Choice of metals
I'm not sure what year or hull number the change over occurred but the debate between lead and iron keels is long standing with regard to many boats from that era - all other things being equal, lead is probably a better choice but not enough so to make an otherwise good boat a bad deal. Lead is denser than iron, so the center of mass of the boat winds up deeper with a lead keel, unless the manufacturer decreased the size of the keel with the change in materials. This ought to mean a slightly stiffer boat but will make limited appreciable difference. Iron needs to be cleaned and then epoxied to avoid rust. This was done at the factory when the boat was new. If the epoxy fails you get rust. If you don't treat the rust you get scaling which needs to be ground off if it gets extremem. All said - if you're looking at a nice iron keel boat and the keel is in good shape, there's no reason to run away. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
