Moonglade keel repair July 1975

I hauled the boat in Detroit in July 1975. There was a long-standing area of water logged and bad wood at the aftermost aspect of the keel. (See photo) A very professional repair was done and new fiberglass was laid on. Dry bilges lasted for a while. I began to get a little bit of water in the bilge. Indoor winter storage in Chicago was freezing cold and I began to get drips of water from hairline cracks in the very bottom of the keel. I drilled holes and let the water drain out. Careful tapping of the vertical fiberglass sheathing on each side of the lead keel identified hollow pockets. It became clear that there was separation of the fiberglass from the keel.

I set about taking the fiberglass off of the keel. It was about 1/4 inch thick, and up to 3/8 to 1/2 near the bottom of the keel. I used a saw set to a very shallow cut; I used chisels; it was difficult and dirty given the fiberglass dust. I used fans and mask. I removed fiberglass about to about 18 inches above the angle where the hull meets the keel (the garboard? the turn of the bilge?). This angle is 110 degrees. The wood and lead structure of the keel was wet but sound--no rot--a little water stain. All the fiberglass on the rest of the hull was sound, except for a few small area of delamination which I repaired myself using West system epoxy and fiberglass cloth..

In reading about fiberglass and composite boat construction and repair, I learned that fiberglass does not do well with sharp inside or outside angles. Polyester resin is less adhesive than epoxy resin. A bump on a hard bottom, e.g., a sand bar, a log, a rock, etc. could have sprung the fiberglass away from the keel and especially away from the 110 degree angle where the hull meets the keel. Frozen trapped water contributed additionally.