Advice on glassing in wood keel spacer block

[bigwalt]

I am restoring a 45' sailboat that has a wooden spacer block between the hull and the lead keel. I want to glass in the wood spacer to protect it from moisture. I plan on using 2 layers of double biased 17 oz glass cloth and epoxy resin. I will overlap the hull joint with about 2 to 3" of glass - and do the same on the upper section of the lead keel where it meets the lower section of the wood spacer.

Does the lead keel need any type of pretreatment(other than grinding the 2 to 3" overlap area) before I apply the glass ? After this is done I will fair it out - then paint it with 4 to 5 coats of Interlux 2000 2 part epoxy barrier paint. Does the unglassed portion of the lead keel need any pretreatment or primer to make sure the Interlux 2000 adheres well to the bare lead?

I'd appreciate any advice/recommendations

Walt

[mitiempo]

I would think that with the slight movement or torque of the keel when sailing that it would be hard to seal permanently. I don't think it is a place for any wood (except on a wood boat) as both the keel and the hull are made of materials that will not give. With movement, and there will be some, the wood will suffer.

[bigwalt]

Thanks for reply - never thought about keel torqueing or twisting as you described. The wooden spacer block is pretty substantial - and the lead portion of the keel weighs 8000#. It is bolted thru the wooden spacer block with seven 1" diameter stainless steel rods.

I'm fairly new at this forum stuff - but I tried to attach a picture of the keel so you can see what it looks like.

[bigwalt]

Brian:

I tried several times to attach the picture - but keep getting a message that says "uplaod of file failed" It's a gif file - and well below the size limit stipulated in the attachment requirements - so I don't know what's going on with it?? Am I doing something wrong - or perhaps because I am a fairly new membewr I don't have permission to upload pictures??

[mitiempo]

You need 10 posts to post pictures.

[bigwalt]

ok - thanks - when I get to ten I'll try to remember to send you a reply with picture - thanks for letting me know

[mitiempo]

Walt
What kind of boat is it?

ps - you joined 3 1/2 years ago - where have you been all this time?
a belated welcome to Sailnet.

[bigwalt]

Brian;

It's a 45' Herreshoff Cat Ketch - built in 1986 by Cat Ketch Corp. It was designed by Halsey Herreshoff. Cat Ketch Corp built different models (27' 31', 38', 45') They only built two 45' - mine being one of them. It has two carbon fiber unstayed masts. It needs a lot of TLC - but I definitely think it's worth the effort to restore it. I'll post some pix when I can

[Gene T]

I wonder if it was a shoal draft boat that the PO added a spacer to drop the keel a bit for better performance. Keep posting so we can see the pictures.

Gene

[bigwalt]

No - the spacer block was part of original design