I powerwashed my 1988 H23. I notice a few very small blisters on the bottom and paint coming off the keel. I read some of the articles about this but still have some questions. Do I sand the entire bottom and get the keel down to bare metal as much as possible? Does the VC Tar go over the existing VC17? Do I then go over the entire bottom and keel with the VC Tar and then with the VC 17? How many coats? The boat is on a trailer. How much drying time do I need before setting it back on the bunks? (I plan to put wax paper on the bunks before setting the boat down)
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My approach
Hi Lee: I'm in the middle of redoing the bottom paint on my 88H23. The last time I hauled the boat was two years ago. I had noticed some blisters, but they were pretty small (the largest was about 1/2 inch in diameter) and close together; actually more like a rash than blistering. The boatyard said that they weren't big enough to worry about, sanded them down a bit to smooth the bottom and put on two coats of VC17. This time around the bottom looks about the same, except for some tiny new blisters that dried up in 2 weeks (the boat has been on the trailer since Sept). I'm not banking on the chance that the bottom will look the same two years from now, so I am sanding off all the old bottom paint to the gelcoat and sanding/grinding the keel to clean metal. A coat of VC Tar follows immediately, then fairing with Watertite to fill any dings and depressions, followed by 2 more coats of VC Tar, then 2-3 coats of VC17. I know the hull will never be baby-bottom smooth, but I'm hoping the VC17 will help make up for some of that. Working with the boat on the trailer is a pain but when I'm done I won't have to do anything for a while except a touch up coat of VC17 each year. That's not so bad because the VC17 dries fast. Peter H23 "Raven"
Hi Lee: I'm in the middle of redoing the bottom paint on my 88H23. The last time I hauled the boat was two years ago. I had noticed some blisters, but they were pretty small (the largest was about 1/2 inch in diameter) and close together; actually more like a rash than blistering. The boatyard said that they weren't big enough to worry about, sanded them down a bit to smooth the bottom and put on two coats of VC17. This time around the bottom looks about the same, except for some tiny new blisters that dried up in 2 weeks (the boat has been on the trailer since Sept). I'm not banking on the chance that the bottom will look the same two years from now, so I am sanding off all the old bottom paint to the gelcoat and sanding/grinding the keel to clean metal. A coat of VC Tar follows immediately, then fairing with Watertite to fill any dings and depressions, followed by 2 more coats of VC Tar, then 2-3 coats of VC17. I know the hull will never be baby-bottom smooth, but I'm hoping the VC17 will help make up for some of that. Working with the boat on the trailer is a pain but when I'm done I won't have to do anything for a while except a touch up coat of VC17 each year. That's not so bad because the VC17 dries fast. Peter H23 "Raven"
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Chuck
Peter, How do you...
grind and paint the flat bottom of the keel? do you jack the entire boat off the keel or do you get a yard to lift it on a sling? Thanks much.. Chuck H23 S/V Windsongs
grind and paint the flat bottom of the keel? do you jack the entire boat off the keel or do you get a yard to lift it on a sling? Thanks much.. Chuck H23 S/V Windsongs
Grinding the flat bottom of the keel
I really didn't plan to do it, mainly because it's a pain to get to (there, I said it). However,your question did make me think, and apart from the hassle, I can think of several other reasons why I probably won't be going to the trouble: a) this part of the keel takes more abuse than anywhere else from trailering and running aground, so why bother b) it's probably a good idea to expose some part of the keel to the water for electrical and electrochemical grounding c) I'd rather sail than grind and paint I guess if I really wanted to, I could ask them to raise the boat on the sling in the marina and do it there, or set the boat on an elevated cradle in the boatyard. Either way, it sounds expensive. Peter H23 "Raven" Peter H23 "Raven"
I really didn't plan to do it, mainly because it's a pain to get to (there, I said it). However,your question did make me think, and apart from the hassle, I can think of several other reasons why I probably won't be going to the trouble: a) this part of the keel takes more abuse than anywhere else from trailering and running aground, so why bother b) it's probably a good idea to expose some part of the keel to the water for electrical and electrochemical grounding c) I'd rather sail than grind and paint I guess if I really wanted to, I could ask them to raise the boat on the sling in the marina and do it there, or set the boat on an elevated cradle in the boatyard. Either way, it sounds expensive. Peter H23 "Raven" Peter H23 "Raven"
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Ernie Rogers
You're probably right about too much trouble, but
I did the bottom of the wing also. With the boat on the trailer, I built a framework around it to keep the boat from tilting from side to side once I dropped the bunk boards. Having done this, I jacked up the bow first, put a 4x4 block under the leading edge of the keel, then jacked up the stern and did the same thing. Jacking it up like that was kind of scary, so in hindsight I think Peter is right and I will forget the bottom of the wing the next time! Ernie Rogers s/v Whimsy II
I did the bottom of the wing also. With the boat on the trailer, I built a framework around it to keep the boat from tilting from side to side once I dropped the bunk boards. Having done this, I jacked up the bow first, put a 4x4 block under the leading edge of the keel, then jacked up the stern and did the same thing. Jacking it up like that was kind of scary, so in hindsight I think Peter is right and I will forget the bottom of the wing the next time! Ernie Rogers s/v Whimsy II
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Bill L
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