Another foggy day this morning – I could barely find the turn off to the marina (well I could probably do it in my sleep after almost 30 years). I believe I was right about winterizing and decommissioning tasks being boring as it seems that my statistics have gone down recently – or
maybe it’s just me that’s boring! I do have something I am planning on test driving during the winter that if you have a boat in storage you won’t want to miss, but you will need to visit early every day. More later on that.
We noticed some cracking on the keel right where this boat sits on the blocks during lay up. After doing some preliminary grinding we found that someone had done a repair and used about 1/4″ of body filler to finish up the repair. As we have learned
by reading this blog, that is no way to repair a keel.
Although structurally this keel is fine, the crack will keep coming back when the boat is blocked. We ground out the filler and put some fiberglass in there. Unfortunately, the old repair was done with epoxy so we had to go that route. (another thing we have learned here is that you can’t put fg resin over epoxy). We only use a very thin skim coat of filler to smooth the repair and do not use it for void repairs.
One thing you don’t often see on your GB is the installation method used on the shaft log housing. As you can plainly see here there is a wedge cut to ensure the shaft is lined up absolutely true with the struts. This is usually covered by paint and to be honest, this is the first time I have noticed it.
This engine room hatch has Soundown insulation attached to the bottom and although the attachment is fine, the edge trim was cracked in several spots making it look beat. Since
this boat is for sale, we like to have things looking new. I don’t know where the trim originally came from but you can always find something at McMaster Carr that will do the trick!
Today’s chemistry lesson is on West Epoxy. You want to use the largest container you have when mixing. The deeper the epoxy is, the hotter it gets. I have actually seen it burst into flames. The epoxy in this container below was actually too deep for the container and was very hot with 15 minutes of mixing. Mix in a big container, use it fast and don’t mix any more that you can use in a few minutes.
Another foggy day this morning – I could barely find the turn off to the marina (well I could probably do it in my sleep after almost 30 years). I believe I was right about winterizing and decommissioning tasks being boring as it seems that my statistics have gone down recently – or maybe it’s just me that’s boring! I do have something I am planning on test driving during the winter that if you have a boat in storage you won’t want to miss, but you will need to visit early every day. More later on that.
We noticed some cracking on the keel right where this boat sits on the blocks during lay up. After doing some preliminary grinding we found that someone had done a repair and used about 1/4″ of body filler to finish up the repair. As we have learned by reading this blog, that is no way to repair a keel.
Although structurally this keel is fine, the crack will keep coming back when the boat is blocked. We ground out the filler and put some fiberglass in there. Unfortunately, the old repair was done with epoxy so we had to go that route. (another thing we have learned here is that you can’t put fg resin over epoxy). We only use a very thin skim coat of filler to smooth the repair and do not use it for void repairs.
One thing you don’t often see on your GB is the installation method used on the shaft log housing. As you can plainly see here there is a wedge cut to ensure the shaft is lined up absolutely true with the struts. This is usually covered by paint and to be honest, this is the first time I have noticed it.
This engine room hatch has Soundown insulation attached to the bottom and although the attachment is fine, the edge trim was cracked in several spots making it look beat. Since this boat is for sale, we like to have things looking new. I don’t know where the trim originally came from but you can always find something at McMaster Carr that will do the trick!
Today’s chemistry lesson is on West Epoxy. You want to use the largest container you have when mixing. The deeper the epoxy is, the hotter it gets. I have actually seen it burst into flames. The epoxy in this container below was actually too deep for the container and was very hot with 15 minutes of mixing. Mix in a big container, use it fast and don’t mix any more that you can use in a few minutes.
