Keel repair advice needed

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-22-2023, 03:19 PM

I got this Tahiti a month ago and it had the giant back-to-back seats in covering up most of the front of the floor. Upon removing them, I found the whole front half of the floor plywood rotted. So after pulling that up, I can see that the keel is totally soaked and will probably dry rot as i put my dehumidifier in there. I had a fiberglass sleeve on the keel, but that's been fragmented. The rear of the floor is totally solid, as it has noticeably been worked on at some point. I can't speak as to whether there was any work done on the rear of the keel. But I imagine this boat sat uncovered in the rain for years. I read somewhere online that these had rot-proof cores. I guess not. Looks like it's mostly rot-proof, except for the keel.

Any thoughts on how I can shore this keel up before re-plying it? Or should I just cut my losses now and scrap it? This boat is basically just a stepping stone to me, so I don't need it to last forever. But I do need it to be safe. I doesn't handle chop very well as you could probably imagine. Thanks

Stephen

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-22-2023, 03:36 PM

I'm thinking about laying a cedar 2x4 either side of the keel and sandwiching it all together with SS hex bolts. I could probably shove it under the back a few feet.

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-22-2023, 07:41 PM

I guess it doesn't look too bad. Everything else around seems decent except the keelson.

**WaterZebra** · 03-22-2023, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff

I got this Tahiti a month ago and it had the giant back-to-back seats in covering up most of the front of the floor. Upon removing them, I found the whole front half of the floor plywood rotted. So after pulling that up, I can see that the keel is totally soaked and will probably dry rot as i put my dehumidifier in there. I had a fiberglass sleeve on the keel, but that's been fragmented. The rear of the floor is totally solid, as it has noticeably been worked on at some point. I can't speak as to whether there was any work done on the rear of the keel. But I imagine this boat sat uncovered in the rain for years. I read somewhere online that these had rot-proof cores. I guess not. Looks like it's mostly rot-proof, except for the keel.

Any thoughts on how I can shore this keel up before re-plying it? Or should I just cut my losses now and scrap it? This boat is basically just a stepping stone to me, so I don't need it to last forever. But I do need it to be safe. I doesn't handle chop very well as you could probably imagine. Thanks

Stephen

Cut away the damaged areas in make a box structure where the keel was made from marine plywood (3/4?). Pour floatation foam in the box cavity. If the box leaks a little, so what? Then glass the whole thing in. Use epoxy not polyester.

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-22-2023, 09:34 PM

I did cut away everything damaged, except the keel. Are you saying to cut that away too. The keel is 1.5" thick.

**WaterZebra** · 03-22-2023, 09:46 PM

If the wood is rotted the mechanical properties of the keel are no stronger than sponge cake. Chip it all out and put in a box and foam combo. Way stronger than that crumbling mess in photo. Keel wood is rotted because water got in there. Won't happen with foam and aids draining hull. Take a look at Line X videos with water mellon then imagine if the mellon was filled with closed cell foam. Stronger than hell if glass wrapped.

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-24-2023, 10:30 AM

I'm thinking about combining your idea and mine. To sandwich the keel and pour some rot doctor on it. Then reply the floor. Then drill holes and pour in the flotation foam from above. But then when I'm done, Id still have a suspect transom. So I'm not sure if I should look for another hull. But damn, I've already sold or gifted 6 boats in the last 6 months. Eventually, gotta stick with one.

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-25-2023, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by WaterZebra

If the wood is rotted the

mechanical properties of the keel are no stronger than sponge cake. Chip it all out and put in a box and foam combo. Way stronger than that crumbling mess in photo. Keel wood is rotted because water got in there. Won't happen with foam and aids draining hull. Take a look at Line X videos with water mellon then imagine if the mellon was filled with closed cell foam. Stronger than hell if glass wrapped.

Ok, I think I see exactly what you mean now. I let it dry and the keel is indeed sponge cake. It's like a cushion for my tired old knees. So I see what you mean by box and foam, presumably with the contour to either side of the keel. I could epoxy a bowed 1"(5/4) X 6" Cedar deck plank from Lowes into each contour. The contour is bowed so a pre-bowed would probably work better. Not hard to find. And then plane them down to level the floor and fill in between with foam. Is that roughly what your saying?

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-25-2023, 05:28 PM

Keel came out WAY too easy. Maybe I should just replace that and foam it?

**rgsauger** · 03-26-2023, 12:03 AM

That’s a pretty common repair on hydrostreams. These guys are giving you good advice. Definitely need to replace all of that and bed it in and do it right.

**derekfl** · 03-27-2023, 05:58 PM

rot doctor. doctors remove tumors. they don't pour antibiotics on them. but it looks like you already did the needed keelectomy. good chit mon! cedar handles water well. bit it is NOT strong wood. oak. maple. then seal it tight. and there is NO SUCH THING as too many layers of glass...

**WaterZebra** · 03-28-2023, 07:56 AM

Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff

Keel came out WAY too easy. Maybe I should just replace that and foam it?

Aside from the obvious, wood was used to provide rigidity and strength in a "short cut" in the molding process. To save weight and speed up shaping process, balsa (model airplanes) was used a lot. Boat builders did not have the time and labor to lay up many plies to get the desired strength. Infusion molding helped with multiple ply layups but keeping the weight down with excess resin. Foam the keel and trap with ply layup. Pouring is much easier to do than shaping wood to match hull contours or bridging (gaps).

**Spaceman Spiff** · 03-28-2023, 10:30 AM

I went with Doug Fir for the keel. Not much available in 2x6. I could have laminated 2 pieces of 1x6 oak at $126. But the DF was $7 and readily available .

I had to contour the top and bottom of it to match the hull and floor. I measured with a caliper and drew contour lines on it. I have a decent electric planer that made short work of it. Came out good. Floor goes on tonight and then I'm pouring foam thru the top this weekend. I'm going to completely pack it with foam. I won't be giving water any chance to get under the floor.