exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

[MRS]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

If you are going to put a keelguard on it could you just coat it with Gluvit and put the keelguard over it? That is what I am going to do to mine if you guys think it will work.....

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

well I'm not going to go drill a hole in mine and see. I'm talking about the point of the V where it hits the beach, and perhaps by exaggeration suggesting that you'd have to wear down pretty deep at that point to be a threat. But I recall replacing a bow eye on a 17' and had to go through some plastic. How thick do you think it is there on a typical 20' boat? And just curious, how thick is the typical bottom? Transoms appear to be about 2". I'd be guessing to say the bottom is about 1/4"? I'm sure it varies with brand, too.

 

[dontask]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

well I'm not going to go drill a hole in mine and see. I'm talking about the point of the V where it hits the beach, and perhaps by exaggeration suggesting that you'd have to wear down pretty deep at that point to be a threat. But I recall replacing a bow eye on a 17' and had to go through some plastic. How thick do you think it is there on a typical 20' boat? And just curious, how thick is the typical bottom? Transoms appear to be about 2". I'd be guessing to say the bottom is about 1/4"? I'm sure it varies with brand, too.

You just told Iboat members in your previous post there's "inches thick of fiberglass" no concern, what happened. Now your at 1/4" ??????

 

[MRS]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

If you are going to put a keelguard on it could you just coat it with Gluvit and put the keelguard over it? That is what I am going to do to mine if you guys think it will work.....

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

no Don I'm asking you for your information/opinion since you have more experience than I. I'm asking about 2 different areas.
One is the keel at the point where a boat would hit the beach. How thick is that, from your experience/estimation, on a typical 20 footer? I know that it is reinforced and layered thicker than other parts of the hull. Or should be. How much?
Next question is: how thick is the hull on the boat's bottom at a flat area below the waterline? That is where I am guessing about 1/4".
Thanks.

 

[dontask]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

no Don I'm asking you for your information/opinion since you have more experience than I. I'm asking about 2 different areas.
One is the keel at the point where a boat would hit the beach. How thick is that, from your experience/estimation, on a typical 20 footer? I know that it is reinforced and layered thicker than other parts of the hull. Or should be. How much?
Next question is: how thick is the hull on the boat's bottom at a flat area below the waterline? That is where I am guessing about 1/4".
Thanks.

To the OP "its a marathon" the above Iboat member was so knowledgeable about boat construction he told you it was ok to beach your boat, don't worry about the fiberglass its "2 inches thick". The next day its 1/4 inches thick, now he is scrambling for someone who has hands on experience with boats. He should have known something about the subject before he ever told you it was ok to beach your boat with no concern for the fiberglass. This is not the way to teach a new boater.
Use a keel guard BEFORE doing this to your boat and you'll be ok. Beware when looking at a boat to buy that a keel guard may have installed over an already worn away or damaged hull. Good luck

 

[MRS]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

its a marathon I was hoping someone would reply to this and help both of us. I will give it one more try if not will post it some where else welcome to iboats great place just gets a little heated sometimes.


If you are going to put a keelguard on it could you just coat it with Gluvit and put the keelguard over it? That is what I am going to do to mine if you guys think it will work.....

 

[its a marathon]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

Thanks again for giving your insight to a newbie. I really appreciate a place to go to get questions answered by people who have been doing this for a while. For someone new to this, getting in to boating is pretty intimidating. Again thanks.



MRS - Maybe you should post your gluvit question in a new post. I am interested in the answer as well.

 

[buddybarnhill]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

look this is the thing this should anserw your question okay if it just worn down to the fibergalss then its not hurting the intergrity of the hull cuase its made of comeplete fibergalss the paint which is whats worn down doesent help the integrity of the hull at all its just so your boat dont look like crap its all pretty so no its more comsmetic the anything now if the fiberglass is worn into also then you have a prob it becomes an integrity issue hit a big wave big hole is bottom of boat is in future cuase the fiberglass doesnt how as much strength as rest of it does.....hope this helps.....RBB JR.

 

[109jb]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

To the OP "its a marathon" the above Iboat member was so knowledgeable about boat construction he told you it was ok to beach your boat, don't worry about the fiberglass its "2 inches thick". The next day its 1/4 inches thick, now he is scrambling for someone who has hands on experience with boats. He should have known something about the subject before he ever told you it was ok to beach your boat with no concern for the fiberglass. This is not the way to teach a new boater.
Use a keel guard BEFORE doing this to your boat and you'll be ok. Beware when looking at a boat to buy that a keel guard may have installed over an already worn away or damaged hull. Good luck

Geez. Give it a rest. You made your point already.

As for the original post. If the gel coat is worn off, no big deal as long as the underlying fiberglass is solid. From the description:

"The glass feels very smooth and there are no punctures in it that I can tell."

I would say that the fiberglass has not been damaged to the point of worry. Also, the keel is generally one of the thickest parts of the boat. The fiberglass is the structure, not the gel coat. If this is the case, I would not even worry about it and throw a keel guard on it and be done. Of course pictures would help everyone to make a better assessment of the situation.

As for fiberglass absorbing water. Yes it does, but unless there is a void in the laminate the quantity of water absorbed is not enough to cause a problem, especially for a trailered boat.

 

[SeanT]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

Speaking of keel guards - I saw some blue ones the other day trolling a local shop, and kind of thought the extra stripe might look slick....maybe this is a bit of a thread hijack, but since the OP indicated that would probably be how he resolves this if noone had any major issues, I raise the question:

How will it look?

EDIT: Just scanning back caught a good point that an unnecessary keel guard could be a red flag for future buyers. Good point indeed.

 

[MRS]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

its a marathon, will do....MRS

 

[mphy98]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

to get back to the original question, yes it can sop up water, but why not buy some liquid gel coat. they sell it at Walmart and it works great for small gouges and scrapes. Just do it in layers, not all at once.

 

[WTR4FUN]

Re: exposed fglass on the keel due to beaching a concern?

To the OP "its a marathon" the above Iboat member was so knowledgeable about boat construction he told you it was ok to beach your boat, don't worry about the fiberglass its "2 inches thick". The next day its 1/4 inches thick, now he is scrambling for someone who has hands on experience with boats. He should have known something about the subject before he ever told you it was ok to beach your boat with no concern for the fiberglass. This is not the way to teach a new boater.
Use a keel guard BEFORE doing this to your boat and you'll be ok. Beware when looking at a boat to buy that a keel guard may have installed over an already worn away or damaged hull. Good luck

So adding a keel guard will magically transform the structural integrity of the boat to make it ok to beach? Wow that's some good stuff.