The port side keel was badly corroded along its bottom edge but the rest was solid so i have ground out the rust and bolted a 6mm x 75mm plate on each side of it. This will also add about 22lbs of ballast on each keel which will be a good thing. The plates and keel are painted with red oxide primer so they should now last a few more decades.
It looks as if the boat was kept on a drying mooriong at some point with the paint being ground off as she dried thus causing the corrosion along the bottom few inches of keel.
The bolts were in perfect condition but unfortunately it was quicker to cut the heads off than undo them so new ones are going on.
Hi were the keels made out or steel or iron? How much did each weigh without the plate?
ReplyDeleteThanks!