SHETLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Hi all, i have got my Sealark home and gave it a good clean down and polish up, i have found a few things that need doing, the keel has in the past had a band fitted of some sort, i dont think this is original, i hope you can tell me that if they did have one fitted, not that i can see it as this one is riveted inplace and UNDER the gel coat. I am thinking to just fill back over with epoxy filler and tissue/epoxy resin as it has cracked off.

But i have also found a crack on the transom down the corner in the engine well and you can also see it from inside the cockpit, i guess the thing is rotten, gutted , i thought it was to good to be true, but all is not lost

I can either as it should be and fit a new transom, or get a WBP and bolt it on the back and laminate into place, not as bad a bodge as it sounds as i would do a proper job of it, but i would rather renew the transom alltogether but what kind of job is this, i am good with this work but i wonder what it involves before i cut away.

You can barley see the one in the well but its in the corner, the one inside you can just make out.





cheers

wolly

Boats like this are built up in the mold, ie gelcoat, several layers of stratification and then a thick plywood reinforcement is added inside the hull while in the mold. This is glued with a polyester mastic and then covered with a layer of strat. An inner molding can then be glued into the hull to create a clean finish. What I'm saying is that the inner engine well is not necessarily an important stress bearing part, if it is cracked maybe it was glued in under stress, but anyway I wouldn't worry too much about it.
What is important is to know whether the transome wooden reinforcement is sound or not.
I have replaced transomes by cutting off the complete fibreglass rear panel to expose the plywood, hacked it out, replaced it and re-fibreglassed over it. The problem then is gettin a decent finish on the gelcoat.
The strip on the keel is a rubbing strake, and I'm surprised that it is covered with fiberglass as it is usually just glued (Sikaflex) and screwed on afterwards.
hope this helps
Geoff

Thanks Geoff, sounds good to me that, just how would i tell the condition on the transom ply easliy, i was thinking to drill a few small holes and see what comes of it, then easy fill back if good.

Here is a pic of the keel band



it goes a good few inchs up both side of the keel, i have never seen this before, now i have had a another close look it looks like a non factory thing, i will cut back with a flapper disc and tissue over as it is solid, just looks a mess.

Thanks again for the help Geoff

The band I was thinking of would be a strip of stainless steel, just to protect the hull from rubbing against gravel or rocks. I think you are right, just rub it down to a decent shape and then I would cover the repair with International's Gelshield or more cheaply a layer of gelcoat to waterproof it.
The only way to check the transom board is via engine mounting holes or drilling more ie with a hole saw just to take out a piece of strat, don't drill through the wood. Then you can glue the piece back in with polyester mastic.

Yes it is a bit bigger than a rubbing band LOL, i like the idea of a hole saw and sticking back in place, i think i will give that a go