Bulb Keel "Rust" on H18.5

[Tim Taylor]

i've recently noticed that the bulb keel of my 18.5 is rather "rusty" for lack of a better word. there are bubbles of what i can only assume are rust making it look very unhydronamic (if there such a word). i've been told that my bottom paint, while a little chalky, is fine but i wonder should i repair and repaint the keel? if so how would one go about that w/o painting the entire bottom of the boat and w/ what material/paint? cheers.Tim Taylortgom@yahoo.com

 

[Steve Dion]

good ol' rusty

Tim:There have been several discussions about rusty keels on boats with cast iron keels. One of the methods is to completely strip the keel down to bare metal and then use VC tar or some other epoxy to seal the entire metal. This usually takes several coats. When you apply the coating you should do them in alternating patterns (one coat horizontal and the next vertical). You need to follow the manufactures instructions for their specific product as to the preperation.Once the *sealer* has been applied and allowed to dry for the proper amount of time you can then reapply your bottom paint. Be sure that the products are compatible.Try searching the archives for rust & keels to see if you can get some more insite on the subject.