keel repair

I need to do a keel repair on my 82 H16. The inside edges are fairly worn and somewhat concave. Should I try to build them out to their original profile and using what product? Or do I just glass over what is there? Performance is not a big issue. I just want to get back in the water. How many glass layers should I apply and can I do them all at once? My beach boat takes a beating on the sand. Epoxy or polyester resin?

I'll leave this one for the experts on here, but pics of the damaged or worn areas would probably help someone help you with this. Hope you get it figured out and get back out there, but safety first!!!!

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Marty
1984 H16 Yellow Nationals Redline, "Yellow Fever"
Lake Martin, 'Bama.

You would want to use polyester resin for sure. Are the keels worn down to the point where you see the inner layer of cloth?

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JKK
83 yellow/ white decks Hobie 14 Corando turbo
82 yellow hulls Hobie 16 Cat Fever
84 yellow hulls hobie 16 Yellow Nationals
plus a few extras that I'm restoring

Yeah, after I sanded it down (through a previous repair) and got a good look at it I think I answered my own question. There is a pretty good groove or depression there. If I don't fair it in with Marine Tex or something the glass cloth is going to want to lift out of those depressions and leave a void or bubble. There are also several pin holes that appear to go all the way through the hull into a void. Might try to open those up a bit and fill in with some West Marine Six10 epoxy.

The last inner layer is cloth the outer is matting. If you see cloth you need to build it back up with polyester resin and more cloth or matting. You don't want to use epoxy, such as marine tex. There shouldn't be any voids, that void may be the inside of your hull. The keels are normally about a 1/4" thick with glass and gelcoat.

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JKK
83 yellow/ white decks Hobie 14 Corando turbo
82 yellow hulls Hobie 16 Cat Fever
84 yellow hulls hobie 16 Yellow Nationals
plus a few extras that I'm restoring

When doing the repair you really ought to get a couple of profiles for different spots on the hull. I did this repair last year and posted some pictures on here somewhere. I finished it off with .035-.040 inches thickness of Gel coat. After sanding and polishing I could not even see where the repair began and the old hull took over. Very pleased with the result. I thinned and brushed on the gel coat and then added wax for the last application so that it would harden completely. Mine is an '83 white hull.

What did you think the gel with?

Steve

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84 Turbo

Hobie Fleet 32 is in your area and there are a lot of knowledgeable sailors in that group that I'm sure would be glad to help you. Are you connected with any of those folks?

There is a template on here somewhere for sections of the 16 hull.

As for materials... I would order from US Composites. Quality materials and significantly lower prices than West Marine.

I'm no expert, but definitely use poly over expoxy. You can thicken the poly with cabosil to make a putty to fill voids before you lay the class. You can purchase glass "tape" to save the amount of cutting you have to do.

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James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

Agree with Abbman about US Composites. I purchased the gel coat and wax from them. Good products at a great price. I have also used their epoxy products.
I used MEK (methyl ethyl keytone) to thin the gelcoat. I first tried to roll it on without thinning and it was terrible. Thinned it slightly and tried again with the roller and it was even worse so gave up and brush coated about 3 or 4 coats, the last with the wax added. Then sanded to profile starting with 220 and ending at 1000 grit.

I thought MEK was the catalyst for polyester resins and gelcoat.
Also If you are brushing it on I wouldn't think that you would need a thinner.
I use Acetone for cleanup only.

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JKK
83 yellow/ white decks Hobie 14 Corando turbo
82 yellow hulls Hobie 16 Cat Fever
84 yellow hulls hobie 16 Yellow Nationals
plus a few extras that I'm restoring

Cpnsoo, you are so right. I did a search of my old posts and found the pictures of my repair and some of the process. I used MEKP for the catalyst and thinned with acetone. Sorry for the error and grateful for the catch by Cpnsoo.

In the end I faired out some pretty deep furrows with all purpose polyester Formula 27 filler. That got the keels pretty close to the factory profile. I downloaded the Hotline article on bottom jobs then put two layers of 11 ounce glass (I think) with vinyl-ester resin. I thought about a third layer but my resin had already started to thicken. Not sure how much further I'll take it as the keels take a severe beating on the beach here. Gel coat might be overkill considering how easily and quickly it wears away on the sand. I may not even bother to sand it as nature will take care of that in one season. I don't care much what it looks like as no one ever sees the bottom. Getting into the Atlantic hurricane season I might be done for this year anyway.