Projects: Getting a 2.4m Stradivari Mk IV back racing
Boatbuilder Paul Gomm, a regular user of WEST SYSTEM epoxy, has been doing some great repair work on 2.4m Class Stradivari Mk IV. We were lucky enough to see the repair as it progressed. The boat has a fibreglass keel, which had suffered a form of osmotic damage through a combination of water and anti-freeze. Yep, anti-freeze!!
The keel needs to have the laminate repaired and strengthened – and it should also be re-bonded as the first step in the refurb.
Here we can see that Paul and the owner also chose to change the keel shape at the aft end where it joins the hull. A rebate has also been cut for filleting along the keel bond line with WEST SYSTEM G/Flex 655.
With the G/Flex fillets complete, the keel was then prepped and relaminated with two layers of WEST SYSTEM 450g/m2 Biaxial Glass Fabric all over, then a further two layers at the foot of the keel and along the bond line. Care needed to be taken here to ensure that Paul didn’t exceed the maximum keel width allowed by the class.
Once that was done, faired and sealed, the peel ply was removed. Next, the WEST SYSTEM 105/205 epoxy was applied – six coats in total, followed by a last coat of just the resin/hardener mix. The customer requested six as he liked the colour and felt that a last coat “unthickened” coat would give him a finish that he could use for the rest of the season, before the boat will need to come out again for painting, resheathing of the wooden hull and a replacement deck.
The lead was then put back in the keel and the boat was ready to be re-rigged and to get back in the water!
Total weight added from the WEST SYSTEM 105/205 epoxy, WEST SYSTEM 450g/m2 Biaxial Glass Fabric and WEST SYSTEM G/Flex 655 was 9 kgs. The bare hull weight (plus rudder) comes in at 50kg.
Following Paul’s repair work this stunning 2.4m Class Stradivari Mk IV is back racing. And while she was back at the club, Paul also created a new seat/backrest for her. Using an old one as a mould, some WEST SYSTEM 450g/m2 Biaxial Glass Fabric and WEST SYSTEM 105/205 epoxy, a new one was born simply and easily. Once you are familiar with WEST SYSTEM products, the only limits to creativity are your imagination!
