and now that i've tightened the bolts the grime might be acting like a gasket.  clearly not ideal, but i'm not dropping the entire keel to figure it out.

i slipped with the angle grinder.  40grit flap disc takes off a lot in a hurry, there's a slight ridge.  the camera and sun make it look much worse then it really is.  a quick knock down and it should be good