Swing Keel Epoxy & Fiberglass
The next step was to encapsulate the keel in epxoy and fiberglass to further protect it and retain a smooth contour. Epoxy has greater adhesive qualities than regular fiberglass resin, and is about 3 times more costly. So, I used epoxy on the initial layer to achieve good adhesion to the metal keel, and then fiberglass/resin on the outer layer for strength and durability.
It was also at this point I added 50 pounds of lead to the end of the keel, essentially making the keel about 4" longer. I fabricated a lead weight (see next page for details) and epoxied it to the end of the keel after the initial expoxy/glass filler had been applied to the keel. The additional weight was then covered by a layer of fiberglass/resin, making it an integral part of the keel. The additional weight makes the boat no longer "class legal", but this is not an issue for me since I do not race the boat. The original keel can be restored by cutting off the additional weight (length) from the end of the keel.
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| Epoxy and glass filler applied over zinc coating | Fiberglass/resin applied over epoxy layer |
The layer of glass mat makes the keel slightly thicker, and it is important to know if there will be any problems fitting the keel back into the boat. At this point I checked the keel thickness against the bushing clearance and trunk dimensions. They are a little loose to begin with, and it looked like the added dimension would make it a better fit.
(on to next page) for detals on how I fabricated the additional weight.