O'Day Mariner Sailboat Restoration

[tpenfield]

Are you planning on stripping the paint off prior to applying the resin and fabric?? My neighbor has over 30 years experience as a AutoBody Repairman. He swears that this stuff...

is the best body filler for aluminum and metal he's seen. If you thin it with Acetone to make it a bit more creamier he says it spreads like a dream and sands really well too. Something to consider prior to the overlay of resin and glass.

WoG, the paint that you see was applied with good purpose. (Interlux barrier coat 2000E). It is the base for the epoxy fairing that I will make from the supplies that I ordered. No other metals involved other than the iron of the keel itself.

Not quite sure what you were getting at with your suggestion of the aluminum filler :noidea:

 

[Woodonglass]

OK, I thought the keel was metal and that you had paint/primered over the metal. I was thinking that if you wanted to fill the "Moon Craters" that the Metal 2 Metal filler would do the trick bu only if the prime came off first. Like I always say, I AM just an Old Dumb Okie soooo just ignore my ramblings and carry on!!!!:facepalm:

 

[tpenfield]

No worries . . . based on my good experience with filling corrosion 'pits' on my old outdrive with epoxy & adhesive filler, I decided to go this route instead of a metal filler, 'cuz you never know how different metals are going to get along once they hit the salt water.

I also did something similar with my Catalina 22 keel, back in 2003. Filled the divots with thick epoxy and then layerd glass over. The only difference back then is that I used polyester for the glass, but probably should have stayed with epoxy, based on what I know now.

 

[zool]

I think you got it just right Ted, stick with the epoxy lams and thicken it with WEST 406 or any colloidal mix.....but you may want to fair it with West 407, depending on the final finish you want.

Been quietly following along, Ive watched sailboats all my life, but never really tried it...

 

[tpenfield]

Great to have you along Zool. Sailboats are easy to maintain as compared to powerboats . . . not much breaks or wears out. Of course, you don't get to places very quickly, but it is all about the journey rather than the destination

 

[tpenfield]

The epoxy 'stuff' arrived today . . .



Unfortunately, the weather has turned cold again. So, it will be a bit challenging to get the temps up in the garage so that I can finish the keel.

Maybe the weather will break a bit in a few days. I'll just have to wait and see.

 

[tpenfield]

It has been a while since I updated things, of course, that is because I have not done much with the keel over the past 4 weeks. Today, I did the epoxy fairing and fiberglassing of one side of the keel. I will let it cure and then do the other side within the next week or so.

Here are a few pictures from the keel fairing . . .

I pre-cut the fiberglass cloth to the shape of the keel along with the edge and corner cuts.



The game plan is to:

Lay down a coating of the epoxy mix filling the pits and makings a thin layer over the whole surface area.

Apply the fiberglass cloth and roll it into the fairing

Pour on another layer of epoxy mix to then seal any exposed glass. Let cure.

Here is all my 'stuff' . . . Epoxy & Hardner, Adhesive Filler, Roller, etc.



.
Here is the first layer of filler spread out over the keel.

Here are a couple of pictures after I applied the fiberglass, rolled it smooth and then topped it off with an outer coat of epoxy mix.



I was not too sure how well the edges of the fiberglass cloth would wrap around to the underside of the keel. It seemed to work out OK.

I mixed the epoxy and filler to a moderate consistency, so that it would have decent leveling.



I have a heater underneath the keel to get the temperature up. My garage is at about 48 degrees F and the heater raises the keel temp to the 55-60F range. I used the 'Fast' hardner, which is intended for colder temps.

Anyway, so far so good with the keel coating.

 

[tpenfield]

Morning update:

I left the heat on the keel all night and it did its initial cure in a few hours but still had a slightly tacky feel to it. The 4 oz cloth imbedded into the thickened epoxy really leaves a nice level surface to the keel. So I am pretty happy with the results, but tam thinking about how to do the other side.

My main concern about using the fiberglass cloth is that I don't want to build up too much thickness. So, the first layer I wrapped the fiberglass cloth around to the other side about 1". When do the flip side of the keel, I could do the same, wrap the cloth around to the opposite side about 1". . . OR . . . I could undersized the cloth so that it slightly overlaps the existing cloth but does not wrap around to the other side.

My concern in wrapping both sides around is that I may make the leading and trailing edges of the keel too thick.

TIA for any thoughts on this issue.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would wrap it around. running it into the sand and shoals will skinny it back up again.....

 

[tpenfield]

I would wrap it around. running it into the sand and shoals will skinny it back up again.....

Thanks for the input, Scott. I flipped the keel over last night to start prepping for the other side's work. Based on how it looks, I will take your advice and wrap it around. The thickness does not look to be too much, since it is 4oz cloth, and an extra layer on the edges should help in wear resistance, etc.

 

[tpenfield]

Update:

I completed the epoxy & glassing on the other side of the keel today. Here is a video of the process. It is sped up about 6X normal speed so as not to take too long. The time lapse app that I have was set to run out at 30 minutes, at which point in the process, I was mixing the top coat of thickened epoxy to go over the fiberglass that I had just laid down.

I have heat running under the keel all night so that it will cure. The temperature in the garage is about 44 F, but the heat brings the keel up into the 55 F range, which is enough for the fast hardener to activate.

My next steps will be to do some finish sanding on the keel and then apply a couple coats of Interprotect 2000E barrier coat and then a couple coats of ePaint EP-2000 anti-fouling paint.

Then it will be ready to go back into the boat, which should be a neat trick

 

[kcassells]

Ted,
Nice vid. Got ta tell ya that ball on the string bumping your arse keeps distracting me...lol!

 

[tpenfield]

Ted,
Nice vid. Got ta tell ya that ball on the string bumping your arse keeps distracting me...lol!

I know, it is for my cars to indicate a stop point when I pull into the garage. But they sure do get in the way on my projects at times

 

[alldodge]

As always, Looking good

 

[Woodonglass]

Nice job Ted. Good to see someone showing how to lay down the resin first and using the roller to push the resin thru the fabric from the bottom up and then adding additional resin as needed to get total saturation of the fabric. :encouragement:

 

[Scott Danforth]

nice work Ted

 

[tpenfield]

Thanks guys for your kind words. Resto work on my powerboats has given me some good practice in fiberglassing.

The addition of fiberglass to the keel of my Mariner has raised some eyebrows on the O'Day Mariner Assocaition forum (got a thread going there too). Apparently adding fiberglass to the keel is against the racing class rules . . . . . . I suppose using my outboard motor during a race won't be allowed either

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thanks guys for your kind words. Resto work on my powerboats has given me some good practice in fiberglassing.

The addition of fiberglass to the keel of my Mariner has raised some eyebrows on the O'Day Mariner Assocaition forum (got a thread going there too). Apparently adding fiberglass to the keel is against the racing class rules . . . . . . I suppose using my outboard motor during a race won't be allowed either

especially if that outboard is a 2.5liter Mercury Racing unit running nitrous

 

[tpenfield]

Quick update:

I doused both sides of the keel with water to get rid of the amine blush left after the epoxy cured. I plan to do a little more work on the keel, but now the overnight temperatures have plunged to negative territory (-10 F tonight). So, I'm not sure if I can keep the garage warm enough to mix & cure epoxy.

The good news is that it is going to warm up in a couple of days into the 50's F (crazy weather )

My next step will be to add some 'pad' areas to the trailing edge of the upper portion of the keel. This will be to provide some mechanical stability to the keel that it currently does not have. So, currently, when I tack (turn) the boat, I can hear the keel 'flop' from one side of the keel trunk to the other, which is commonly known as 'keel clunk', because of the noise it makes hitting the side of the keel trunk.

My Catalina 22 had a much thicker keel and it was more captive in the keel trunk, so it did not experience 'keel clunk'. This boat has a fairly thin keel and the only attachment point is a 3/4" bolt w/ bushing. So, the 5 feet of keel has a tremendous mechanical advantage to go side-to-side within the keel trunk. My plan is to add an area of thickness (i.e. 'pads)' to the back portion of the keel that remains within the keel trunk, so that it has two points of mechanical contact rather than just the one.

I measured the inside of the keel trunk and it is about 1.6" wide. The keel itself is about 0.8", so there is plenty of room for the keel to twist and hit the side of the keel trunk. My plan is to add more epoxy & glass to the upper portion of the keel so that it is about 1.4" thick. This will then fit fairly snugly in the keel trunk, allowing only 0.1" +/- movement of the keel, whereas before it has/had about 0.4" of movement.

I'll post a few pictures as I proceed. . . for now, I am just hoping the furnace hangs in there during the below zero temps over the next few days. The thing crapped out a week or so ago and the repair man did a quick fix while waiting for a new 'fire box' (aka combustion chamber) to be ordered and shipped.

 

[tpenfield]

-9 degrees F this morning . . . wicked cold, but I may try to do some additional work on the keel today, if I can get the garage heated up a bit.

I made a few diagrams to show the 'keel clunk' issue and my plan to resolve it.

Here is a cut-away diagram of my boat, showing the keel trunk and the keel lowered into its normal sailing position.



When the keel is raised (via cable and winch in the cockpit) the keel goes up entirely within the keel trunk, so none of it protrudes from the bottom of the hull. This is a nice feature for bringing the boat into shallow waters for beaching, etc. As you can see from the diagram, there is not much holding the keel when it is lowered into its sailing position; maybe the top 6" or so and it is only via the pivot bolt and washers.

From the top, the keel and keel trunk look like the diagram below. Even though the bolt and washers hold the keel fairly snugly and the pivot mechanism is in good shape, the slightest bit of play results in the trailing edge of the keel hitting the side of the keel trunk. The less it can move the better from a mechanical and sailing performance perspective.

I took some measurements of the keel thickness and the clearance of the keel trunk. Now that I have added a layer of fiberglass the keel is about 1" thick at the top portion. The keel trunk is almost 1.6" wide. There is probably some taper to the keel trunk, since it is part of the hull mold, so I will have to try to get a measurement further up into the keel trunk. My guess, is that it is about 1.4" at the top.

Keel thickness at the top of the keel . . .


Keel trunk inside dimension at hull opening . . .


My plan is to add some 'pads' (sometimes referred to as 'pucks') near the trailing edge of the top portion of the keel. The thickness of the pucks need to be such that the overall dimension is a close fit to the inside dimension of the keel trunk, but still loose enough that the keel can swing up and down without causing interference or wear on the sides of the keel trunk.

Probably something like this . . .


Based on my approximations, the green line in the picture below would be where the keel protrudes from the hull in its lowered position, and the pads would be in the red outline area . . . each side of the keel.


The lateral movement of the keel would be confined to about 0.1" or maybe less , which should should help out both mechanically and in the handling of the boat.

The pads would be in the orange area shown in the profile diagram below. This would give the keel better mechanical support, rather than the current single point.



My plan is to build up the thickness of the keel in that area using the epoxy and fiberglass. My challenge will be to make sure I get a good fit of keel and keel trunk . . . not too tight and not too loose.