Life’s a Blast!

[Pelagic]

I am a very happy guy. When I bought Stargazer, the bilges were like new but I always wonder what the bottom of this 28 year old Corten Steel boat looked like bare naked!

Well I finally managed to get sand blasting allowed at the local yacht repair yard here in Subic and brought her down to new steel. ( 2 nights of blasting and 2 days of priming)

Beautiful! Less than 1mm thickness below her original scantlings (measurements) and the steel is flawless.

Very fair except where the round-stock transitions to flat-bar at the bow and we used only about 1.5 gallons of fairing below the boot stripe.

My hat is off to this old Dutch Builder and I look forward to another 28 years.

Strange the things that get’s a boat owner excited these days!

[Boracay]

Congrats on getting what can be a nasty, messy job done well.

Would you be able to give some indication of the cost? Might have to do it myself some day.

[James S]

Pelagic...thats a big job done...congradulations.
How long are you going to be in Subic?
I'm planing a trip in a couple weeks.

[Joli]

She looks great! Glad it went well and you'll be back in the water soon.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Congrats on getting what can be a nasty, messy job done well.

Would you be able to give some indication of the cost? Might have to do it myself some day.

Cost about Usd 1k for set up / blast and first coat of prime.... all done in 2 days

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by James S

Pelagic...thats a big job done...congradulations.
How long are you going to be in Subic?
I'm planing a trip in a couple weeks.

Hi James.....Too bad I will be away on business at that time. ... hope you enjoy subic!

[David M]

Losing that small an amount of plate is excellent. What primer and filler was on there? What primer and filler is being applied?

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Joli

She looks great! Glad it went well and you'll be back in the water soon.

That's the good news.

A while back I caught a big floating line in my prop offshore one night (while motor sailing) and it wrapped around the stern gland stalling the engine.

Next morning I cut away what I could then the rest at anchor

My shaft is running in a large grease bath so only about 1" is outside...never saw any damage when cleaning the prop only after all the old paint had been blasted away and saw that the line had crushed the lip that holds the grease seals.

We had to destroy the old stern gland to get it out so are making up a new aluminum bronze one

Luckily the shaft is ok.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by David M

Losing that small an amount of plate is excellent. What primer and filler was on there? What primer and filler is being applied?

Not sure what was on there before David over the years but I am putting International commercial products back on now.

The plate loss would be due to the blasting and I am sure she has been blasted before over the years.

That minor loss I attribute to the higher tensile strength of Corten steel when being blasted.

This is what I am recoating with and the small amount of filler is the International 830 which can be used above and below


The very best thing about this exercise was to confirm to me that it was unnecessary.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

The very best thing about this exercise was to confirm to me that it was unnecessary.

Great quote.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Congrats on getting what can be a nasty, messy job done well.

Would you be able to give some indication of the cost? Might have to do it myself some day.

I got my old steelie sandblasted below the waterline at Tin Can Bay marina. Cost for the sandblasting (actually they used garnet) was $750.

To have it done in NSW is more hassle and expense. You have to put the boat in a shed to do it. Which means the rig has to come off.

In QLD it can still be done with just screens around the boat. But that could change anytime...

[hpeer]

Mine's in Bonavista, Newfoundland (Canada - East Coast) and I can't seem to find someone there to do the job. Hell, in a port with 40 to 50 commercial fishing boats you can't buy a gallon of resin.

She will have to wait until I get her to a more proper port to get the job done. But, at 25 years, I think she needs it. I have found a lot of little blisters with rust underneath. I sand off the paint, clean up the steel, and recoat with Ameron zink epoxy top coated with their suggested top coat. I think (hope) I have gotten ahead of the issue until I can get the whole bottom done. I've probably sanded and recoated 20% to 30% of the bottom. It seems it is much worse in some plates than in others. Probably a preparation and/or application issue.

I hope my story works out as well as yours. I know I have some corrosion in my keel as it was fitted with a stainless water tank and it was impossible to keep all water out. Last year I got rid of that and now have a flexible Platisimo under a settee plus quite a bit in jugs.

I would be interested in what you chose for a paint system including anti-fouling.