Joe, nice write-up. I'm gonna save this one, lots of good general
advice. I know I have to replace the mast step at the front of the bilge
on Tequila Chica, the inside pan at the mast step is torn from the
settling of the compression post as the mast step disintegrated. How/what
did you do for yours?
On bolt length, all that extra metal above the nuts doesn't add any
strength :) The bolts could be cut off two or three threads above the nut
and then regular sockets could be used.
Jim McEwen, Tequila Chica, Dana Point, CA
Joseph Kibelbek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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catalina27-talk:keel
catalina27-talk:keel
Joe Kibelbek
Fort Myers, FL
I did a interior keel bilge sump repair following the factory
information on a 76 C27. This is a long summary of what I did.
If you don?t have to worry about the bolts you are half way home.
I also replaced the interior wood mast support at the front of the bilge
and the lightening grounding wire at the same time so I had a longer
work time.
The important part is to get ALL of the supplies and tools you will
need before you start. I used a work light to provide proper lighting
'cause I worked when I had spare time and it had a place to plug in the
electric drill too. Read up on epoxy working and get a LOT of
disposable brushes. solvent for cleanup, mixing pots and trash bags for
the mess you will be making. I found that thin disposable plastic
gloves saved my hands from the epoxy and were easy to put on and take
off. Any extra tools and materials left over can be used for the next
project.
REMOVING THE GLASS AND WOOD
I did this in MANY 1 to 2 hour stints. You will be working 8 or more
inches below your knees and my back could not take that for too long.
Get a couple of good kneeler pads to save your knees and some good work
gloves. I didn?t have much dust so I didn?t need a mask, but use good
safety practices if you?re not sure. I used a whole lot of different
tools but I remember that a wood and metal chisel were the prime
workers. I used an expendable spade/paddle (5/8?) drill with an
extension section to work in tight places and to get a start on the wood
in a new area. I also remember pealing off some roving by rolling it
around a pair of pliers. Whatever works. You will be working around
the bolts in narrow places so a small electric drill helps. Can?t
remember what I used to smooth the bilge sides and get the gray paint
off; probably a wire brush on my electric drill. The hardest part was
the aft narrow part of the bilge. I may have gone to a smaller drill
for that. Just be patient and keep working, you will see progress, in
small steps. The important part is to wear gloves to keep from hitting
your knuckles too many times.
GLASS AND PATTERN
Finding glass mat and the roving that was compatible with epoxy was a
task. Most of it is made for polyester resin and not epoxy and has some
coating on it that may interfere with the epoxy bonding. I believe I
found a combination roving and mat that came as one layer which made
things easier. I bought the glass products in dimensions that would
minimize waste. Make a small dimensional drawing to see how it will fit
together.
I made up a full size template of the bilge and bolt holes using
?freezer paper? to draw on and did a match up on the bolt holes,
overlaps and bilge wall fit several times before I cut my first piece of
mat.
The general plan was to make a master bolt hole/bilge pattern for all
layers so that you can cut the fiberglass for the largest pieces; then
cut the pattern down and start on the next smaller layer and then finish
with the smallest. You destroy the pattern but it works. I believe
that each layer was 2 or more inches wider than the next one. I also
overlapped the pieces length wise so that the mat pieces were easier to
handle while glassing. I can?t remember if each layer was made of
overlapping 2 (or more) pieces. I do remember that the overlap joints
were staggered and not at the bolt holes and that they were spaced so
they didn?t cause a bulge in one area. The pattern looked like a modern
art drawing when I was done, with the edge outlines and the dimensions
for the layer overlaps. Cut and tag (with masking tape) each piece for
each layer and do a fit for the pattern holes. You will have 6 (or 9)
pieces. Once you cut the pattern for the next smaller layer its hard to
go back. I protected the bolts with vinyl tubing to keep the epoxy from
coating the threads. After the mat has cured I then cut the tubing flush
with the finished level and filled the tubing with epoxy.
EPOXY
Now you are ready to work with the epoxy. I used West System epoxy
because it was readily available and has good information on how to do
repairs. Follow their directions and start with the smallest layer
working up to the largest, last layer. I used a metal glass roller
(bought several in case I couldn?t clean them up) to work air out of the
layers and get things flat. It is a very good idea to put plastic
covering on everything in the cabin before working with the epoxy, it
saves a whole lot of cleanup time. I had a dinette interior so put
fresh plastic sheets on the table when I wet each piece of mat for each
layer section. I felt like I was building a boat before I was through.
Since I did the work off season I needed some heat lamps to make it
cure in mid winter. When it was done I sanded the rough edges and used
the extra epoxy give one last finish coat and smooth it out. NOTE your
bolts will be about 1 1/2" longer because you have lowered the bilge
bottom, so the sockets may not fit, hence you nay need some 7/8" box
wrenches.
After it all has cured you can put a couple of coats of paint on the
finished job and then tighten your keel bolts to the repair factory
spec. I bought some 2?x1/4? SS washers to put under the lock washers
and nuts to spread the load better.
I?m proud of the job and It looks better than new.
Joe
