Keel Hairline Cracks

[Roger Blake]

1998 MKII. I'm prepping the bottom for a barrier coat. Thought I'd skip doing the keel since it was lead...so I was just doing a light sanding when I noticed small hairline cracks in the paint. I sanded down to gelcoat and found the cracks there. Sanding further revealed unseen cracks under the gelcoat (hadn't penetrated the gelcoat yet). I have found 3 layers...gelcoat, light tan layer, light blue, then the lead. In some cases, the hairline cracks appear to start in the bottom layer (light blue). So, do I need to take it all the way down to the lead and then apply a barrier coat...or can I just apply the barrier coat over the gelcoat (i.e. will the cracks find their way thru eventually). Thanks. Pic attached. P.S. the area in the pic is not representative of the entire keel...it is just one of the worst areas and where I took it down to lead and revealed the different layers (bottom left of photo).

[Jon Schneider]

Even though you're way past the five year CY warranty, I think you might want to contact them about this.  There's clearly a chemistry issue here (or so it seems to me).  I also feel like I heard about some barrier coating issues that CY had at some point, though it may have been earlier than 1998.  Worth a call.  I wouldn't expect to have them make you whole after 10 years, but maybe they'll help in some way (if only in expert advice).

[karista]

Had a very similar situation from day one, except worse. Catalina did not accept the yards repair estimates I provided. Their position was, its base, is lead so all you need to do is sand the affected areas down to the lead core, cover it with either a good barrier coat or fairing material and that was it. They provided a little ($)help to do just the minimum. Since then, more and more section of the keel covering has come off, which I repaired. This clearly suggest when Catalina finished the keel they did not etch it correctly so there was never a chemical bond. Fortunately it is not difficult to repair it.

[Roger Blake]

Thanks to all. I spent today investigating further and have found the problem is throughout the keel. Looks like its time to take it down to lead and start over. If I get anything positive from Catalina, I'll post it.

[dave davis]

My boat is a 1988 and on the second haul it was loaded with blisters on the keel. I ended up removing all the layers and had to grind down to the lead. The good part of this story it gave me an opportunity to do some much needed fairing which helps performance. The CY gave me a few $ and suggested that I should just sand and paint. They felt that it was not necessary to sand all the way down to the lead, but I did it anyway
Dave

[Ted Pounds]

Do NOT just sand and paint.  You want to put a good quality epoxy coat on the keel (I used VC Tar).  And when you do follow the directions carefully as to primers and washes etc.  After the epoxy you can use fairing material (I'm partial to WEST System products).  But if you sand through the epoxy coat  you must re-coat the lead with the full process.

[Roger Blake]

Just wanted to close out the event. I talked to Frank Butler directly...OK, that was pretty cool. Concerning the hull, according to Frank, my 1998 boat (and many others), there is a barrier coat between the gelcoat and the fiberglass...so need no need for a barrier coat on the outside of the gelcoat. I went ahead and sanded down to the gelcoat, put on the barrier coat (5 gallons...on top of the gelcoat), 1 hard coat, and 2 ablative coats. Frank did state putting the barrier coat on top of the gelcoat wouldn't hurt and could only help. Concerning the keel, since my boat is past the warranty and there is no risk to the keel (it is lead after all), no $$s available to fix the problem. Frank recommended just painting the keel. To get the boat in the water...I did just that...put on a hard coat and 2 ablatives. At the next haul out, I'll strip it down to lead, put on a barrier coat, hard coat, and ablative coats. Now, on to more pressing matters, like, why has the bilge pump failed to come on automatically and replacing broken dutchman guide lines...