Rusted Keel fix

I am wondering if anyone would like to offer their opinions on my plan to recoat this rusty keel. I am a beginner. Also, it was a free boat and I want to get it on the water for the rest of the season ASAP, it is a short season where I live. If you have an idea for how to get it on the water sooner, please say so. It is on the trailer and I cannot find a local place that will lift it for me, and so I cannot sandblast it. Sailing is not common here. I did find some stands I can rent and I intend to lift it a few inches off the trailer so I can reach the bottom plane of the keel.

How does this plan sound?

1. Grind the whole keel. Take off anything loose. If it doesn’t want to come off, leave it. (i have done this step.)
2. work the joint: [timing: nothing to worry about here]
   1. Clean the joint very well between the keel and the hull.
   2. Sand with 80 grit around it.
   3. Chisel out any loose stuff in the gap.
   4. Sand within the gaps very carefully.
   5. Air blast, then wipe.
   6. Fill with 3M 4000 and scrape to level with hull and keel.
   7. Question: how do I prep the fiberglass around this?? I think I don’t for now, but need to before fairing.
   8. Tools needed: 3M 4000, caulk gun, plastic scraper, 80 grit sandpaper, grinder, air gun and compressor, lint free cloth
   9. note: the keel bolts were only slightly rusty, it will be connected to an anode, there is no reason to believe there was leaking.
3. The very rusted and peeling parts of the iron keel; [Timing: Be ready to do all the steps together through the barrier coat.]
   1. Grind rust again with 80 grit.
   2. Air hose
   3. clean and degrease
   4. POR 1st coat with roller or brush
   5. Apply second coat when still tacky, the finger drag. 4-5 hours. or sand with ___ grit if cured completely.
   6. Tools needed: cleaner, degreaser, POR, roller or brush, something to keep the rim clean so I can reopen it for a second coat
   7. Questions: What kind of roller or brush?
4. Ospho on the rest of the keel [Timing: Best if within a day after sanding. I live in the desert, there is very little moisture in the air.]
   1. Tools needed: Ospho, applicator
   2. Questions: What is the application tool? Can it touch the POR?
5. Barrier coat;
   1. Cover with Total Protection epoxy by Totalboat.
   2. Questions: Is there any other prep besides Ospho? Do I need to thicken it or thin the totalboat? With what? How many layers of totalboat? Will these stick to all the materials?… old fairing, sanded paint, ospho treated iron, and POR15?
6. Filling with 3M Filler
   1. Tools needed: 3M filler, applicator, cardboard for mixing??
7. Paint it with Spartan. [Timing: not sure. I think it needs to be close to barrier coat]
   1. Tools needed: roller, pan, ???
   2. Questions: What is the timing painting onto barrier coat? Can I paint just the keel and fairing, or would it be dumb to not just paint the full hull? What fiberglass prep needs to be done? How many coats?

 

Realistically you only have two options and I highly recommend nr. 2:
1. Trust the keelbolts in wich case what you have already done is enough, give the keel a coat of cheap primer and antifouling and go sailing. Provided you still have a boat and a keel when the season is over, proceed to option two.

2. You don't trust the keelbolts and need to drop the keel now. Whatever the original bedding was it has failed, the keelbolts will look approximately the same as the keel and need replacement. Once you have taken the keel off, it can be sandblasted and coated by any metal shop.

There are many ways to drop the keel, the easiest is to rent a crane and just lift the boat leaving the keel on the trailer (prop it up beforehand). Smaller boats can be jacked up in stages using a car jack, etc. It would help to know dimensions and weight of the boat as well as what equipment you have or are willing to buy.

 

Grinding is a waste of time and material. Also, it removed good steel and leaves dimples of rust. A quicken and more effective way is to sandblast. There are nozzles that can be used with a pressure washer to slurry blast and not make a lot of dust. You should at least remove a couple of bolts for inspection. Bolts are cheap so just break them if they are seized.

 

You need to consider a few points before proceeding.The top flange of the keel appears to be in a recess in the hull and if it has been bedded with one of the sealants that has good adhesive strength it will be challenging to break the bond.On the other hand,such a bedding compound does make the attachment less reliant on the keelbolts.As gonzo has said,bolts are cheap and it would be wise to remove one or two to assess their condition.If they look good you have been very lucky and if not you can replace them and forget about the keel dropping off accidentally for a while.I fear that even if you find a crane operator willing to lift the boat,it will take longer than you might think to separate the parts and this gets expensive in terms of crane time.If the boat isn't leaking you could elect to replace the bolts and deal with the rust in two stages.First you could attack the surface with a needle gun and then apply some good primer-followed by the antifouling of choice.After the season is the time to try for a nice finish and you can fair the surface until it meets your needs.For keels that may need to be removed,I have long had a preference for butyl rubber mastic-not tape,the stuff that comes in a tube.It doesn't set hard and the keel can be dropped fairly easily.The reason for this will become apparent if you try dropping your keel and find that something more permanent has been used.The keel bolts are partially redundant with a really good bond and it can be just about a permanent bond.A proper keel trolley is a good thing to have if the keel needs to come off as they are too heavy to take risks with.Something like a six foot by four foot base with two braced uprights on each side and some wedges to secure the keel ought to be enough.Decent wheels at each corner are a good thing.

 

I have re-bedded keels by holding the hull on the stands and lowering the keel with car jacks. You only need 4 or 5 inches of space to be able to remove the old bedding. To keep the keel aligned and from falling, remove a couple of bolts and add a long threaded rod with nuts on the holes.

 

I did mine off the hull, with hull off the trailer. I sanded it with poly-carbide disks, coated with neat epoxy wire-brushed into the bare metal (per West system suggestions), coated with epoxy plus West 422 barrier coat additive, then 2 coats paint. 5200 and new mounting bolts, nuts, washers to join painted keel to hull. Also added a new cable and hardware to the swinging blade. Add: mine was not peeling or flaking so I did not need to fair, etc.