cementing in steel ballast

the Departure 35 plans have the ballast as steel and concrete.According to T Colvin's book,you just clean the steel,give it a portland cement wash,then add your steel/concrete and smooth off the top surface.Is this still the way to do it?Also, I would like to cement wash a void space in the aft end of the keel before closing it up.I read the posts about pozzolans and can use them if need be.

 

Hi John,

On our dead wood area we just welded it shut. We also have a plate welded on top of our ballast to seal it up. I think welding a plate above your cement ballast would avoid any chance the water could find it's way down in a crank or void. T.C's book is excellent, but some sections are a bit dated (coatings).

Cheers,
Mark