Bottom of Keel

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sophie4

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My boat gets craned in at the same time as many other boats, it all gets a bit hectic and there is no time to treat the underneath of the keel with anything that needs more than 5 mins drying time. Any ideas? Walrus lard with chillies perhaps? It seems a shame to leave that part untreated. I know I should have some how raised the boat up and done small sections at a time but I was lucky to manage at all given weather/time constraints. 1min to apply, 3 to dry. I'm sure someone must know the answer.
Thanks in advance.
 
I favour the "Slap it on and pray" technique - not sure you'll have much choice.

Running aground on a regular basis also keeps the keel foot pretty clean.
 
We all have the same problem. Yards are usually considerate about it. Keep back a dribble of antifouling and a brush, slap it on when the boat is aloft. Often applies to the squares left by the cradle supports in addition to the keel.

When I launched my second boat I antifouled everywhere except the cradle squares, as the general rush of a crane launch prevented any such activity. At the end of that first season those squares were clean and the rest was like a marine forest. Nothing's as good as it used to be!
 
Yep, if you leave a old pot of a/f & a brush under the boat, our yard "touch in" the cradle squares for you.

Mind you, for the money they charge, they should gold plate the blimmin' thing...
 
Similar thing happened to me, except I antifouled with Blakes cheapest and didn't leave any for the "squares". A friend gave me some of his expensive stuff to do them with, but at the end of the season you couldn't tell where the squares had been.
 
Same problem with me and presumably many who club together for a crane to save costs.

If you can scrape the bottom of the keel quickly as you come out of the water it gets rid of the worst build up of marine growth and rust flakes (if any). I either use a paint scraper or a piece of wood - only takes a few seconds.

When you launch, if you have had a chance to scrape as above, the base of the keel is often in fairly clean condition and is less likely to be damp (unless it is raining of course). Most if not all of my club members then slap on a quick coat of the same antifoul they are using on the hull. Despite being wet when it goes in the water, enough seems to stick to make it effective.
 
Occasional grounding on the shingle bar of the River Deben or Ore seems to remove the worst of any growths.
 
Don't worry about not havng time for the touch up to0 dry. You will find it will not be ideal but will be OK. I have often relaunched after less than an hour for the whole boat with no detriment to performance of the A/F. olewilll
 
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