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pfduffy
Captain

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USA
317 Posts
Initially Posted - 05/12/2009 :  20:09:15  Show Profile
I am new to this forum as I have recently acquired a 1984 swing keel. The boat has been kept in the water from May to November in the Barnegate Bay in NJ (Lanoka Harbor for those who know the area.) According to the PO (my father-in-law), annual sanding of the keel, coating with rustoleum and an ablative bottom paint is a necessary evil to maintain the cast iron keel. At the end of the season, the keel is completely rusted and the sanding, rustoleum and bottom paint routine is repeated.

Is there any way to slow the annual deterioration of the cast iron in this environment. I am considering the use of a product called por-15 (http://www.por15.com/) which is supposed to stop rust. I would then either bottom paint or perhaps fair / coat the entire keel with a slightly thickened epoxy and then paint.

Of course, this year, I just plan on continuing what he has done and sailing the boat.

Thanks in advance for your advice!
Pat Duffy
1984 SK/SR #4113
Slàinte
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dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts
Response Posted - 05/13/2009 :  04:27:26  Show Profile
Pat, welcome to the forum and to the class of '84! Mine is also a SK, and I'm in fresh water. We also have a C-22 SK. We did go the sandblasting route with the C-22, but that was to get it ready to be a race boat after buying the C-25. We had the keel blasted, re-coated to fill holes, etc. and then painted with VC offshore epoxy. but it's now a trailer boat. As to the C-25, I just scraped and wire brushed the keel last summer, one year after the initial bottom job when we bought her, and applied multiple coats of bottom paint. I may have to do it again this summer. I don't have the equipment to drop the keel and haul it to be blasted, and we don't have a marine service yard on our lake.
check the archives here for other threads on the subject.
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 05/13/2009 :  06:48:07  Show Profile
Welcome, Pat! I didn't have a cast iron keel (and have no keel now), but I've used Rustoleum Rust Reformer on older cars--it seemed to do the closest thing to stopping rust in its tracks and preventing it on bare metal, and worked well as a primer coat. I suspect POR15 is something similar. Rustoleum <i>paint</i>, by itself, is no match for rust on iron living in salt water. Most bottom paints, if applied directly, will exacerbate the problem--copper and iron don't play well together. I'm not confident of epoxy--it doesn't change the characteristics of the metal, and any little crack will allow rust to blow it off.

I would try a couple of approaches at once--one on each side of the keel, and see how they compare at haul-out. (...unless you fear the boat will sail crooked. ) The net of it is cast iron in salt water is going to rust to some degree, but you should have enough to keep the boat upright for another couple of hundred years.
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glen
Captain

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359 Posts
Response Posted - 05/13/2009 :  09:28:48  Show Profile
I found some good information for you on the web. Thank God my boat lives in fresh water, all I have to deal with is the scum, muck, E coli, slime, gunk,crud and zebra mussels http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=146280&page=3
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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts
Response Posted - 05/13/2009 :  13:21:12  Show Profile
I had my keel sand blasted, filled, and three coats of Interprotect - it looks good so far. I inspect it annually and touch up areas that need it with epoxy.
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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts
Response Posted - 05/13/2009 :  13:25:53  Show Profile
forgot to add: I did the keel on my previous boat with Rustoleum's rust boding paint and two coats of Rustoleum and it looked great after 3 seasons with no interim maintainance, but that was freshwater only.
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pfduffy
Captain

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USA
317 Posts
Response Posted - 05/14/2009 :  20:00:58  Show Profile
Thanks everyone!
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.