Keel repair needed

[SoTX]

Well went camping and boarding all weekend. I found a nice sandy place to pull the boat up onto the bank near our camp site. I figured I would have a little damage. But after 4 days of this when I pulled my boat from the water I saw what damage I hade done to the keel. I have a section about a foot long that looks like about a 1/2" has been worn off, exposing the raw fiberglass. A couple of questions
1. can this be repaired?
2. I was thinking of waiting until the end of the season, like in October before I take it in. Will I have a problem with this exposure. In other words should I fix it ASAP or could it wait?

[kaneboats]

There was a fairly lengthy informative thread on this a few weeks ago. The gist was that if it's merely cosmetic you can wait a while but if water can get into the glass it can start to deteriorate it. You are better off putting some temporary patch stuff on it right away even if you will end up sanding it off later.

[AaronWhitt82]

Well went camping and boarding all weekend. I found a nice sandy place to pull the boat up onto the bank near our camp site. I figured I would have a little damage. But after 4 days of this when I pulled my boat from the water I saw what damage I hade done to the keel. I have a section about a foot long that looks like about a 1/2" has been worn off, exposing the raw fiberglass. A couple of questions
1. can this be repaired?
2. I was thinking of waiting until the end of the season, like in October before I take it in. Will I have a problem with this exposure. In other words should I fix it ASAP or could it wait?

WOW, how did that much get worn off the keel? Was there alot of boats going back and forth making a wake that would have caused the boat to constantly rub back and forth on the sand? I would say you need to get that fixed ASAP at a fiberglass repair shop. Having raw fiberglass exposed isn't good. Once you get it fixed I would put a keel guard on as well if your going to do this alot in the future to prevent it from happening again. You also might want to consider turning it into your insurance company.

[SoTX]

Yes keel guard was what I was thinking after the repair. I will be taking it in today for repair.

[vkkovach]

Yes keel guard was what I was thinking after the repair. I will be taking it in today for repair.

Why not just anchor the boat? It takes all of a couple minutes. A good box anchor is around $150,I bet that's a lot less than what the gel coat repair is going to cost.
I get a sick feeling every time I see someone pulling and expensive boat onto the sand/rocks!

[Razzman]

An anchor buddy and basic anchor is even less and works great for around $50-75. I have NEVER beached any of my boats for that very reason.

[SoTX]

Well Believe Me It Won't Happen Again!