Rust spots on my Pearson P26 cast iron keel

Mar 29, 2020
1
Pearson P26 P26 Lake Norman Sailing Club
What is the most efficient (effective) why to repair rust spots on my cast iron keel? Also, notice the mounting seal where the keel attaches to the hull is worn. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

Attachments

Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Almost all external keels develop a crack where the keel joins the hull. This is a really difficult place for any sealant or solution. For boat up north or those that come out of the water in the winter, the differential expansion rates of the keel and the hull start the crack. Sailing puts a lot of force on that joint and also causes the cracking.

Ask 5 different sailors about these cracks and what to do about them and you'll get 10 different answers from don't worry about it to you have to drop the keel and rebed the keel. Any solution should include checking the bolts to see they are properly torque. This has to be done when the boat is out of the water and sitting on its keel. As for any other fix, it is hard to tell by photos.

Dealing with rust will require grinding the rust off, priming with a metal primer and then several coats of epoxy barrier coat and then bottom paint. Depending on how extensive the rust is it can be done as a spot repair or take the whole keel to bare metal. If you do the latter, it will give you a chance to inspect the keel hull joint so you can narrow down those 10 solutions to just a handful.

On the keel, pick a paint company and follow their procedures from start to finish, don't take short cuts or you'll be back at it in a year or so. Also, try using a copper free bottom paint. The iron in the keel can react with the copper in the paint depending on the formulation. Copper free paints, like Petitt Eco are environmentally a better choice.
 
Feb 19, 2020
15
Beneteau Oceanis 38 Newport R I
Hey Mickey, You got a great boat. small issues like you have are no big deal. My P26 is a 1972, had it since 1974. Kell is a problem every year. I have been using a filler on the blister to seal the location. Scrape it or grind it down to prep. I have tried many other solutions including grinding it down, and sealing with premium paint. Nothing really works to stop rust. Rust never sleeps. I have used calking on the seam also. That continues to appear on a yearly basis.

My advice, Just get out and sail that boat like you stole it. Don't worry too much about those things. They will return. Let me know if you have any questions I can help with. I"ve sailed my P26 for 45 years.
 
  • Like
Likes: NYSail
May 13, 2020
1
Pearson P26 Hingham
Hey gents, fellow P26 owner here with a rusty keel. Can you provide some additional detail on the products you use both for filling the blister and re-caulking the keel/hull joint? Thanks
 

RitSim

.
Jan 29, 2018
406
Beneteau 411 Branford
I did this on a P26 more than a few years ago. I used a pneumatic needle scaler to remove the paint and rust. I had a compressor that I wheeled into the car and never removed at the boatyard - just ran hose. IMO this is the tool to get into all the dips and dimples. A disk grinder will only clean off the mountain tops. If you can, get the yard to spread a tarp completely under your boat before you start - makes cleanup a dream. Of course- goggles, filter mask and coveralls are a must.

I then washed all of the rusty spots with Navel jelly - then rinsed - this converts the rust to another compound. Then I used four coats of Pettit 4700 - alternate colors if you can for each coat. I got a hold of some large syringes and mixed the paint accurately ( don't mix the syringes from can to can).

I faired with pre-blended micro-balloon fairing compound - taking care to not sand any part of the layered primer.
Good luck
 

DougM

.
Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
Rust blisters developed on the iron keel of my Bene323. That turned out to be a common problem with some due to a manufacturing defect that Beneteau could not or would not stand behind. It was enough of an issue that the keel appeared to have a case of dime and quarter sized measles.
Being retired and having more time than intelligence, I ground off all of the defective keel coating, primed the bare iron, applied several coats of interprotect2000, then The first coat of VC17 while the last coat of interprotect was still slightly tacky. That was six or seven seasons ago, and no signs of blistering.
I am glad I didn’t have to pay anyone to do it, but it is not a project that I would care to repeat.
 
Feb 19, 2020
15
Beneteau Oceanis 38 Newport R I
I had stripped my keel down to bare metal, used a 2 part sealer from one of the major boat paint co, don't remember which one. that worked for a short time then rust broke through. The reason bridges are always being repainted and rusting is because they can't find a way to stop it either. "Rust never sleeps" Cover with filler and sand fair and forget the rust it's not going anywhere. Go Sailing.
FYI
My 1972 Pearson is for sale if anyone is interested. Contact me for info