Hull Repair

I own a west river 18 that I built and use for racing purposes (it performs exceptionally well) and have developed a 'ding' at the keel near the stern from putting in and pulling out of the river at boat ramps, etc.  I have the gear to repair the keel but I have some questions and have been unable to find anything relevant to hull repair (aside from using the epoxy).

1) I originally painted the boat white (I was not looking for aesthetics as much as for protection of the boat itself).  Do I need to remove all of the paint around the area of the repair to perform the repair?  I plan on painting it back to white after I complete the repair.

2) The ding involves some missing fiber glass?  I am planning on putting new strips down on significant portions of the keel for more protection where I have seen abrasion from sand, rocks and shoreline.  How wide should I sand the paint off to put an effective strip down?

3) Anything else?

Thanks for any info,

Bryan


4 replies:

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RE: Hull Repair

Bryan,

I own a WR 18 as well and agree on the performance. Although I'm gonna have to build a Pax 18 as the WR just isn't fast enough! As far as the repairs go, yes, you have to remove the paint entirely and take it back just far enough to be able to feather in the stips/epoxy.

George K

RE: Hull Repair

How wide do you think?  I was thinking between 1.5 to 2" from keel center or 3" to 4" strip overall.  Is this enough or will there be problems later?

Thanks for the response.

Bryan

RE: Hull Repair

Bryan,

It really depends on the width of the fiberglass strip you're planning on putting on the keel. If it's 2" wide overall, 1" on either side of the keel, a 2" work area each side (4" overall) might be just enough. You'll just need enough area to be able to fair in the new cloth. Don't know what weight cloth you're planning but I'd use 6 oz and a 2" space should work. And I'd run some 2" masking tape over the top edge of the paint to protect it from drips.

George K

RE: Hull Repair

Sound reasoning and advice.  If any complications arise I'll let you know - Otherwise, time to get finished.

P.S. Thanks for the reminder on the tape and drips.

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