Rust

 

On a steel boat in salt water, rust is enemy # 1. It’s a constant battle to keep the Snow Goose covered with a tight layer of paint so that the salt can’t reach the steel. The paint on the chain plates has started to fail and they are all bleeding rust stains down the side of the Goose.

So, while I’m sitting at anchor I thought that I’d have another go at them. With 13 chain plates on this boat it will be a multi day endeavor. I have to “un pin” the rigging to the mast to get to the rusty chain plates which (of course) makes the mast unstable but since this anchorage is a quite one and the mast will only be loose for one day I figured that I’d be safe and proceeded into the job. It’s not that the work to clean the rust off is that hard it's just tedious.

First remove the retaining rings

Then unscrew the turnbuckles

Pull the cotter pins

knock out the clevis pins

and the stay is loose.

After un-rigging the mast you have to chip the rust away, sand the chain plates and then put on 5 coats of paint, 3 of them a specialized rust inhibiting paint.

Yuck!

Use a chisel and hammer to chip rust

Then sand off the remaining rust

Good stuff for covering steel!

Every layer must go on after a certain amount of time so as to chemically tie to the layer below.
So, all day long at 1.5 hour intervals, I went up on deck and carefully painted another layer on to the chain plates.

Ta DA!

Afterwards, they looked much better and hopefully they last much longer then the last time. Four down, 9 more to go.