I have an OT Sport, 14’ canoe that is my angling/beater. Served me well. I was thinking of ways to repair/re-finish the keels ( lots of wear and a patch). I know Kevlar Felt is an option, but am concerned about the weight, drag issues associated. Has anyone repaired/re-enforced the keel with a commercially available epoxy like GFlex,MINUS the Kevlar. Was thinking about coating the keels with this mixed with graphite. Any help is appreciated! New to the site so if I break protocol with this post my apologies in advance!
Yes but instead of the graphite,
you can use any kind of thickener, such as sawdust.
I would try to form it with a thick mixture, and then tape a stiff piece of plastic like overhead projector film over it. That will make it come out nice and smooth with little or no sanding.
I just finished doing a rotted out threashold.
Jack L
Keel repair
Mix the G-Flex with silica powder to make a tough repair. Good suggestion to put plastic over for smoother surface-G-Flex with silica is hard to sand.
Dave
Some of us have experimented with
epoxy and graphite. There’s no reason to buy G-flex unless your boat is polyethyene. Ordinary West Epoxy has more than enough adhesion, and is harder, which for keel repair is desirable.
On graphite versus colloidal silica, I have not formed an opinion yet. Silica is a wonderful thixotropic agent, but others have attributed qualities to it that have not been confirmed in my experience.
If your keel damage were serious, I would recommend bias cut glass (S-glass is better but not essential) in concentric layers, largest layer on first. Such a patch sits low and adds far more structural strength than a mix of epoxy and any flock or powder.