Keel Rust

[Ted A.]

I have just purchased a 1983 H34 and the keel is in atrocious shape. The rust is way out of control. I'm planning on having it sand blasted and then refinishing it. Has anyone used the commercial Cold Galvanzing paint that is available in industry? The boat will be fresh water only and I was considering using the high zinc galvanizing paint and a coating of interprotect 2000. Any thoughts?

 

[Steve Dion]

Don't think you need to do that much.

Ted:Was this boat in saltwater before you purchased it? I do not think that you need to go that far with the keel restoration. I think if you just follow the instruction on the interlux site, you should have it whipped.Having it sandblasted is really the way to go. Once you get it primed and sealed it should be good for many years to come. It may be a different storey if you lived in saltwater.

 

[Ted A.]

No,the boat has never seen salt water. The problem may be that here in Ohio the rivers and tributaries carry a lot of fertilizers from the farm fields. I've heard that this is tough on many parts on boats.

 

[Paul Bryan]

prime and seal

Ted, Just sand, prime and seal. I had a 25.5 with lots of rust. I sanded off all the rust and cleaned it with fiberglass wash (interlux). I then filled in the low spots with watertite, sanded smooth and sealed with interprotect. That was over 7 yrs ago and I still see the keel is clean, no rust at all.On my 34 I sand the rust spots, prime with rustoleum, light sand and seal with watertite. If it's a large area I will also seal with vc-tar. Some folks just prime it and leave it, but I like it smooth.Paul Bryanh34, WhisperIIISodus Bay, Lake Ontario, NY

 

[Barry]

Rust Keel - h34

Been doing keel battle for about 8 year now on the exact same boat in fresh water. Perhaps you can learn from what I've done (what not to do)Initially I used a power grinder with a stiff wire wheel and stripped the entire keel to bare metal. After talking with Interlux I coated the keel with 5 coats of VC Tar which I used on the hull for a barrier coat. Rust reappeared after two seasons so I stripped the keel again and coated it a Petit product called Rustlok. Had similiar results and rust spots came back. Last spring I sand blasted the keel and coated it with West Epoxy an hour later. Then I covered the epoxy with a layer of fiberglass cloth, more epoxy, some interlux 2000 epoxy paint and finally some bottom paint. Looked good after one year. I'm headed to salt water this year so that will test it.Ultimately I spent a lot of time on a problem which for the most part is cosmetic and does not affect performance of the vessel. Rust never sleeps so I'm sure I'll end up touching it up again.Barry