Anti-Fouling Etap 22i drop keel.

[alpha7]

Excuse the innocence but in second year of ownership of an Etap 22i drop-keel trailer sailer. On a trailer for the winter but I keep it on a swinging mooring for the summer. Now need to anti-foul on what is a fairly okay previous anti-fouling coat. Do I need to use a different type of a/f for the keel as distinct from the hull?

 

[William_H]

The only reason to use a different A/F is cos the keel is made of different material to the hull. AFIK the only material that needs a different A/F ie no copper is the aluminium of outboards stern drives or yacht drives. If your keel is made of cast Iron or steel then ordinary (copper) A/F is OK but of course it will need a good surface of paint system to discourage rust.

Just waffling my keel is a vertically dropping keel. (of F/G) I can paint about the top half from inside the cabin wyhere it goes up to the cabin roof above the cb case whci is about 60cm high.
the bottom half of the keel is done by pushing the boat back on the trailler about 50cms until the keel is over a gap in the rollers. It is then lowered onto the ground. if I jack up the trailer a bit or better pull it up on car ramps I can paint the bottom half. Of course I can't afford to have much paint build up as the slot is quite tight. It is a bit tedious but it is good to be able to do everything at home without aid of cranes etc. Yes A/f around here lasts about 2 to 3 months in theb warmer weather. good luck olewill

 

[alpha7]

Thanks William. Not exactly in the tropics in Ireland so I probably will get away with one coat. Load off my mind and more in my pocket!

 

[seumask]

We too have a lift keel made of iron and use the same AF on the hull and Keel, I'm sure you will be fine doing that. The only real issue is the build up over the years making the keel tighter in the slot.

 

[alienzdive]

You may be thinking (but possibly not relevant) why some keels have different antifouls to the hull.

Often the antifoul is the same brand, but racing boats occasionaly have for instance a black antifoul hull and a white keel, Black has a higher copper content by volume and will last a little longer. When a rope or other fouling gets caught around the keel it is often difficult to see or visually detect its presence on the black back ground. For this reason occaionally keels are painted white (but the same brand) so s to give a background colour that makes fouling more visual.