It depends.

Did you grind off all the gelcoat where the new fiberglass went? Did you use
epoxy resin? (it has much better secondary bonding than polyester and is
recommended for high load areas, and a keel is potentially a high load area)
Did you taper your laminate schedule so as to not create a stress riser?
Did use a proper type and layers of fiberglass for the loads expected in that
area?
Did you allow sufficient overlap between old and new glass?
Did you properly clean the areas to be glassed using correct types of solvents
and proper techniques? (old mold release compound really interferes with bonding
and can last for many years. Sanding does not remove it, but merely pushes it
into scratches.)

If you answered yes to every question, you are most probably OK.
If you answered no or 'I don't know' to any one of them, then you may have
issues in the future.

The rule of thumb is at a minimum to match the original laminate schedule and to
join old glass to new with a 10 to 1 scarf. A high speed angle grinder,
respirator (not a dust mask), and tyvek coveralls are your friend in repairing
fiberglass.


JJ


On 25 Jul 2005 15:41:51 -0700, "joeb" wrote:

Hello. I was hoping that I could get some advice on repairing
fiberglass on a damaged keel. I was out on Lake Erie and lost my engine
and ended up slamming into the breakwall a few times before getting a
tow. It put a 1"x3" hole in the side of my keel. I've read up on
fiberglass repair, including the book "The Fiberglass Boat Repair
Manual."

My question is this... The flat bottom of the keel was not very
accessible, so I just wrapped the fiberglass around and under the keel.
Is this going to cause me any long term problems? Ideally, I would've
ground out around the bottom like I did the top, but I just couldn't
get access without lifting the boat off the trailer.

----------------------------------|
\ (keel) /
\ /
\--------|xxxxx|-----/

(damaged area is the xxxx's)

The boat is old and cosmetics aren't important. I just want a sound,
safe repair. I've applied about 5-6 layers of 6 oz. fiberglass cloth
w/Mas Resin & Fast Hardner. I'd rather not grind it all down and start
over if it's good enough as is.

Pictures of the repair can be found @
http://csilo.com/randomphotos.aspx?f...og/boatrepair/

Thanks for your advice,
Joe

James Johnson
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