I just bought a 31' that's been out of the water for several years. For some reason the keel is been taken down to the cast iron. It was painted with an epoxy paint. Keel bolts appear to be good and the hull is solid with no signs of blisters. If I applied 5 coats of interprotect from the water line down, will I be good?
Cast iron keel/Hunter 31
- Thread starter Tom Fritz
- Start date
Yup. Put on your first coat of bottom paint before the Interprotect has fully kicked and it is still a little tacky. You'll have to get back to shiny clean cast iron before coating.. A wire wheel and an acetone wash is usually sufficient.
Coal tar epoxy is another fine product for waterproofing the iron.
Coal tar epoxy is another fine product for waterproofing the iron.
Thanks Claude! I haven't dealt with the cast iron keel before and not having a skin of fiberglass and gelcoat over it my concern was water intrusion between the keel and hull. Even thought it's not a smooth surface around the keel I should be good for a couple of years and maybe address with the next bottom job? It won't be racing! Last question is there any issues I might encounter with the low water bugle box that sits down into the top of the keel, with it being exposed? Maybe it is always exposed anyway, I'm not sure.
Not a problem. There is a skin between the bottom of the box and the top of the keel. While she is resting on keel, ya might want to think about torquing the keel bolts. The fairing line around the keel is not a bad job. You can usually use a paint scraper to probe and find if you'd want to re-fair it. Good Luck and welcome aboard!