Paint & Keel housing work

After the initial sail this spring and the keel-slam, I decided to check out the forward keel housing.  I found that I was not the first to investigate this issue.   At some time in the past, someone had damaged and tried to fix a crack in the keel housing. 





The unfortunate reality of a crushed forward Keel housing.



In this pic, the white material is some sort of pliable epoxy putty.   It was jammed into the crack and a hole a PO had drilled into the housing.

After getting it home, I noticed a steady drip from this area.  I drilled the bottom hole to see just how much water would spill out.   What I instead figured out was that the repair job also included some of the spray foam filler material.   It was soaked and was the main source of the water dripping out.

At that point I drilled a larger hole and began digging foam out.  I also punched a hole in the floor of the cabin to allow me to force air through this space.  You'll notice what appears to be cracks all over this area.  Much of that is cracks in the material the PO smeared over the whole area.   Not a bad idea for a quick fix, but it was never meant to be a long-term solution. 

As ugly as this looks, its not as bad as it could be.   my intent will be to continue to work at getting as much foam out as possible while push air through the void in the hopes of drying it out.

With the two holes, I'm able to use various tools to root around in there and knock foam loose.  In another couple days, I should have a fairly dry, clear  area to work with.

Though I have already gotten advice to the contrary, my intent is to rough up the surfaces and push as much fiberglass filled epoxy into this void as possible.  I'll then glass over the exterior hole being careful to leave room for the keel.  Once the exterior hole is sealed, I'm planning on using some left over resin to fill the void.  I only have about a gallon left, so I hope it's enough.

The key to this solution will be surface prep.  This will be the ugliest picture of the project.  When I'm done, I intend to have a smooth, highly reinforced keel housing that can take some abuse.  With some testing, I may even try to work in a rubber bumper to further slam-proof the housing.

Next on the list was the deck.   The tread areas, originally faded light blue, were due to be painted. 

To get this point, I had to first re-sand and repaint the prow.   Something happened with the curing and all the paint on the prow lost its shine.  I think it was the morning dew and the paint not having time to set.   It looks much better now.

In this pic, I've taped off all the corners which was a hassle in that I ran out of automotive tape and had to use 3M blue.   It does not bend around the corners as well.

After taking off all the hardware, here is the first coat on the pop-top.   Brightside sapphire blue unfortunately requires more than one coat.

I neglected to do the fuel compartment cover on the first go-around

Like I said, two coats required.   I'm a bit surprised since the floor, with the non-slip material added went on so well.  You can see it in the corner of this pic.  Notice how it already is starting to pick up dirt.    :-(

The last thing I worked on was some painting in the interior.  The forward berth ceiling I skipped for whatever reason, so I hurried  up and checked that last block.