Hull/Keel Repair from excessive beaching

[oliverfeibel]

I bought a 2002 Challenger 1800 about 6 months ago. The previous owner beached it a lot and the keel is very worn. It has worn though most (if not all) of the fiberglass. I can even see some light though the keel when I look under the bow deck. (but still water tight) I was planning to use an angle grinder to smooth it down and remove some damaged fiberglass. Then apply a thick layer of Marine Tex. (1/2-3/4 inch or so) I planned to just cover over the repair with a Keel Guard of some kind so I don't have future issues. Does this sound a good way to fix this? Any other ideas? I am looking to keep costs to a minimum and this method would be less than $200 in material including the Keel Guard.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Sounds like a pretty good idea. If you are somewhat familar with fiberglass and Gelcoats, your fix seems the most easy on a budget. Since your looking to reinforce the keel part of the hull, then put on a keel guard, you don't have to worry about the gel coat. Taking it to a professional would cost you more than an arm and leg, so what your planning seems like a smart move. If that is the only area of wear, go for it...!

 

[griz400]

if u patch it some 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, when u tape it off to do it, dont tape it off like some big square patch, put a design in it , sorta like a graphic or something, then, u can always tape that off and paint a different color, will look sharp then

 

[CaptSteve]

If you have damage that is down to the fiberglass, I would NOT recommend using marinetex. Marinetex is used for emergency fixes and not meant for long term repair. It is like bondo for cars.

What you need to do is grind out the damaged area and repair the fiberglass. I would suggest you use real fiberglass like the West System. You need to repair it with fiberglass mat and resin.

You can get this at any West Marine Store or online.

West Systems has a great book on How-to.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

If you are going hide the entire repair under a Keel guard, you do not need to gelcoat over the patch. However, I would gelcoat over the patch so that it looks like the rest of the boat. You can get the right gelcoat from Gelcote in Canada. They supply the gelcoat for all Seadoos. They have a page where you pick your boat and they tell you what gelcoat to get. On a white area, the match is perfect since white doesn't fade as much as colors do. You don't need much since you can spray it in using a Preval spray can which you can get for about $5.

Here is where to get the gelcoat.

http://www.gelcoat.ca/index.php?p=catalog&parent=1&pg=1