TQA
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 20 Feb 2005
- Messages
- 6,815
- Location
- Carribbean currently Grenada
My favourite Chapman quote "Why do you want to take the washer around the track?"
Filler
- Thread starter Ubergeekian
- Start date
William_H
Well-Known Member
Use of Kevlar
Yes it is tough. I was involved way back with a small aircraft of carbon fibre but it was covered with an outer layer of kevlar to resist abrasion from stones rain etc.
I have used kevlar a bit and the biggest problem is cutting the stuff to size and shape. It needs really sharp scissors. I used kevlar in exactly the same situation on the bottom of the keel. This to resist the occasional brush with the bottom.
You need to make sure the yard do as you wish regarding materials. Especially the kevlar. I can imagine them deciding glass is fine. (or polyester is just as good) Indeed by concerned about a cheap quote.
In my experience the trick with epoxy and filler especially upside down is many different applications with hardening and grinding between. The staff at a yard will be in a very good position to typically do a bit each day while you might need to do it all in one or 2 short visits. other wise I would suggest you do it yourself.
good luck olewill
Yes it is tough. I was involved way back with a small aircraft of carbon fibre but it was covered with an outer layer of kevlar to resist abrasion from stones rain etc.
I have used kevlar a bit and the biggest problem is cutting the stuff to size and shape. It needs really sharp scissors. I used kevlar in exactly the same situation on the bottom of the keel. This to resist the occasional brush with the bottom.
You need to make sure the yard do as you wish regarding materials. Especially the kevlar. I can imagine them deciding glass is fine. (or polyester is just as good) Indeed by concerned about a cheap quote.
In my experience the trick with epoxy and filler especially upside down is many different applications with hardening and grinding between. The staff at a yard will be in a very good position to typically do a bit each day while you might need to do it all in one or 2 short visits. other wise I would suggest you do it yourself.
good luck olewill
Bosun Higgs
N/A
It's an encapsulated long keel, and the GRP has worn through in several places as a result of the boat spending many years on drying moorings on the East Coast and Milford Haven. The plan is to smooth the bottom with filler then rebuild the laminate on top. I fancy having some Kevlar there as a substitute for a shoe, to provide better protection for impactseek
Consider using wood for the sacrificial keel shoe bit. I did just that on a prout cat ( also long keel and taking to the ground twice a day) using green oak from the sawmill. A bit to my surprise it was just as solid 7 years later when I sold the boat as it was when I put it on. The benefit of the green timber was that it was very flexible.
The technique was to run a circular saw set to cut just 1mm deep along the length of the timber. Then I mixed up some epoxy - I used West that time but SP is just as good and cheaper - and then offered up the timber to the sanded clean keel bottom with bottle jacks at either end to ensure good contact. When it was all nice and hard, I sanded to profile with an angle grinder. To avoid any erosion of the hull / timber joint at the front, I laminated over a couple of thicknesses of glass cloth and epoxy.