Bavaria 30C. hauled out.

[Bavnav]

Hi. Our Bav. 30c. is out of the water, having the sail drive seal replaced, engine oil leak repaired and antifouled. The seal and engine faults will be carried out by a professional.. I will do the antifouling etc. The hull did not appear to bad, with some barnacles and some on the prop. There are some rust stains on the keel. When I have rubbed the keel back, would it be worth priming with something like Hammerite or normal anti fouling primer? I am going to use International Uno on the hull. Any suggestions, please?

[Trapeze Artist]

As my boat (also a Bav 30) wasn't hauled out for the first time until she was four years old, there was understandably rust on the keel. Each time I have hauled out in my ownership, I have found some rust has come back. I scrape/abrade back to bare metal where necessary, apply Jenolite, then underwater primer, then antifoul. In my heart I would love to strip the entire keel back to bare metal and epoxy it, but life's too short. I'd rather go sailing.

[battuta]

Yup, my 2009 B31 similarly always has some rust at the bottom of the keel (tough area to properly deal with and antifoul without extra lifting, as inevitably some of it is on blocks). I think this is a reality of a cast iron keel, and is mostly a cosmetic issue.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it - just do what you can and throw it back in the water. The rust will almost certainly be there again next time you haul out...

[Bavnav]

OK. Thanks for the suggestions. I will follow suit and look for Jenolite. Yes I understand about the epoxy bit.
Bavnav

[stevem]

I have over the years completely cleaned my keels back to bare metal  a number of times,  derusted with Jenolite then two coats of primer and finally anti fouled.
But I  have always found  the rust to creep back I  believe it to be better to rub down the small rust ptches each year and treat them as described above. Remember, with nature you are always fighting a rear guard action. You can only slow the process down.