Keel repair

[Arronh]

Hi. I have an older fiberglass boat. There are some scratches and gouges in the keel. They aren’t terribly deep, and it doesn’t leak, but I’m wondering what the best way to repair it is? I’m not sure if this picture will help. Are there countless other threads that have covered this?

 

[Newbie@boats]

A keel guard will cover most of that up

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Put a roller right there by the bolt on the trailer in the picture, 'n you'll stop it from happening again,.....

 

[JASinIL2006]

Is that from the trailer or from beaching the boat? If it's the latter, I'd install a Keelguard or Keelshield. Those will do a lot to protect a hull from damage due to beaching.

 

[Arronh]

Thanks. I plan on putting something(a roller or bumper) on the trailer. My assumption is that the scratches are from the trailer. Do I need to repair the scratches before putting the keel guard on?

 

[Stinnett21]

Probably not. But do follow the directions exactly as stated. My Keelguard was installed over 10 years ago and is still holding strong, knock on wood. I do a lot of launching/loading by myself and it comes in very handy on occasions.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I don't think you have to do any repairs before you apply whatever it is you decide upon. I got a Keelshield and it has held up to years and years of beaching without any damage. With these products, prepping the surface is extremely important, as is following the directions explicitly. If you do that, you should get many years of service from them.

 

[Arronh]

Thanks again, everyone!