Crack in keel What do I do to fix it right???

[Christopher Quast]

Had to beach the boat in ahurry the other night and upon doing so I hit some rocks and cracked the keel really bad. I was just gonna have it welded, but also heard about some of Cabela's aluminum repair. Has anyone used this and if so what are your thoughts on this product???

[Capt. Don*]

I don't know what you consider "really bad", but it must be substantial to describe it that way. This is something that needs to be looked at by someone qualified in this type of repair. I don't know how many dealers get involved to this level of aluminum repair, but you could inquire with a few. I think this is not a case for cold weld aluminum repair paste. Welding the fracture and possibly welding a doubler over it to reinforce may be in order. Don't cut corners, have it fixed right the first time, it will be well worth it in the long run.

Good Luck

[marine_man]

I agree with Capt Don - time for someone to look at it - you don't want it to pull apart the next time you're in a tight spot.

marine_man

[Christopher Quast]

I don't know what you consider "really bad", but it must be substantial to describe it that way. This is something that needs to be looked at by someone qualified in this type of repair. I don't know how many dealers get involved to this level of aluminum repair, but you could inquire with a few. I think this is not a case for cold weld aluminum repair paste. Welding the fracture and possibly welding a doubler over it to reinforce may be in order. Don't cut corners, have it fixed right the first time, it will be well worth it in the long run.

Good Luck

Well put it this way we went out for about 5 hours this morning and we had about 6 inces of water in the front of the boat I'm pretty sure thats not good

[Sandmannd]

I would take it in for sure. A lot of body shops do that. Do you have insurance to cover it? I used Xtreme Paint & Body up in Wyoming. Did awesome work on my ride. Was taking in a lot of water, took it there and after a whole day on the water, there is not a drop in my boat.