"paul piercey" wrote in message news:p8_Ya.67586$cF.22355@rwcrnsc53...
Get some of the System Three Clear Coat epoxy. It is much thinner, has a
longer cure time, and will get into the crack with capillary action. Also
heat up the daggerboart with an electric blanket before putting the epoxy to
the crack. Do it in the evening so that as the daggerboard cools it will
suck more epoxy into the crack. Very small holes drilled at the top and
bottom of the crack sound like a good idea also.

This is your best bet. Pay particular attention to the heat to cool
part. Heat the part and use thin epoxy, I would not use clear coat
epoxy, but regular epoxy should seep in fine with the heated part. Do
it in the evening so the part continually cools during the first few
hours of cure (but not below 65 degrees F), this will draw the epoxy
into the wood nicely. If you wish, send me an e-mail and we can get
you off a few feet of 3.8 oz. tight weave fiberglass that I use when I
need a paper thin coating that is very strong (I got a big roll).
Cover the repair with it and you will have no problems and you will
not have to "key" or drill, or separate, or otherwise cause further
damage to the part. Might drill a very small hole in the very end of
the crack as William suggested, but in wood it is not always possible
to really find the end, or it is not straight through so many holes
would be required, in which case I would not bother with the hole(s)
at all.
Scotty from SmallBoats.com... To contact me go he
http://smallboats.com/contacts/contacts.mv




"Wade Lippman" wrote in message
...
My 13' sailboat has a mahogany daggerboard. There is a crack in it,
running
about 1/3rd of the length, about 1" from the trailing edge.
It does not affect anything, but I am concerned it will crack further and
break off; so I am hoping to stabilize it to prevent that.

I showed it to a cabinet maker. He suggested routing some slots in it,
perpendicular to the crack, and filling the slots with fiberglass/epoxy.
The slots would have to be pretty small, because there simply isn't much
material to work with so close to the edge. I would then put a layer of
cloth over it to hold it together. (there ought to be enough clearance
for
a layer of cloth.)

I have some leftover glass cloth and epoxy from another project, but
wonder
about the technique. Would I take some cloth apart and soak the yarn in
epoxy, and then stuff it in the slots?

Any advice would be appreciated.