Grand Banks Keel Repair
Learn about our professional keel repair service. Grand Banks keel repair is a complex job that must be done right to preserve the value of your fine yacht. Similar repairs apply to all deep keel boats.
On any boat the bottom of the keel is exposed to damage from rocks from cruising in shallow water.
We have seen some Grand Banks keel repairs that were done with putty and paint — far from optimal. There is a cavity in the keel and unless the repair is done right, you will have a keel full of water. This leaves you with a candidate for osmosis (bottom blistering).
Many Grand Banks yachts go south to Florida waters where average depths are within inches of allowing the keel touch bottom at low tide. The Florida bottoms are often coral! Up and down the boat goes with the tide; eventually even the super-strong 24 oz. combo mat fiberglass structure becomes fractured.
How to repair a damaged keel?
We always grind away the affected area back to good glass and rebuild with a fiberglass laminate schedule that is actually more durable than the original, ensuring the problem will not recur if the boat is set on blocks at the repair site during haulout. This is how we find many bad repairs. The weight of the boat will crack the putty as it is point loaded.
