Southerly Keel Cast Iron Corrision

[pandos]

I finally got the keel off my boat. I have a few questions about corrosion and preventing it.

A stainless steel bracket was fitted at some stage, this bracket is what stops the keel dropping too far and anchors the lines which are used to pull it back up. It is submerged when the keel is down.

The bracket is bolted to the top of the keel with 9 m14 mild steel bolts complete with stainless spring washers. The heads of these bolts had completely disappeared.

What I do not understand is that there was no corrosion between the bracket and the keel. I am now wondering what to use to refit?

My thoughts are put it back as it was, maybe with some sort of nylon washer under the head of the bolts and maybe cover them with epoxy, sikaflex or even waterproof grease.?

Or should I put stainless steel bolts?

Southerly left voids in the castings. These are then partly filled with foam insulation boards. When I took the keel and plate off These voids were filled with soggy insulation and a few liters of foul smelling seawater. I am thinking that I should fill these fully, ideally with something that does not take up water such as a resin or expanding foam.. or even sand and cement...

It may not be possible to have the keel sandblasted in the short term . Would it be madness to just wire brush and grind it?

It will need to be treated with rust converter and a few layers of primer, is there an easy to use single pack primer which would protect this, or do i really need to go two pack?

Photos show bracket and headless bolts and voids in the grounding plate.

Thanks in advance..

 

[Tranona]

Can't help with filling the voids. For re-attaching the plate suggest use 316 stainless with a sealant. For the iron casting, grinding is OK but unlikely to get it good enough for epoxy - you need blasting for that, Mixed views on using a rust converter if you have ground it, so just a conventional primer such as Jotun Vinyguard smlmarinepaints.co.uk/products/vinyguard

 

[Concerto]

It may be worth speaking to Iron Brothers as they most likely cast the keel.

Home

Another place worth contacting for advice is Harbour Marine Services in Sothwold as they have completed a number of restorations on Southerly boats. One staff member used to post on this forum in the past but now writes some articles in the PBO.

Harbour Marine Services – Boat restoration services in Suffolk

 

[RivalRedwing]

Might be worth joining these chaps too Welcome to the SOA website : Southerly Owners Association

bet they have seen it all before and can offer good advice

 

[pandos]

Might be worth joining these chaps too Welcome to the SOA website : Southerly Owners Association

bet they have seen it all before and can offer good advice

Thanks, Have joined that, It's a slow forum with many posts going unanswered.

In any case the general advice in terms of the keel is to send it back to Iron Brothers.

This forum is miles ahead in terms of speed and lateral thinking...

For re-attaching the plate suggest use 316 stainless with a sealant. .....Mixed views on using a rust converter if you have ground it, so just a conventional primer such as Jotun Vinyguard smlmarinepaints.co.uk/products/vinyguard

Thanks, Yep, that sounds sensible in terms of the bracket. But I wonder does it shift the risk onto the keel.? The mild steel bolts are in some ways sacrificial...maybe I should I put an anode in there..

Vinyguard is probably the obvious choice, I had forgotten that Jotun have an office about a mile from my home, I'll drop in there during the week, they may have something more interesting..

It may be worth speaking to Iron Brothers as they most likely cast the keel.

Home

Another place worth contacting for advice is Harbour Marine Services in Sothwold as they have completed a number of restorations on Southerly boats. One staff member used to post on this forum in the past but now writes some articles in the PBO.

Harbour Marine Services – Boat restoration services in Suffolk

Thanks. Pretty sure Iron Bros will advise sandblasting or return it to them.. but it is probably worth a call, although I will wait till I have the keel separated from the plate as that may produce more surprises..

Probably won't trouble HMS at this stage, but you have reminded me that the name of the guys who worked on it last may be amongst the papers that are onboard.

 

[Tranona]

Suspect the corrosion on the bolt heads is just rust. Stainless bolts into cast iron is quite normal for keels. The stainless bracket is OK so don't see any reason why stainless bolts and washers set in plenty of sealer should suffer any corrosion.

 

[nevis768]

I was considering buying a Southerly but the recurring keel issues on any lift keeler put me off.

 

[pandos]

I was considering buying a Southerly but the recurring keel issues on any lift keeler put me off.

I think if the job is done properly it should be ok for years...

When I get the parts separated I will probably discover the cause of the jamming and should be able to work towards preventing this going forward.

There are advantages which I am looking forward to experiencing. It's the visibility from the main saloon that really appealed to me.

 

[nevis768]

I think if the job is done properly it should be ok for years...

When I get the parts separated I will probably discover the cause of the jamming and should be able to work towards preventing this going forward.

There are advantages which I am looking forward to experiencing. It's the visibility from the main saloon that really appealed to me.

Yes, very appealing, hope you get it sorted out.