Bottom painting keel bottom

[david lewis]

I am curious if anyone has any good advice on how to prepare the bottom of a keel for long term in water storage (2-3 years). The problem is the boat is resting on the keel while you are painting it so at best you can get at a few spots. When the boat is launched it is unlikely that yard workers will do more than slap a quick coat of paint on it without proper preparation. Is the only answer to pay the yard extra for good service? The reason I ask is after three years in the water I had a wonderful growth of mussels on the bottom of my keel...easy to remove with dive gear before journeys but definitely not conducive to efficient sailing with minimal resistance...HELP!!!dave

 

[Dave]

Keel Bottom

Hi again, Dave. This spring, my boat was launched with a travelift. I asked the yard to schedule me as the first boat of the day, but put the boat in the sling the night before. That gave me from 5:30 the night before to 8:00 the next morning. It took 2 hours to scrape and prime the keel, and 10 min to paint it. It was dry the next morning. Mine is a wing keel, so I run it up on the sand a couple of times a summer and it keeps it nice and clean!Fair Winds, Dave

 

[Ed Schenck]

Or Friday night.

I use a slow drying bottom paint so ask to be last in the sling on Friday. They don't work again until Monday A.M.