Rust work under waterline.

[JackLondon]

Would love your wisdoms.

I'm a newbie, and about to bite
off as much as I can chew.

Here is a video with the situation.
https://youtu.be/yxM9UguPcLQ

She's in the water and the
engine needs a rebuild.

Would love your estimate
how much time in the yard?

... also, a ballpark budget to save
and restore her below waterline.

I haven't yet accessed the entire
inside hull, but assume this
is the worst of it... But not all of it.

Begs the question,
has she been flooded?

Previous owner is
a man of few words.

Appreciate your input!

Thanks so much,
Most obliged.


Jack

[skipperpete]

Your video of the hull corrosion is less than encouraging but of course it can be corrected ....... however the question is, how badly do you want to fix this boat? Because I see a lot of weeks and months with a needle gun, cutting torch and welder.
When I was welding up my first steel boat a guy lifted a 60’ motor sailer out and started a rebuild. I was horrified by the amount of rust (way worse than yours incidentally) in the hull but he seemed unfazed and went to work stripping the interior from keel to waterline and then replating the entire bottom. It took him a year and he did an amazing job......... then had many years of cruising before selling the boat and moving ashore.
His rig, engine and above waterline hull was in excellent condition so it was worth the effort.
So to answer your other questions.
Without knowing the full extent of the plate and stringer wasting, a year in the boatyard would be a reasonable assumption
The cost depends on what country the boat is in, labour is affordable in some Asian countries but Europe is very expensive.
The same country related costing applies to steel plate and welding consumables
Rebuilding the engine and possibly the gearbox is a major expense, the shaft and sterntube look very shabby as well.
I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if the bilges had been flooded at some point.
Assume that there is more corrosion than you’re seeing..... Chain locker, forefoot, tiller flat, keel box, under the icebox, sterntube and under the engine are a few of the usual suspects.

[JackLondon]

I'm in Byron Bay Australia.

The yacht was last hauled out two years ago.

I'm confident the damage is exclusive to the engine room with potential for additional areas of concern elsewhere, but I doubt anything like the engine room is seeing.

The previous owner rushed and botched their last haul out by the look of it.

I'm basically counting on getting her for next to nothing.

50 foot ketch. Topside is fine, not amazing, but not a rust bucket.

I'd be hopeful to repair the engine room and the engine and have her back in the water to tinker thru the rest of the years of work.

But if it's a year out of the water I'm screwed.

I was hoping for a month max.

Cheers for the reality check.

[skipperpete]

Haha, I built my first boat at Ballina and the work on the 60footer I mentioned took place where the netflix studio is in Smith drive. I’m up in Brisbane at the moment.... away from the Covid. PM me if you need local info, especially welders and marine engineering.

[psk125]

Video reminds me... rust never sleeps. Why is the engine room the only trouble spot? Perhaps other areas were simply painted over. Have you measured the thickness of the plating all over the hull? If you can hire enough workers they could likely have the engine room section done in a month. Beware of finding additional issues that will need attention though, and take longer to fix.

[Fore and Aft]

Jack London 50 foot steel ketch that needs work and your getting her for next to nothing. Your going to find out there is no such thing as a cheap yacht. Is the engine fixable or worth fixing? If not then a new engine usually means new engine beds and prop. That's your month on the hard gone before you even address the rest of the issues. What about the age of the rigging and where are you going to do the work? Most yards I know require insurance before they slip you. Where will you keep her once finished? I am just curious as right now I am watching a customer burn through a small fortune on 50 foot steel yacht that he purchased for $10,000. The worst bit is when he's finished the yacht it is nothing special. He could have got a way better yacht if he had just paid all he has spent in one lump sum.
Cheers

[hpeer]

It is really hard to say from the video how bad things are. Rust expands a LOT so you can see a good bit of rust but still have a enough.

OTOH sometimes rust sort of runs through the grain of the steel and what initially does not look too bad is really pretty well shot.

The only way to tell is to get in there and start cleaning and not be gentle about it. Just get all the rot out, and follow where ever it takes you.

To do an assessment you need a good flashlight, a big screwdriver, a hammer, and a bad attitude. Beat the stuffing out of it. If it fails, well is was no good anyway. You can’t break broke.

You can do a lot in a month, if you get right at it.

In my experience the most likely spots foe rust are the chain locker and the lazarette. I would look real hard in those areas.

I would also look hard at difficult to reach spaces. Likely they have recieved little attention.

Best of luck.

[Fore and Aft]

JackLondon if it is the multi coloured steely on Facey you will have to post some more pictures.
Cheers

[sengland]

Agree with hpeer.
+ the good thing with surface rust is its very unlikely to sink your boat. Looks like somebody has used some rust converter on there. Unless its structural (does not appear to be so) it wont be too bad assuming the corrosion started from the inside not the outside. Do you know if water settles there?
I'd asses the engine situation $$$ and then start grinding way to shinny metal. Keep an eye on metal thickness left. (you can buy ultrasonic measurement gauges for ~$100, that work great, see Amazon) See how much you remove. Hopefully its just surface, but if you grind through to the outside then your talking cutters, welders and $$$.

[Stewie12]

Hammerite Paint is specially formulated to be applied directly onto rusty metal with minimal surface preparation. Simply remove any loose rust with a wire brush or coarse sandpaper and clean the surface with brush cleaner & thinners and allow time to dry. It will save you a lot of time and money.

[Russ]

My 35 yo Steel cutter has NO rust of that degree INSIDE anywhere. IF she was flooded and you must assume she was, the wiring is also toasted more likely than not. I'll vote fr a year easily based on my own routine haulouts for general care. That engine deal alone will take easily a month not to mention a new shaft and gland and coupling it appears. IF you have FREE yard space ( usually costs more than the materials and MY own work) and lots of time and she is FREE. well MAYBE.
PS
NONE Of that rust converter stuff works, been there many times, grind down to BARE metal (Or replace the panel) and prime with Ameron(Now PPG) 235 Epoxy Primer.
remember that rust and flakes you're picking off the bilge floor plate is the only thing between you inside the hull and the ocean!

[psk125]

Originally Posted by Russ

e with Ameron(Now PPG) 235 Epoxy Primer.
remember that rust and flakes you're picking off the bilge floor plate is the only thing between you inside the hull and the ocean!

That's what struck me with the suggestions to not be gentle going at the rust with a hammer & screwdriver. It's one thing to hammer through a thin patch of hull and hit air. It's entirely different to have it go through to water. The OP stated that the boat was AFLOAT.

[Russ]

Yeah psk125.
His best bet is to haul it and get a professional to ultrasound/audio gauge the hull. Assuming he knows building specs i.e. metal thickness at construction, it's a no-brainer re which plates are going or gone and should be replaced. Hammer and pick on land to be sure. It amazes me how thin a section of the hull will float a 55,000lb boat like mine.
Besides, he'll never get that bilge clean unless he sandblasts. Needle guns etc just can't hit the edges of the stringer and welds which have rust by the video.

[Pete7]

Jack good luck and thought you might like this:

Pete

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfe-...=SailingMelody

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by JackLondon

I'm in Byron Bay Australia.

The yacht was last hauled out two years ago.

I'm confident the damage is exclusive to the engine room with potential for additional areas of concern elsewhere, but I doubt anything like the engine room is seeing.

The previous owner rushed and botched their last haul out by the look of it.

I'm basically counting on getting her for next to nothing.

50 foot ketch. Topside is fine, not amazing, but not a rust bucket.

I'd be hopeful to repair the engine room and the engine and have her back in the water to tinker thru the rest of the years of work.

But if it's a year out of the water I'm screwed.

I was hoping for a month max.

Cheers for the reality check.

I would guess the year estimate was on the conservative side. Maybe you can get the seller to pay you to take it off his hands. JMHO