A Motley Crew

Racing begins! And we need a motivated crew. Hence the new flag:

Keel Work

This spring I undertook what could be considered a rite of passage among sailboat owners: refinishing the keel.  The steps (shown in the video below) were:

1. scraping down the keel with paint scrapers (didn't work very well)
2. grinding the keel with an evil-looking twisted wire brush attachment
3. grinding the keel some more with a rough fiber sanding disk
4. more wire brush grinding
5. wash-down with Metal-Ready (phosphoric acid)
6. 3 coats of POR-15 anti-rust paint
7. 1 coat of Interprotect 2000
8. Epoxy fairing compound in hull-keel joint and pitted areas
9. 4 more coats of Interprotect 2000
10. VC-17m on anti-fouling bottom paint
11. Launch, and watch all that hard work disappear underwater