The only problem with a steel boat is that it rusts. You have to keep the coating in perfect shape or the salt will get to the steel and your beautiful boat will start to weep rusty tears everywhere. Over the last 6 months we have has our share of bumps and scraps with the docks and posts along the way down here and now, the hull has some areas that need to be worked on. Since I’m doing the painting up top I might as well do the hull repairs too. Repairing the hull is a bit more involved though, first you have to scrap the offensive area to get down to the steel and then wire brush off the rust.
Then, a coat of epoxy goes on to adhere to the steel and seal the hull. This is followed by a build up coat of thickened epoxy that is sanded and refill and sanded and refilled until it’s perfectly smooth. You follow this up with layers of paint until it looks good again. If things go well, I will only have to climb into the dinghy 5 or 6 (or maybe a dozen) separate times to do these patches to the hull. I’ll keep you posted.
Good reason for hanging onto the old dinghy!
ReplyDeleteHave the solar panels arrived yet? Think of all that power...
I thought you beached the boat at high tide then used the windlass to pull it over on its side. This way you have full access to he bottom. I assume there might be problems in the
ReplyDeletegalley and latrine!!