Fiberglass Repairs on 30 year old Bayliner Buccaneer 270

[dem45133]

Hello all. I need to repair some fiberglass on a 1978 27 foot Bayliner Buccaneer Sailboat (shoal draft) I purchased last fall and I have heard there are differences in which resin to use.

Specific repairs:

1) Some one added some additional heavy steel weights along the bottom of the keel. These are simply two 30 inch long 3" x 6" blocks of steel (about 330 lbs) which were attached by threading one, installing threaded rod in that block, these go through the keel to the other side where they then pass through holes in the other steel block and are tightened against each other via two conventional nuts. Not exactly the method I would have chosen but it is what it is. There was some historic leakage when the owner prior to me had it and he simply sealed along its mate surfaces against the keel with silicone... to me it looks like a continuous headache. While it is a solid attachment it also leaves something to be desired on induced drag. So rather than fighting the seal issue (forever), and since they are more or less a permanent fixture... I thought I fill the inside corners and contour them... then encapsulate them in fiberglass integrated then into the existing glass surrounding the keel. If done properly (with "zero" pinholes)... should be a permanent seal and a significant reduction in drag due to the streamlining.

2) Hole plugs where I drilled and tested for rot through the fiberglass to the underlying wooden structural members (couldn't fine any rot, but still need to reseal these (permanent).

3) Beef up a few stress/flex areas showing minor cracking in gel coat.


Given this, which fiberglass and resin type would you recommend for which?

(For the keel weights I'm thinking chopped strand for the fiberglass of a light oz, layered up in multiples... what resin?)
(For the holeplugs, I'm thinkng to push a little chopped stand into the hole (3/8") and squeeze resin into it? Again which resin?)
(For the beefing up at stress points ... not sure... any ideas?)


Thank you in advance for your knowledge,

David E. Mikkelson
Hillsboro, OH

[seawitch1906]

a boat as old and ill build as she is ..don't worth all this work and money ..
why don't just buy a better boat . it is like put a golden saddle on a donkey

[Freesail99]

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