Fiberglass Question

[Woodchuck]

I have my boat in a new place in my building and noticed this spot on the keel when I pulled the mower in tonight. Is this an easy fix for a fiberglass shop? Maybe a question for @Glassman ? The longer I own this boat the more problems I find with it.

 

[ToddW850]

Wow! Did this just happen? From looking at the picture it looks to me like scraping from beaching it (or similar). I don't see damage from hitting something. I would normally recommend putting a Keel Guard over knicks and scratches in this area, however this is passed that and through the gel coat. I think you're gonna have to get this fixed/repaired before you're next launch.

But to answer your question, it does appear to be an easy fix for a fiberglass guy.

Any idea when this happened?

 

[Woodchuck]

Wow! Did this just happen? From looking at the picture it looks to me like scraping from beaching it. I don't see damage from hitting something. I would normally recommend putting a Keel Guard over knicks and scratches in this area, however this is passed that and through the gel coat. I think you're gonna have to get this fixed/repaired before you're next launch.

But to answer your question, it does appear to be an easy fix for a fiberglass guy.

Any idea when this happened?

I'm assuming this happened from the previous owner. I have never beached the boat or hit anything with it. I've only had it out twice so far and it has sat in my shop the rest of the time.

 

[ToddW850]

Gotcha. Yeah I would definitely have that fixed before putting it back in the water. Fiber glass looks good except the missing gel coat. I'm no fiberglass guy, but I wouldn't think it'd be a hard or expensive job. So hopefully you'll be back on the water in no time.

 

[Bruce]

That is a lot of wear and appears to have happened gently. So it probably is from beaching. If you are going to apply a keel guard you may want to repair the gelcoat yourself since the keel guard will cover it anyway. You need to replace the gelcoat to protect the fiberglass from water.

Could it be covered in epoxy now? It looks I am seeing something more than fiberglass. It might be a repair made with epoxy.

@Glassman, what do you suggest?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

That's from beaching. Nothing major here but you do need to seal up that fiberglass with some gelcoat or epoxy and toss a Keel Guard on to protect it down the road.

Are you the type who want to tackle this yourself?

Probably $200-300 tops to repair at a shop and $50 at your house.

 

[Speedling]

I had the same!
unless you have glassed and gelcoated before I wouldn't get into it. You will have to dig out more than is already damaged. The gelcoat appears to be basic white so you may get lucky there.

I glassed mine, put sone gelcoat over it, but my hull is red so it stands out if you look under there. Mine was from previous owner as well. Really gotta have a clean and rough bonding surdace for the fiberglass. The gelcoat is a little more sensitive. you need a good bonding surface on the glass but also a good clean edge on the gelcoat. I actually undercut mine slightly so new gel is slightly under old. Apply as smooth as you can but leave thick. You will want to sand it later and finally, buff and wax it.

I have been somewhat vague because I am not the expert here, but fixed the same damage and also a big spot on the exciter. No one had a clue it was repaired even when I told them to look for it!

 

[Glassman]

That's from beaching. Nothing major here but you do need to seal up that fiberglass with some gelcoat or epoxy and toss a Keel Guard on to protect it down the road.

Are you the type who want to tackle this yourself?

Probably $200-300 tops to repair at a shop and $50 at your house.

Spot on. If you opt for the Keel Guard it's a snap.
If you choose to gel coat alone, that kicks it up a notch on the "maybe I should take it to a shop" scale.

 

[GTBRMC]

If it were my boat I would probably do an ugly-but-effective repair with Marine-Tex and then cover the repair with a Keel Guard.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

i just did this on mine (among other fiberglass/gel repairs). once fixed, i added a 9' KeelShield - so it wasn't necessary to be perfect, but looked so much better than epoxy/MarineTex would've prior to install. for my various repairs, i used spray guns or a brush, depending on the situation...

for this one i used a brush because it was going to be covered - though it requires more sanding, the brush made the repair simpler and very easy to clean up afterwards:
- allowed it to dry really well (though i'm pretty sure it was worn away so softly that there was no water intrusion into the glass)
- cleaned area with acetone
- taped (quality painter's tape) the area off a little bit away from the worn edge to allow blending with sanding
- scuffed the area with ~300grit and re-cleaned with acetone
- applied gelcoat (thoroughly mixed with 2% MEKP) with a quality brush. brushed in such away that it remained thick on the keel and tapered out thin to the taped edge. i feathered it quickly to accomplish this - you might want to practice with straight gel on a board prior to get the technique down.
- applied 2-3 layers (always tapering the thickness to reduce sanding), applying each coat within 15-20mins of the last coat (otherwise it will need to be rescuffed if it kicks/dries too much).
- no need to use/apply a curing agent - just allow gel to cure 24-48hrs (for shrinkage) and then wipe the skin off with acetone so sandpaper will not gum-up.
- started at 220/320grit using one of those very soft-foam sanding blocks from 3M to prevent pressure points. gradually worked up to 1000grit.
- followed instructions for the KeelShield - looks awesome.

i only went to 1000grit because my repair area was small enough to be under the KeelShield (like yours). keep the tape on while sanding with the rougher grits to use it as a thickness gauge and prevent sanding through the surrounding gel - remove tape when you get into the finer grits. might want to go to 1200-1500grit if you plan to compound and polish with a rotary afterwards. you're also going to be going back and scuffing the surface for the KeelShield if you decide to install one.

 

[Glassman]

A trick to use if you are going to brush on gel coat is to let the gel coat set up then use Saran Wrap (any cling film) applied tightly to cover the length of the repair. This will keep air off the repair and eliminate the need for any post application PVA spray to expedite cure.

 

[Woodchuck]

I have an appointment to get it in to a shop on June 8th. But know you guys are making it sound easy on here. He quoted me $500-$550 just from the picture.

 

[Geiger41]

Shop around, It could save you a few hundy.

 

[Bruce]

Personally, I would patch it however you want then spend the $$$s on the keel guard. You will not see it again anyway. Gelcoat would probably be preferable to anyone who spends hours removing the keel guard in the future. But marine tex (epoxy) will waterproof it just as well.

 

[Woodchuck]

I think I have decided to fix it myself and put a keel guard on it. Any recommendations for a keel guard?

 

[Ziess21]

My shop would charge $400-600 depending if we had to take it off the trailer just for reference.

 

[ToddW850]

Only ones I'm familiar with are Keel Shield and Megaware Keel Guard. I believe they are both pretty much the same. Bass Pro Shops and Amazon sell them.

 

[Woodchuck]

Is the marine tex you all speak of the stuff that says it works like putty?

 

[Woodchuck]

@Glassman @CrankyGypsy is there a type of gel coat that would be better for a beginner? Do they all need mekp mixed in?

 

[Glassman]

@Glassman @CrankyGypsy is there a type of gel coat that would be better for a beginner? Do they all need mekp mixed in?

Not really anything specifically aimed at beginners that I know of. There are pastes that are great for chips and gouges, but you don't want to use that for this. A pint of white that matches is all you'll need. However I wouldn't pay to much attention to color matching if it's to be covered.
How do you plan on applying the gel coat? For the purpose of this type repair you really don't need to go to great lengths to make it perfect if you are installing a Keel Guard. Brush or roller will work fine.
Yes, gel coat requires MEKP to catalyze to material (harden/cure). Since this is a post-mold application it helps to cover the gel coat after application - you can spray on PVA, which can be purchased in small amounts for a few bucks or a few feet of cling wrap that you probably already have in the kitchen. This will help it cure fully , otherwise it could remain tacky for a while. Which will slow down the repair process.
If the area you are repairing is covered entirely by the Keel Guard, you can make your life easier by just brushing on a resin or epoxy mixture to seal the area. That's essentially what gel coat does - with the added aspect of a nice cosmetic white finish. @CrankyGypsy posted a good recap of how it should go for you.

I think I have decided to fix it myself and put a keel guard on it. Any recommendations for a keel guard?

I like the Megaware KeelGuard Series 102 Keel Guard for Fiberglass, 9-Feet, White.

Good luck, don't hesitate to scream for help if you need it!