I have a 58 Cruisers Inc. Seafarer Model 202, The boat is in fair condition with the exception of the keel. Rot is contained to about a foot or two in the front toward the bow and a rib or two. Boat must of sat some time bow end down with water in boat. Now I would love more than anything to replace the keel, but that's alot of work....... yeah; a LOT of work and maybe I will someday But for now I'm wondering if anybody knows of a epoxy type repair to harden this rotten wood and give strength to the back bone of my boat without gobbing up bottom of boat with fiberglass because I should note that my boat does not have a floor to cover a patch job so it needs to function and look good!
I thought one time I came across some type of dry rot repair that was injected into the rotten wood... Does this ring anybodys bell?
Thanks for any and all help.
Travis,
Waupaca, WI
Rotten keel
Moderators: a j r, TDockside, Miles, Moderators
Hey Travis! Git Rot is one type of goop you can inject into drilled holes. I personally have used it but didn't like it. You have to drill so many holes that you take away any strength that is there. I believe Smith and Company also has a similar product that gets injected into pre-drilled holes.
Smith's CPES is NOT the answer for this problem.
www.rotdoctor.com may be a good place to do some research.
Andreas
Smith's CPES is NOT the answer for this problem.
www.rotdoctor.com may be a good place to do some research.
Andreas
I make my own penetrating epoxy using regular West Systems resin and than thinning with xylene as much as 50%. I've had good success using this technique in stabilizing non-structural rot and as a clear sealer under paint or varnish. Give it a try but be aware that there is no complete substitute for replacing rot with new wood. Be aware that thinning epoxy is a constant balancing act between maintaining all the good properties of epoxy (high strength, good adhesion, water resistance) while improving the viscosity to allow better penetrating into the substrate. The more you thin the lower the ultimate strength and rigidity of the cured epoxy and the more permeable the coating. You can check out http://www.epoxyproducts.com for a discussion of thinning epoxy. I'm not affiliated with them but I've used some of their products. Their epoxy paint is good stuff too, amazingly abrasion resistant but still with alot of flexibility (good luck sanding it though).