Yet another Triton false keel project

[gone2ddogs]

My Triton (hull #15) has the ubiquitous false keel crack that some one has tried to repair in the past. Apparently they didn't know that fiberglass does not stick well to old bottom paint and I'm able to peel the repair off in nice tidy sheets. I've drilled some 1/4" test holes and they ooze a black smelly goo only a Sci-Fi villain could love. I'm assuming this is the 50 year old rotting remnants of whatever foam/filler the dead wood was built around. My current plan is to cut a panel out if one side approx 12" x18" or so and dig out the old foam etc clean out the space and properly reinforce the bottom where the crack is from the inside. Then fill the void with some closed cell flotation foam and glass the panel back in. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to make this easier I'd love to hear them.

Thanks
John

[Tim]

That sounds about as easy as you can make it, given what you're trying to accomplish. Good luck, and take pictures as you go!

[Figment]

Why stop at 12x18?
To make the job easier, I'd make the hole as big as is reasonably possible. 4" in from the edges of the cavity.

So much of working on boats involves poor access working through undersized portals. Here's an opportunity to work out in the great wide open for once!

[gone2ddogs]

What are the thoughts on reinforcing the area with stainless. In the MIR the owners of #241 and a Triton named Protege have installed ta T brace of 1/4" stainless. I'm weary of putting even 316 Stainless in a sealed environment like that. Possibly a brace made of marine bronze would work.


John

[Rachel]

I haven't done a false keel project, but I wonder why you would need any metal in there? (I realize you are exploring the idea because others have done it that way.) Is it to reinforce the lower gudgeon area? It seems like it would be nice to use only fiberglass if you could, just to avoid problems with metal later, and that maybe biax could do the job.

Now I should let the actual Tritoneers chime in :)

Rachel

[Tim]

What are the thoughts on reinforcing the area with stainless. In the MIR the owners of #241 and a Triton named Protege have installed ta T brace of 1/4" stainless. I'm weary of putting even 316 Stainless in a sealed environment like that. Possibly a brace made of marine bronze would work.

I can see no need nor desire for anything like this.

[Figment]

I laid a few layers of HEAVY biax under the false keel a few years ago. It's fine.

(and my haulouts are trailered not travelifted, invariably one of the trailer's crossbeams is under the false keel. I imagine this is a greater point-load than a sling)

[cdawgs65]

I just got the nerve up and took a sawz-all to one of my drilled holes in my false keel! I found that only " so far" the bottom part of the false keel is saturated and brown/black, the rest is dry and white! Just a thought, on my Triton there were cracks on each side of my bilge running up and aft. Also previous owners have drilled and screwed into the bilge floor, obviously leaking bilge water into the false keel. I dremilled and cleaned and then epoxied the cracks before going further with the false keel. I just never really scrubbed and cleaned the bilge enough to notice these cracks before or screw holes left behind.