20220601 Starboard view
Today was the day to pull Swoose out of the water so that the keel could be repaired and the bottom repainted. We got on the boat at 7:15 am and had her at the lift a few minutes after 8:00 am.
The haulout was — thankfully! — uneventful. The damage to the leading edge of the keel looks a little less severe than the photos in the marine survey had suggested. On the flip side, though, something odd is going on with the paint on the keel.
Our contractor is experienced and knowledgeable. However, the strange “boiling” of the paint on the keel has us all wondering what is going on. I increased the contrast on the two keel photos below to highlight the condition of the keel.
Right now, the plan is to fair the surface and paint with new bottom paint. We’ll see how the keel looks at the next haulout. (I will probably use a waterproof housing on a small action camera mounted to a pole to get some views of the keel before the next haulout.)
We’ll also take a look at what is bonded to the keel in case this is the result of an electrolytic reaction.
We have a number of repairs scheduled, including:
The cutlass bearing is wearing. Our contractor says it will probably be fine until the next haulout as long as we aren’t planning on going to Alaska. We’ll defer work on the cutlass bearing unless the dripless shaft seal needs to be replaced. If so, the shaft will need to be disconnected and then we may as well do the cutlass bearing at the same time.
Some of these things I could take care of myself, but as long as it’s in the hands of a professional, I’ll have the pro do the work. If we run out of time to get everything done, I’ll pick up those tasks later.
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Sometimes when you haul out your boat, you discover surprises. Such is the case this time. It appears that a previous keel repair used some kind of filler that required a catalyst, and perhaps not enough catalyst was used...because it didn't cure. There is a rubbery layer that was covered with fiberglass and then painted. The rubbery stuff will have to be removed. Translation: more work needs to be done on the keel than we predicted.
And the holding tank fittings are all loose and in imminent danger of breaking/leaking. Fixing that problem is a must. If, upon inspection, we learn that the tank is compromised (i.e., cracked), this might be the push we need to convert to a composting toilet!