Keel joint work

[Bob Poff]

Due to issues (life, work and health) my poor H34 has been on the hard for the last five years with only cursory walk around inspections when I was in town on business (two hours from home). I'm now at the point that I want to get her fixed up and back in the water next spring. Today I was in town on business, and carved out some dedicated time to give her a better look over.

On the leading edge of the keel I found what I first thought was a Crack. But I think what I'm seeing is just the hull/keel joint where the fairing compound has flaked away. Pictures attached.

When repairing this, should I try to fill the space between keel and the hull?

I'm figuring to grind away the remaining fairing compound from the area. Apply a rust inhibitor to the cast iron. And then put down a few layers of epoxy filler. You can see some of the other areas that also need done.

Comment and suggestions?

0

 

[dLj]

For filling keel cracks I really like West System g flex 655. Clean out well, get rid of rust and anything loose, then fill and fair with the 655.

For the rest of the keel, get all the rust out as best you can - several ways to do that. I like Ospho applied onto the cleaned metal - follow directions carefully. Then apply what kind of sealant on top. Epoxy works - depends what you like to work with. Any questions, just ask...

dj

 

[jssailem]

Seems like a sensible plan.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

A few people have stated that the key to keeping rust away is to seal it as soon as you remove it. As in minutes, not days. Those people also recommended multiple coats of epoxy based sealant. That's about all I know about iron keels

 

[Indysailor]

I can't offer more than what others will contribute, except to say that the story of someone getting through life, work and health issues to resume sailing is unequivocally a good thing!

 

[Bob Poff]

A few people have stated that the key to keeping rust away is to seal it as soon as you remove it. As in minutes, not days.

That's true. A friend of mine had a sheet metal shop. They primarily constructed steel equipment cabinets. Had a problem with paint not adhering. Turned out the metal was flash rusting in the time it took to move it from the welding rack to the paint shop.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

That's true. A friend of mine had a sheet metal shop. They primarily constructed steel equipment cabinets. Had a problem with paint not adhering. Turned out the metal was flash rusting in the time it took to move it from the welding rack to the paint shop.

I guess the metal wasn't going through wash/etch baths before being painted? I'm not terribly familiar with it but I have seen a few powder coat operations that go through 3-4 baths before just before paint is applied

 

[dlochner]

To treat the keel it needs to be brought to bright metal and coated with Ospho or similar rust treatment. TotalBoat sells a product that is similar to Ospho. Clean a small section, treat with rust preventive, move to the next section, repeat.

Once the keel is fully treated, then coat with 2-3 coats of epoxy based primer. Finally, apply antifouling paint.

For the crack, @dLj West System Gflex is preferred. It is flexible and less subject to cracking. Take a look a the West System website for more guidance.

I've been using TotalBoat products on a steel hulled boat, and am pleased with the results so far. They also have good tech support.

 

[marcham]

It will involve removing all old primer, fairing and rust. Once down the bear clean metal, you will need to immediately prime (follow interprotect 2000 instructions). Then fair and paint.

Concur on gflex for the joint....

 

[shemandr]

I really hate to tell a guy, who's just getting back into sailing, to do more work first. But I think the whole keel needs to be taken down to bare metal and treated. It could be done in sections as suggested. But spot treating it and leaving some areas untreated will have you back at it in very few years. On the positive side the job done right will increase your re-sale value.
Maybe you can sub out the stripping. The yard or contractors could manage the environmental hygiene , personal protection and disposal issues. That would take a lot of the pain out of the job. It should be 4-6 hours of labor i.e. under a boat unit.