Piriapolis, Boatyard Day 3
24/07/11 23:51 Filed in: Uruguay | Maintenance
Third coat on the shaft coupling.
Work began on the aft end of the keel. I suspect, but cannot know for sure, that this problem arose as a result of less than optimum work when Kiriwina was built. The aft end of the keel appears to comprise two vertical sections glued/bonded together with a robust end cap incorporating the rudder heel.
The bonding process appears not to be complete with a hairline gap allowing water into the keel. There is evidence of filler being used to smooth irregularities in the join.
Firstly, to see exactly what we were dealing with, the crack was opened up a little with a grinder and then washed with acetone. Ideally the boat would be left ashore until the damaged area was completely dry before attempting repairs. This was not possible.
The repair plan involves an area around the crack being ground down to a dept of 2-3mm. Then resin/silica filler will be applied to the crack giving a good bonding surface,
for three layers of fibreglass, mat/woven/mat bound by epoxy resin.
All done! The work took a couple of hours.
This repair is intended to seal and bind the crack. While it appears that the problem is stable any sign of the crack spreading into the new material will indicate otherwise. Before launch the two drain holes drilled into the underside of the keel will be filled with epoxy and sealed. With no more water getting in any residual water can be allowed to drain by drilling the epoxy next time Kiriwina is hauled out.
Later a repair from 2006 was found to have been poorly done with an excess of filler applied on top of antifouling.
Polishing continued on the starboard side and was completed by the end of the day.
Work began on the aft end of the keel. I suspect, but cannot know for sure, that this problem arose as a result of less than optimum work when Kiriwina was built. The aft end of the keel appears to comprise two vertical sections glued/bonded together with a robust end cap incorporating the rudder heel.
The bonding process appears not to be complete with a hairline gap allowing water into the keel. There is evidence of filler being used to smooth irregularities in the join.
Firstly, to see exactly what we were dealing with, the crack was opened up a little with a grinder and then washed with acetone. Ideally the boat would be left ashore until the damaged area was completely dry before attempting repairs. This was not possible.
The repair plan involves an area around the crack being ground down to a dept of 2-3mm. Then resin/silica filler will be applied to the crack giving a good bonding surface,
for three layers of fibreglass, mat/woven/mat bound by epoxy resin.
All done! The work took a couple of hours.
This repair is intended to seal and bind the crack. While it appears that the problem is stable any sign of the crack spreading into the new material will indicate otherwise. Before launch the two drain holes drilled into the underside of the keel will be filled with epoxy and sealed. With no more water getting in any residual water can be allowed to drain by drilling the epoxy next time Kiriwina is hauled out.
Later a repair from 2006 was found to have been poorly done with an excess of filler applied on top of antifouling.
Polishing continued on the starboard side and was completed by the end of the day.