What to do about keel? Spray gelcoat....use patch kit?

[suke]

So I ordred a patch kit meant for larger repairs to repair the keel on my XP restoration. It's meant to spread it with a puddy knife then sand and buff. It COULD be, with some tweaking, used in a preval type sprayer and lay down that way. I'm not too concerned about looks. It'll be covered by a keelguard. More worried about structural integrity.

The smaller nicks and shiz I ordered the spectrum color matched patch kit for the spots more visible.

This is the part I'll be patching with the larger patch kit. Once again not concerned with looks. Just want something to cover that fiberglass.

It'll be covered with this.

To get it sprayable I'll have to mix it with a couple different things, so I'm told. Is it really worth it? That much better? Or would I just be better off following the directions on the patch kit and go that route?

 

[racerxxx]

I have the same on my 96, I can't see it from where I'm sitting. I would like to fix it, but that will be down the road. And if your gonna put the keel guard on, why fix it if it's going to be covered? I know it should be. How much was the patch kit?

 

[suke]

I have the same on my 96, I can't see it from where I'm sitting. I would like to fix it, but that will be down the road. And if your gonna put the keel guard on, why fix it if it's going to be covered? I know it should be. How much was the patch kit?

Patch kit was like $35 shipped from amazon. I want to cover it just so I don't have exposed fiberglass. Mine is hard to see unless you get underneath it as well. Just figured while I had the chance to fix it the best I could might as well do it.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

i have a similar patch on my ski, i've pretty much ignored it for the last 18 months. I think I asked about the keel guard and it was crazy expensive, (at least IMO) like $140, about $100 over my expected price. One of these days i'll probably be caught saying "yip, I shoulda patched that"

 

[donkey]

how about using "marine tex"? i use it for spine repairs all the time on boats.
ps,,the beach is for standing ,layin on,lookin at stuff on,and grinding the bottom of a 100k boat spine
color can be added to make it less unsightly,typically it is white.

 

[suke]

I guess structural integrity was the wrong word. I mainly want to cover the fiberglass to protect it from and water eventually seeping into it. Since it'll be covered under the keel guard it should be protected otherwise.

At Spim it was $112 shipped. That's not bad considering how much it would cost to have the hull completely repainted. I put keel guards on every water toy I own.

 

[Strizzo]

I guess structural integrity was the wrong word. I mainly want to cover the fiberglass to protect it from and water eventually seeping into it. Since it'll be covered under the keel guard it should be protected otherwise.

At Spim it was $112 shipped. That's not bad considering how much it would cost to have the hull completely repainted. I put keel guards on every water toy I own.

yes, i would know, i was going to just use the marine tex or west system epoxy to protect the fiberglass, but in the end i decided not to use the keel guard and instead have it repaired correctly. mine was less beach wear, but a poorly adjusted trailer that the keel would bang against before touching the bunks on the trailer. some of it was worn, but a lot of it was the gelcote being cracked from hitting the trailer and then flaking off. mine cost 700 bucks to repair, and they fixed a couple of other chips that were in the gelcote at the same time (one had been filled with bondo, yuck!).

FWIW, the guy that did it said that the only way to get it smooth like new is to spray it on and sand/buff/polish smooth. he said it would be a ton of sanding if it wasn't sprayed on. in your case, a clear epoxy then sanded smooth would probably suffice.

 

[suke]

yes, i would know, i was going to just use the marine tex or west system epoxy to protect the fiberglass, but in the end i decided not to use the keel guard and instead have it repaired correctly. mine was less beach wear, but a poorly adjusted trailer that the keel would bang against before touching the bunks on the trailer. some of it was worn, but a lot of it was the gelcote being cracked from hitting the trailer and then flaking off. mine cost 700 bucks to repair, and they fixed a couple of other chips that were in the gelcote at the same time (one had been filled with bondo, yuck!).

FWIW, the guy that did it said that the only way to get it smooth like new is to spray it on and sand/buff/polish smooth. he said it would be a ton of sanding if it wasn't sprayed on. in your case, a clear epoxy then sanded smooth would probably suffice.

dayum! That's almost as much as I paid for the ski.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

i can tell you from experience that marine tex doesn't sand easy ! that shi... errr stuff is like sanding diamonds. I remember I had some excess from filling holes under the turf that got stuck on, and I sanded by hand in the footwell for 3 minutes and all the grit in the footwell was gone surrounding the tex, but the tex was still shiny and smooth, the paper didn't make a dent !

i respect your opinion on keel guards, they do serve a good purpose, Its just I can't justify spending over $100 to protect a $150 hull, and for that matter a $1600 ski from potential damage. (besides, I don't really beach that much at least on rough water, usually its smooth river beach)

 

[suke]

Yeah def not using marine tex. I already ordered the kit, should be on my doorstep now actually. It's sandable, and is actually part of the instructions.

After I'm done I'll likely have $500-700 in the hull alone in graphics and shiz. That doesn't include the countless hours I've already spent on it. So it's worth the $100 to me. It's all relative, right?

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Yeah def not using marine tex. I already ordered the kit, should be on my doorstep now actually. It's sandable, and is actually part of the instructions.

After I'm done I'll likely have $500-700 in the hull alone in graphics and shiz. That doesn't include the countless hours I've already spent on it. So it's worth the $100 to me. It's all relative, right?

yes, it is.. I wasn't trying to discourage you, frankly if you have the hull near mint, then this makes sense.

 

[suke]

yes, it is.. I wasn't trying to discourage you, frankly if you have the hull near mint, then this makes sense.

Oh yeah I know. I'm quite OCD so I'd have to do something about this anyways. lol

 

[griz400]

that strip your puttin on, will it slow you up, or possibly change the flow through the intake grate ??? or change the way it handles or turns ???? looks like it may change water flow through grate

 

[suke]

that strip your puttin on, will it slow you up, or possibly change the flow through the intake grate ??? or change the way it handles or turns ???? looks like it may change water flow through grate

Doubt it'll slow me up much. At best 1-2 mph. It has an aftermarket intake grate and solas prop meant for top speed. Neither of which I'm very concerned with. Instructions say to end the keelguard 5-6" from the intake grate. If you do that you shouldn't notice any differences. Mine ends close to 2 ft from the intake grate. It shouldn't change how it handles either. Now if this was a race ski, or an 80+mph ski......then maybe.

 

[Strizzo]

i emailed them when i was considering it, the strip tapers at the ends so it won't leave an air pocket behind, but they did say that they recommend stopping the strip 12-18 inches ahead of the intake grate.

the company claims that boats should see no change or up to 2 mph more top speed, and likely improved tracking on plane.

 

[suke]

they did say that they recommend stopping the strip 12-18 inches ahead of the intake grate.

Interesting. They need to update their site with that info. All I saw said 5-6". Not that it matters I will be between 1.5-2 ft. Think I recall measuring and it was like 21" away. Possibly more depending on where you measure from. If you measure where it starts to slope into the intake then I'm over 2ft. IIRC

 

[Strizzo]

i was incorrect, she told me 8-12 inches, so who knows i guess. probably as long as it ends before the keel begins rolling in towards the grate it should be fine.