1st time out and the keel didn't line up with the rollers...

[Timwp]

It was my first time out and the hull and keel were in perfect condition. As I was trying to pull the boat back into the trailer the guides were way out of adjustment and caused the keel to go to the side of the rollers instead of on them. I'm going to attempt to adjust the guides for next time, but I have no clue of what to use to patch the keel, green magic, jb underwater...? They don't look that deep to me. Can anyone guide me on this?

[mrb]

Hello Timwp

Congratulations on your first time out, hope you had a perfect sail. Sorry to hear about problems in picking boat up.

To answer your question about repairing gouge, first how deep are they and what kind of finish do you have on keel.  Do the gouges go through the fiberglass and does any of the concrete ballast show, or is it through just the gelcoat slightly into the fiber glass.

I would not want to give advice with out knowing answer to above questions, don't know what green magic is.
Melvin

[Timwp]

I was checking it last night, most of the area is just in the gel coat. There is one area in the very front of the keel where the concrete is exposed, a place about 1/8 inch deep I would guess. I picked up some repair stuff called marine-tex at the boat shop...you think this will work. Its supposed to be a heavy-duty structural epoxy?...I don't care if it looks pretty, I just want to get back to sailing the boat and didn't think it would be a good idea to put it back in without making repairs.

[mikew]

Tim, I think Marine Tex is a good idea. Lightly sand area and mix the two part putty- it has a short pot life. After it cures you can sand it smooth to the suface. I understand it is OK for under water line use and should make a good repair. I have used it to do similar repairs.

Mike

[Craig Weis]

A little dab of Marine-Tex is just fine for any scuff or indent into the fiberglass. Even if the damage was all the way down to woven glass cloth. Fill, smooth and [paint is optional] forget about it. It IS that tuff. This Marine-Tex even cures within 24 hours under water if your in a hurry. And I used Marine-Tex under the mast Tabernacle after it was ripped off the deck on my buddy's Com-Pac 19. Somebody reinstalled that Tabernacle with 3/4 inch screws. It's bolted down now with through the-cabin-top 1/4-20 ss bolts, finishing washers, flat washers, and nyloc-nuts. It' not going anywhere now.

The working time is about 20 to 30 minutes and although Marine-Tex is expensive I always mix the full amount and toss the rest. In that way I can not screw up the mix ratio and have a 'hot pot' or a 'non-dry' batch.

The neat thing about Marine-Tex is that it is creamy smooth, white, 8,000 pound strong[or grey for even more strength]. I applied Marine-Tex by a 3 inch dia. paint roller to a split rudder on a 26 foot sail boat last year and once sanded and painted it was perfect after the season ended.

Saturday morning I glued on my "KEEL~BOOT" with a large container of Marine-Tex and an even larger tube of Plexes 830 that I 'procurred' from work.  By Sunday morning the mix was hard as a rock and I used my grinder to fashion a clean and smooth edge.

I mixed both 2-part epoxies together and had plenty of time to push up the KEEL~BOOT and wedge it in place vertically with wood wedges between the rubber trailer rollers and the bottom of the keel. I could then tap the KEEL~BOOT port or starboard to line up on my 'Sharpie' fine point ink marker centerlines fore and aft.

My " KEEL~BOOT" is glazed only on the side facing the keel [glazed=scuffed and sanded] and is a 6 mm 8353 marine grade Aluminum flat plate cut out on the band saw to 82 inch by 11 inch tapered shape using scrap. I wedged it up and drew the pattern outline before cutting the plate.

To do this the boat must be jacked up and 'hung' from the hull by the side hull-bunks. Yes the boat will hang just fine, allowing access to the bottom of the keel for sanding clean and sliding the KEEL~BOOT in place.

Yes she is up off the trailer rollers by about 4 inches.
I also cut the inboard bunks clean off with my Milwaukee SawsAll to get them out of the way of my new bottom paint application. I'll drill and bolt these keel bunks back on the trailer using clip angles. I think I'll make the keel bunks a little bit higher this time.

So...The point? Armor plate the keel's bottom so I can bounce over the rocks and not scuff the bottom of my keel. How cool is that? skip.

[Craig Weis]

By the way, Timwp.
Com-Pac boats have zero gel coat.

It is 100% resign impregnated glass woven cloth.
When the hull was molded, that is the layer closest to the outside of the boat's hull. And it is the only layer all the way through to the inside of the boat's hull. It "don't get any stronger then that".

Additionally I use two orange fiberglass driveway markers from the hardware bolted onto plates and the plates screwed onto my trailer at an angle that just touches the side of the hull when the boat is high and dry. In that way I can judge where the trailer is and where the boat is when floating her on to the trailer. 

I have a picture of the trailer on my gallery, skips pics or on the Frappr page linked at the bottom of the Com-Pac Yacht Owners Association Site. skip.

[Timwp]

Thanks for the info folks. I feel more confident in this putty now. I definately didn't think it was a good idea to just put her on the lake that way wouldn't it soak up the water like a sponge with that concrete keel exposed like that. I have seen on this site where some folks have modified the keel guides anyone know of this being done...one post has a couple of links to a mod but the links appear to be broken.

Hey thanks again, this is a wonderful site...with some really great people.

[hobnob]

I had exactly that same thing happen early in my CP16 career.  Evercoat Formula 27 filler works great ($16 for a half pint from West).  Afterwards I built a guide out of 2" schedule 40 PVC.  It's kind of a u-shaped affair that bolts through at the lower-rear bunk brackets and comes up the sides.  Immensely helpful.