H17 Centerboard Repair

The 17 that I bought has had a brutal repair to the front of the centreboard at the pivot. I am going to rebuild it. What kind of material is the centreboard made of? I plan to use epoxy, glass and a steel rod, but I was wondering if I'm going to have bonding problems and if epoxy will tend to want to peel away. If so, I know that people flame treat ABS and some other plastics to improve the bond with epoxy. Anyone ever heard of doing that with whatever this material is?

Thanks,
Peter

The 17's centerboard is fiberglass / foam core. The "skin" is gelcoat / polyester resin. Epoxy will work fine for repairs without any special preparation.

I would hesitate to use a steel rod, though, unless it's stainless steel. Mild steel will rust, no matter how deeply you think you've embedded it; water will find a way to it.

When steel rusts, it expands tremendously and with great force. That's what happens to steel reinforced concrete and why the concrete cracks and spalls off around the rusting re-bar.

It sounds like the person who had the boat before you fixed a broken hook at the front of the board. It's a fairly common thing. The hook is solid fiberglass.