# Gheenoe keel fiberglass repair advice



## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

Most of the spots don't look too bad. Fill with marine tex and sand smooth. In the first picture the gel coat is cracked as if there was an impact or two. Those might need a little more attention .


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Grind the gelcoat off down to glass before the repair job. Then do as BF said.


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## Vince M (Feb 18, 2019)

Got it. Is there anything I can do to beef up the keel for the future? I’ll definitely need to re glass the damage in the first pic


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## Vince M (Feb 18, 2019)

There’s also a through hole for a live well that I wanted to plug. Can I get away with a plug or should I sand area down and glass over? You can see in the pic bottom left


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## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

After following the above advice and patching it up... I'd try using a simple rubber plug, inside, for the live well hole/plumbing.

A lot depends on how you want it to look after patching.. functional or perfect.

After the repair you can use "Gator Guard KeelShield"... read carefully the web site info as they have 2 products one for fiberglass and one for rotomolded (kayaks) boats, to beef up the area. There was a discussion a while back on the site for this subject.


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## Vince M (Feb 18, 2019)

I’ll have to look into the gator guard, thank you all for the quick responses. I wonder what kind of plug I can find for that? Also do you think the damage in the first pic can have marine Tex right over it or should I cut all that out complete and reglass with fabric and resin?


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

Push on it.How weak does it feel. It could be reinforced (repaired) from the inside or the outside. If you feel the damage hasn't compromised anything, just patch the gel coat .


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## Chad Cohn (Mar 8, 2018)

I used herculiner to make a keel guard. So far so good. I had to do the work while on a creeper under the boat, if you can flip yours it may be easier. Once cured it's waterproof and seals up any voids you may have. Good thing is if you need to repair or add to it all you have to do is clean and reapply to the existing material.


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## Vince M (Feb 18, 2019)

When I got home I beat on it pretty good and it’s solid. I even sanded it down a little , looks like I should be able to just marine Tex right over it. I looked underneath on the inside and it’s solid as well


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Right in the middle there is a chunk that should be chipped off and then go for it.

Forget the peel and stick keel guard. Either do nothing and repair when necessary, add extra glass, or roll on one of the bed liner products.


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## Vince M (Feb 18, 2019)

Thanks guys. I’m gonna go ahead and repair with marine Tex and maybe beef up the keel with extra glass. Will the herculiner affect the speed as in adding more resistance when out on the water? I’ve also heard of glassing a Kevlar patch across the keel. My next concern is inside the aft drain hole. It looks pretty nast, can I marine tex to fill al that in?


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

You'll need some cloth and resin for the livewell hole.


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## Chad Cohn (Mar 8, 2018)

I haven’t noticed any speed or resistance issues but my boat is 18’6 with a 90.


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