Painting the Bottom

[David10310]

Spring is here and it's time to begin the process of painting the bottom of my Hunter 31'.My question is regarding the point where the keel attaches to the hull. Current paint seems very thick (almost seems like a space between keel and hull) although there is not. Should I remove the paint in that area? I do not plan on removing all the paint, but painting over.Next time should be easier, I hope, this is the first time I'll be painting in my 1-1/2 year ownership. Any help will be appreciated.David

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

Horns of a dilemma

"Current paint seems very thick" could mean the paint is over a sloppy and still-soft caulking job, or that there is some liquid in there. Have you been getting water in the bilge? Coming up from the keel bolts? Are the keel bolts solid or shakey? If you answered yes to any of these, it's possible you've got a joining problem. Now is a good time to scrutinize. Dig out the stuff between the keel and the hull and see if it's caulk. Ask around the yard and show others your situation. Could be you just need a better joiner.

 

[pimerese]

Hunter 31's have a history of this

Read the archives... all H31's have this problem due to the cast iron keel (even mine!). The transition area between hull and keel continuously erodes. You can glass it in and it will rust and erode within a season or two. The best treatment I have found is to clean it out well and fill the gaps with Epoxy putty. This lasts longer, but it too will also eventually fall out. The "thick" paint might be the previous owners attempt to beef up the standard patching repair. Good luck.

 

[Daryl]

Keel Joint

You could easily waste a lot of time on this concern. I spent many hours cleaning, filling and faring the joint only to have the brittle epoxy filler crack in a season or two. Filling the seam with 3M 5200 won't be as pretty but will last much longer. Go sailing and forget about it