Stainless steel Keel guard

fastasfox · 19 March 2022, 21:10

Evening, a few more pictures as i strip down my 5m Tornado. I have cleaned up the deck and removed the Stainless steel fuel tank that had 15 litres of old petrol in it and cleaned the outside ready to reinstall. I slid the hull off the trailer and flipped it over to clean the hull and repair any gelcoat chips and polish. It's the first time I have had a proper look at the Stainless Steel keel guard and it's seen some action. I'm tempted to remove the guard and check the state of the keel underneath. The thing is there are so many screws and it's sealed too, so i will have to take knife to the beeding....and all a bit of a faff to be honest BUT I'm about to drop £5000 into new tubes....I gotta know......right? Love to hear your thought's.
I also got to take a better look at the trailer and it's better than I thought. When the rib was on the trailer the axle and rear cross beam looked rusty and my thoughts were to get them remade but whilst they are indeed rusty they are not so bad that I can't grind them back and have them re-galvanised. All the rollers are nice and free. I have to replace a lot of the u-bolts though.
If I'm going to pull out of this project now is the time rather than after it's got new tubes....please have a look at the pictures and let me know what you would do...as always thanks for supporting me with your experience with my project...... cheers.

spartacus · 19 March 2022, 23:56

That's not a keel guard, that's a hull guard.

If your curiosity gets the better of you, then it will be a pain to repair and replace in my opinion. Looking at the surrounding gelcoat, it looks pretty intact, so I wouldn't ordinarily be too bothered. If you do remove multiple stainless self-tappers, then all need to be filled, and I'd anticipate some sort of adhesive keelguard once re gelcoated.

paintman · 20 March 2022, 12:24

If it's really really going to bug you then take it off & have a look.
But it does look like a LOT of work.
Has it just got a bead of sealant round the edges or was it originally fitted onto a bed of sealant?

fastasfox · 20 March 2022, 13:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartacus

That's not a keel guard, that's a hull guard.

If your curiosity gets the better of you, then it will be a pain to repair and replace in my opinion. Looking at the surrounding gelcoat, it looks pretty intact, so I wouldn't ordinarily be too bothered. If you do remove multiple stainless self-tappers, then all need to be filled, and I'd anticipate some sort of adhesive keelguard once re gelcoated.

Yes if it was any bigger it would need it's own outboard lol. I'm out filling gelcoat chips today but so far have resisted cracked out the screwdriver.

fastasfox · 20 March 2022, 13:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by paintman

If it's really really going to bug you then take it off & have a look.
But it does look like a LOT of work.
Has it just got a bead of sealant round the edges or was it originally fitted onto a bed of sealant?

It's not so much that it bugs me it's more of a case that I don't know why such a substantial keel guard was put on in the first place. My train of thought is that if it was put on to cover any damage then why go to all that trouble to cover up what would be a much easier job to fix properly.
To be honest I don't know if it's just screwed on or if an adhesive has been used. I think I'm going to put fresh stainless screws in with a little sealant and seal around the edge....if the plate looks like it wants to come off then it would be rude not to take a peak.

beamishken · 20 March 2022, 17:53

I had a searider with an almost identical keel guard, someone must have been knocking them up. I took it straight off the searider as I couldn't live with it & would imagine it would impare resale value as most folk will expect damage underneath. We stripped it off filled the holes & ground the gelcoat off over the affected area & laid up a couple of layers of tissue glass then re gelcoated it. A lot of work but if you're spending big on it then worthwhile going the extra mile imho

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fastasfox · 20 March 2022, 21:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by beamishken

I had a searider with an almost identical keel guard, someone must have been knocking them up. I took it straight off the searider as I couldn't live with it & would imagine it would impare resale value as most folk will expect damage underneath. We stripped it off filled the holes & ground the gelcoat off over the affected area & laid up a couple of layers of tissue glass then re gelcoated it. A lot of work but if you're spending big on it then worthwhile going the extra mile imho

Sent from my SM-G950F using RIB Net mobile app

I know by looking at the keel guard that it has been beached an awful lot...which could bring me back to thinking it's been used as some sort of rescue boat and for that reason a sturdy keel guard would make sense but what I wouldn't have thought made sense would be to cover up any keel damage with a keel guard that would A. Have been expensive and B. A lot of work...surely it woyld have been cheaper and easier to repair any damage properly! Next weekend (weather permitting) I'm going to remove the screws and see if the guard was bonded on if it does lift off and the keel is undamaged then i will put it back on and re-seal the edge's as I'm not bothered about resale and I quite like the idea of being able to beach it with trashing the keel......that's the plan....wish me luck.

beamishken · 21 March 2022, 09:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by fastasfox

I know by looking at the keel guard that it has been beached an awful lot...which could bring me back to thinking it's been used as some sort of rescue boat and for that reason a sturdy keel guard would make sense but what I wouldn't have thought made sense would be to cover up any keel damage with a keel guard that would A. Have been expensive and B. A lot of work...surely it woyld have been cheaper and easier to repair any damage properly! Next weekend (weather permitting) I'm going to remove the screws and see if the guard was bonded on if it does lift off and the keel is undamaged then i will put it back on and re-seal the edge's as I'm not bothered about resale and I quite like the idea of being able to beach it with trashing the keel......that's the plan....wish me luck.

Underneath the keel plate our sr was worn through to the kelson core from beaching or more likely concrete ramps, I've beached plenty of boats over the years and not done damage apart from dulling the gelcoat but concrete ramps are a different story which could be the case with sailing clubs

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fastasfox · 21 March 2022, 10:33

Sound's about right looking at the keel guard....let's hope it comes off easy enough.

GARYSHORT · 21 March 2022, 16:07

Alternative to keel guards, keel shields, gator guards, or gator shields on the keel is a Durabak application. This is the "smooth coat" - leaves an orange peal type of surface texture that does not interfere with performance. It's super tough, but not brittle. Protects the keel from beach landings where it is rocky. Check out mine: https://youtu.be/1cdpUvVp-jw

I only used a quart to create a 14' long by 8" wide (4" on each side of the keel). It was about 1/8" thick which is all you need. I applied it in spring over 3 days.
7 coats to build it up. Been on for more than a year now and is still awesome. Does not rub off with the trailer loading/off-loading.

Here's the link for Durabak: https://www.durabakcompany.com/pages/marine