Beneteau First 345 (1987) Grid Separation, I need advice
Hey guys, looking for some advice/sanity check on our 1987 Beneteau First 345. I think we have some minor grid separation happening.
The situation:
- Keel flexes slightly under the weight of the boat
- Slight water ingress in the bilge when sailing
- Keel bolts were probably changed ~15 years ago. All A4-70 (316 grade stainless steel), except one A2-70 (304 grade).
My main question looking at these photos is the fiberglass work around the grid. Is this Beneteau's original factory layup or does this look like a previous repair job that has now delaminated?
If there are any other First 345 owners (or similar Beneteaus) on here, could you do me a favor and check your bilge against these photos? I'd love to know if yours looks like this.
My plan is to replace keel bolts and put larger metal backing plates under them. For the grid separation, I want to drill and inject an adhesive (looking at West System G/flex 650 or Plexus MA300).
But here’s my dilemma: If a previous owner did a sloppy secondary repair and laid down extra glass that is now separating, I don’t want to just inject epoxy and glue a failed repair layer back to the hull. I want the grid bonded directly to the original hull.
Has anyone done a such a repair on a similar Beneteau? Any advice on how to verify what layers I'm looking at before I start drilling and Injecting?
Appreciate any insights.