Groundings, cradle collapses, whatever caused the bend in your keel our team of craftsman can get you back in the water.

MarsKeel™ has the ability to straighten virtually any bent keel. As long as the lead is not fractured we can repair the keel for a fraction of the cost of a new keel.

The damage can be a simple bend or a twist or a combination of both. We have the ability to bring the keel back into original shape. There are limits however to the amount of damage that the lead will allow you to remove, that limit is rarely if ever reached in “normal” keel impacts. Where the limit is namely found is in the bending of the keel wings after grounding, when the boat is left to rock back and forth on the keel. If the wings are thin and long enough to bend into a “smile”, it is very unlikely that they will withstand the bending to return them to their original position.

We are not limited to just bent keels. We can also remove compound damage, bends and twists. Our shop has the ability and equipment to hold and twist a keel back to within a fraction of an inch of its original shape.

Before the repair process is started the keel is inspected for all damage. A number of straight edges are set with multiple plumb bobs and a laser is used to check and record the damage.

We will use the best sizes press for the project. As mentioned in our Productive Capacities, we have the ability to use up to a 1000 ton press. This capacity allows us to apply sufficient force to straighten very large keels with very tight tolerances.

During the straightening process the progress of the work is checked again by plumb bobs and lasers. This allows us and the customer to see where the keel started and where it is at any point during the work.

Once the keel is bent back into shape the entire keel is re-faired (by straight edges)
using epoxy or polyester based fillers. Then coated with 6 coats of Interprotect 2000E and prepared to be reinstalled on the boat.  The fairing process can be taken to either our Standard Production Finish or our High Grade Racing Finish.

Once the keel is straightened and faired it is sent to the packaging department where it is prepared for shipment back to the customer.