Keel Question

[SantaCruzin]

I currently have my WWP14 up on stands so that I can paint it (just finished stripping, sanding, two coats of bottom paint primer, and two coats of topside paint on the hull...still need to tackle the deck, cabin, and put the bottom paint on). While it's up, I'm wondering if any maintenance should be done to the keel? I dropped it down a bit just to take a look at it and it's pretty grungy...I was thinking I would sand it down to smooth it out a bit, but I'm a bit worried about how much metal I might lose.

[Phil]

I'm by no means an expert but it seems to me that if it's pick-marked with rust then you've already lost "metal".  I would sand or grind it just to take out any high spots and then maybe fill in any divots with some sort of fairing compound or epoxy putty before spraying the whole thing with a rustoleum primer and maybe cold galvanizing spray.  Although there are some folks who say "just sail it" and that does have some merit, I think doing "something" to arrest the decay would be better than doing nothing.

[Eric Zilbert]

I have kept my p19 centerboard in shape by periodically doing exactly what Phil suggests. I grind off the high spots, and use metal etching primer to paint it. Has worked for 25 yrs. Hard part is emptying boat of everything to grind and paint the board, then cleaning up the mess.

[Bud]

I assume your daggerboard is not galvanized. Mine is, and after 22 years it has no rust.