Today I noticed a crack opening up on the starboard side of the keelson on my Weekender. It's probably five feet long and only wide enough to insert a playing card. The keelson was glassed when I built it 13 years ago. The lazy side of me says the crack is so narrow that a couple of coats of paint will take care of it. The do-it-right side of me says to use epoxy. Any other thoughts on how to mend it?
Hey Bill,
When it comes to my glassed keel, I don't mess around. I watch it like a hawk for any signs of wear or trauma. You can't tell how far the crack goes into the lamenations so if it were me, I would stuff as much epoxy into there as humanly possible. To facilitate that, you could heat up the resin a bit to make it flow better and then either inject it or roll the boat on its side and let it flow into the crack. I have seen builders heat resin with a heat lamp, but I prefer to let it sit in a warm bath. Once it is up to the temp you want mix it and shoot it in there. In my case, I would also add another layer of glass layup over the spot, but I know you want to keep sailing, so maybe patching the glass is a winter project.
Al
Grind open the crack, wet it out with neat epoxy. Let this sit for several minutes to soak in. Mix up some thickened epoxy and fill the opened crack. A minor crack will let moisture get into the wood and behind the sheathing, which will cause untold problems in the future. Nip it in the butt now, before you have issues.