Forward Trunk Repair - suggestions welcome!

My CM 26 has damage from the cable breaking and the keel banging into the forward side of the keel trunk. I have experience working with fiberglass (models mostly) and thought it should be pretty easy to deal with. What I found it that the space in the trunk is too narrow to get my hand up into to lay the glass up flat against the upper part of the damage. I've managed to greatly reduce the amount of water that gets into the ship but I'd really like to get it truely sealed. I think it would be really easy if I could find a way to tip the ship on it's nose and use gravity to hold the cloth in place. There is one minor issue with that idea...

Any suggestions? Note: it is now winter in Washington and if I want to work on it in the next six months, I will also need to figure out a way to also get enough heat into that space so that the resin will set. Fun and games

Welcome to the forum!!

Not familiar w/ the area you need to work. However I have used mixing sticks to push the fabric into hard to reach places. Also for the smooth out. I wet out the area as well as the pieces and so far have had good luck moving them around.

Floody may be able to chime in w/ some advice. He just did some extensive repair/rebuild work.

The weather should be helpful as you will have more time to work before it kicks. I almost lost it a couple of weeks ago due to the heat and the amount of time I spent mixing a batch of thickened epoxy. Previously all my glass work was in Wisconsin and always cool enough that I never had a time issue. There were times I feared that I mixed a bad batch as it just didn't seem to cure.

All the best and keep us posted on your progress.

Hello,

The keel trunk is a bit of a squeeze to get into and repair. Depending on where the damage is and how big it is you might want to consider getting to it from inside the V-birth area. I think in fact a good repair would have to be done from inside to outside.

Also did you know there is a false bilge inside under the deck? That said, you'll want to keep all the water out since it has no way to drain.

I drilled a large hole in the V birth floor next to the bulkhead and sucked all the water out with a vacuum, then let it dry for a few weeks. I then made repairs and used a lot of glass, resin and epoxy.

Following one of the pictures on the site, I drilled a 2" hole in the stern of the false keel tonight.  One
mystery is solved.  That space is filled with foam. 

I have been trying to figure out why I keep getting modest amounts of water in the bottom of the ship when I know the hole was pretty big and the boat was in the water for six hours.  This also seems to be related to the fact that it will drip for two to three weeks after it is pulled out of the water.  If most of the false bilge is filled with foam, then there are narrow channels for the water to seep but no easy way for it to enter the ship quickly.

That sort of shoots the idea of putting holes at both ends and pumping air through it to dry it out...

Has anyone noticed that there is a bit of a gap between the front of the keel well and the bulkhead?  on my ship the two are glassed together but right up top there is a small gap.  I'm thinking to see if I can getmy micro camera and a light into there to see if there is false bottom at the floor level or if it is open to the false bilge.  If it is open, I might try pouring a cup of resin in there to see if that stops the water flow.