The yard is getting ready to bottom paint our O'Day 302 and I got a call last week to "come check out the keel." I've attached some photos of what I found on Saturday.
This is a wing keel and I'm 99% certain it's lead. On the top of the port wing there was a shallow depression where the guys had broken out loose material. It's about the size of two dollar bills and it is about 1/4" to 3/8" deep. After I blew away the dust, it appears the material is rough, grainy, is a whitish color, and it appears to be very solid.
When I checked the starboard side of the wing, I noticed there was an area that appeared to be "bubbled" a bit. The bubbles were about 3/8" high and when I popped one of them, there was a small void under the bubble. Under the void, the material seems solid.
The remainder of the keel is in very good shape. The bottom is smooth with no visible issues.
I've attached a couple of photos of the port side with the void, and a shot of the starboard side with the bubbles.
I'm hoping there's a metallurgist or two on the site. Can lead "delaminate?" Can water get into a void and cause this? Is it likely this has been there since the keel was poured?
And...what do I do to fix this? Do I have the yard fill it? With what? Or do we just put a good barrier coat on it and then paint it? (I've been using VC 17 - this is a fresh water.) Thanks to all of you who can weigh in on this.
This is a wing keel and I'm 99% certain it's lead. On the top of the port wing there was a shallow depression where the guys had broken out loose material. It's about the size of two dollar bills and it is about 1/4" to 3/8" deep. After I blew away the dust, it appears the material is rough, grainy, is a whitish color, and it appears to be very solid.
When I checked the starboard side of the wing, I noticed there was an area that appeared to be "bubbled" a bit. The bubbles were about 3/8" high and when I popped one of them, there was a small void under the bubble. Under the void, the material seems solid.
The remainder of the keel is in very good shape. The bottom is smooth with no visible issues.
I've attached a couple of photos of the port side with the void, and a shot of the starboard side with the bubbles.
I'm hoping there's a metallurgist or two on the site. Can lead "delaminate?" Can water get into a void and cause this? Is it likely this has been there since the keel was poured?
And...what do I do to fix this? Do I have the yard fill it? With what? Or do we just put a good barrier coat on it and then paint it? (I've been using VC 17 - this is a fresh water.) Thanks to all of you who can weigh in on this.
