This may be a silly question, but. . .

[Chris McLoughlin]

This fall I plan on removing the bottom paint on my Hunter Legend 37.5 so that I can barrier coat the bottom in the spring.The boat was surveyed in 8/00 and had no blister s at that time, so this is a preventative rather then a repair measure.My question is: since the winged/bulb/ fin is lead, do i have to do that portion as well?ThanksChriss/v Tidesong

 

[Steve Dion]

Cast Iron or Lead?

Chris:If you have a cast iron keel, you will want to strip it down to shinny, bright metal and seal it too. This can help prevent rust from forming. I do not know what products are recommended for the keel, but I believe that they are different for the barrier coat for the bottom.You may want to look this up on the Interlux site and see what they recommend.

 

[Mike Linstrom]

Not the question but maybe the idea

I'm not an expert and you may have a good reason for what you're doing but I haven't heard it yet. Unless you've already done this before, I suggest you get some input from people who have before going ahead with this very serious project. If you have no blisters and the paint is adhering to the substrate, why remove it? I recommend some light sanding or scraping of any loose or flaking paint and 2 differently colored coats of the best ablative anti fouling paint that is compatible with what's already on your boat. By the way, if that keel is iron you have about 30 minutes after all the paint is off to get a coat of Interprotect or some other primer on. That's on a dry day.

 

[Jim Maroldo]

Fefinish the Keel

Chris, whether the keel is lead or iron, the link below (click on Boat Painting guide) will give you the info you need on refinishing. Just do yourself a favor here... don't get creatve! Just do as Interlux says, and you refinihing job should last for years. Mike is right, too! You must have everything ready so you can begin painting IMMEDIATELY after sandblasting. Have fun!Jim Maroldos/v: Lil' Wass Ett

 

[Ed Schenck]

Worth piece of mind?

Most will say that a boat that has no blisters after three or four years PROBABLY never will. My 1979 H37C had no visible blisters in 2000, only several layers of very old paint. I wanted the piece of mind so I stripped her to bare glass(by hand). There were less than fifty pencil eraser size blisters. I filled those after cleaning, they were dry. Then I applied six coats of Interlux 2000E. It was lots of work but the bottom is waterproof, a good feeling.