The black gelcoat decided to set rather quickly. This might be because I was holding the plastic pot in my warm hand or because the proportions were slightly wrong. This meant that the last bit of the keel strip went a bit lumpy.
In retrospect, I should have stopped as soon as the gelcoat started to go off. I could then have mixed up a fresh batch. However, I tried to save myself some time and paid the consequences.
It was nice to see that peeling off the masking tape gave a clean edge to the keel strip.
I used 150g of gelcoat, with 3ml of catalyst. Most of this went onto the boat although I probably wasted over 25g.
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Keel strip - first layer
I have taken an approach that is a combination of the descriptions from several websites and some advice from P&H. The first layer of the keel strip is to be made of glass tape embedded in clear polyester gelcoat, with a second layer that is made of coloured gelcoat that is waxed to allow it to set in air.
Masking tape is used to give a neat finish and to make the job easier. The tape is cheap when compared with the other repair materials and the time that the repairs take.
The first line of masking tape is a guide for the other lines. It will be removed before the resin work starts. It is done with masking tape that is the same width as the glass tape that is to be used for the keel strip. I used two-inch tape.
The second and third lines of two-inch masking tape go either side of the first, with a gap of a good quarter of an inch. The gap could be made narrower but it would depend on the confidence of the person doing the work!
The fourth and fifth lines of masking tape can use a narrower tape. I used one-inch wide tape. These lines of tape go mostly on top of the second and third lines, along the edge that is towards the centre. This closes half of the gap between the first line of tape and the second/third line.
Once I was happy that everything looked right, I removed the first line of tape. This leaves an exposed area for fitting the keelstrip that is about 2.25 inches wide.
I painted clear gelcoat along the exposed area and then used some glass scraps mixed with gelcoat to fill a couple of holes in the keel. A length of glass tape was laid out along the whole of the keel. I did the stern with a separate shorter strip. The glass tape was then wetted out using more gelcoat on a small brush. I needed about 200g of gelcoat, using 4ml of catalyst that I measured with a syringe. I put a second layer of tape along the sections at the front and back that take most wear and wetted this out throughly.
Once the gelcoat started to set, I removed the one-inch masking tape. (Pulling the tape towards the centre of the boat kept the resin from spreading to the area that I uncovered.) This leaves a gap of about an eighth of an inch between the remaining masking tape and the new keelstrip. The whole of this area will be painted with waxed, coloured gelcoat this evening. The gap serves two purposes: it ensures that all of the unwaxed gelcoat is covered and it tapers the repair a little to give a nicer finish.
I'll be left with a keelstrip that is 2.5 inches wide and has added about 0.4kg to the boat, although stripping off the old keelstrip will have taken off a similar mass. The new keelstrip is a bit bigger than might be ideal but should protect the boat nicely.
Masking tape is used to give a neat finish and to make the job easier. The tape is cheap when compared with the other repair materials and the time that the repairs take.
The first line of masking tape is a guide for the other lines. It will be removed before the resin work starts. It is done with masking tape that is the same width as the glass tape that is to be used for the keel strip. I used two-inch tape.
The second and third lines of two-inch masking tape go either side of the first, with a gap of a good quarter of an inch. The gap could be made narrower but it would depend on the confidence of the person doing the work!
The fourth and fifth lines of masking tape can use a narrower tape. I used one-inch wide tape. These lines of tape go mostly on top of the second and third lines, along the edge that is towards the centre. This closes half of the gap between the first line of tape and the second/third line.
Once I was happy that everything looked right, I removed the first line of tape. This leaves an exposed area for fitting the keelstrip that is about 2.25 inches wide.
I painted clear gelcoat along the exposed area and then used some glass scraps mixed with gelcoat to fill a couple of holes in the keel. A length of glass tape was laid out along the whole of the keel. I did the stern with a separate shorter strip. The glass tape was then wetted out using more gelcoat on a small brush. I needed about 200g of gelcoat, using 4ml of catalyst that I measured with a syringe. I put a second layer of tape along the sections at the front and back that take most wear and wetted this out throughly.
Once the gelcoat started to set, I removed the one-inch masking tape. (Pulling the tape towards the centre of the boat kept the resin from spreading to the area that I uncovered.) This leaves a gap of about an eighth of an inch between the remaining masking tape and the new keelstrip. The whole of this area will be painted with waxed, coloured gelcoat this evening. The gap serves two purposes: it ensures that all of the unwaxed gelcoat is covered and it tapers the repair a little to give a nicer finish.I'll be left with a keelstrip that is 2.5 inches wide and has added about 0.4kg to the boat, although stripping off the old keelstrip will have taken off a similar mass. The new keelstrip is a bit bigger than might be ideal but should protect the boat nicely.
Sunday, 28 October 2007
Hull repairs
I had removed some external repairs whilst getting rid of the old keelstrip. There were two places that needed some repair work and I decided that it would be neater to do it internally, reaching through the hatches. This made it a bit tricky to get a neat finish, so I was glad that the repairs won't be visible to anyone else!
I did the repairs with some woven glass and polyester gelcoat (with styrene wax to allow it to set in air - "Resin B" from Scott-Bader). This may be cheating a bit but I had the materials to hand and it gave me a quick and easy repair.
I did the repairs with some woven glass and polyester gelcoat (with styrene wax to allow it to set in air - "Resin B" from Scott-Bader). This may be cheating a bit but I had the materials to hand and it gave me a quick and easy repair.
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Stripping and sanding
I took advantage of some nice weather to spend an afternoon in the garden with my boat, a chisel and some sandpaper. The bonus was that I could work on the boat while still looking after the kids.
I removed the old keelstrip and investigated the leak in the front compartment. Some cleaning up around the front hatch revealed that the flange is broken and is detached from the deck at several points.
The chisel got blunted pretty quickly. The grindstone got some use.
I removed the old keelstrip and investigated the leak in the front compartment. Some cleaning up around the front hatch revealed that the flange is broken and is detached from the deck at several points.
The chisel got blunted pretty quickly. The grindstone got some use.
Saturday, 13 October 2007
Got the materials - just need the time
The materials that I ordered from P&H arrived as promised. I just need to find some time to start working on the boat. Trouble is that it's more fun to just go out and paddle it!
Friday, 21 September 2007
Extra work items
After some further consideration, I think that I will add a couple of items to the to-do list:
1) Fittings for a deck-mounted tow-line, including a reinforcement of the deck at that point. This will comprise some sort of camcleat and a fairlead.
2) A mechanism to secure my spare paddle, in a way that won't interfere with the tow line. I tend to carry a C1 paddle, for reasons that have more to do with my personal paddling history than anything else.
1) Fittings for a deck-mounted tow-line, including a reinforcement of the deck at that point. This will comprise some sort of camcleat and a fairlead.
2) A mechanism to secure my spare paddle, in a way that won't interfere with the tow line. I tend to carry a C1 paddle, for reasons that have more to do with my personal paddling history than anything else.
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Materials for the keel strip
After some further exchange of email with Pat at P&H, I have decided to follow the recommendations of their laminators and use gelcoat and 2" glass tape to replace the existing (worn out) keel strip.
The first layer will be clear gelcoat and tape, with a second layer of gelcoat that has black pigment added for a pretty finish and wax added so that it sets properly. I'll probably do the other repairs and the patching of the orange gelcoat first, so that the black gelcoat goes over the top of everything else.
To save on postage and to allow them to supply catalyst, I'm going to collect the materials from the Pyranha shop near Runcorn. The package should be ready for collection in the next week or so. I may paddle there rather than taking the car - the shop is very close to the Bridgewater canal.
The first layer will be clear gelcoat and tape, with a second layer of gelcoat that has black pigment added for a pretty finish and wax added so that it sets properly. I'll probably do the other repairs and the patching of the orange gelcoat first, so that the black gelcoat goes over the top of everything else.
To save on postage and to allow them to supply catalyst, I'm going to collect the materials from the Pyranha shop near Runcorn. The package should be ready for collection in the next week or so. I may paddle there rather than taking the car - the shop is very close to the Bridgewater canal.
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