Bill Longyard
Winston-Salem, NC
David Kautz wrote:
>
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> West Wight Potter Website at URL
> http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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> Yesterday afternoon I decided that the time had come to remove and
> refinish the centerboard of my P-15, something I've wanted to do since I
> bought the boat about 9 months ago.
>
> My P-15 was built by HMS sometime around 1987, I'm told. It is one of
> the variety that has a painted steel plate and also has two concrete
> blocks in the bilge. I weighed the centerboard once I got it out and
> it's just over 70 lbs. One of the concrete blocks was already loose and
> the other needed only a little persuasion so I weighed them too - the
> pair are 23 lbs. So, combined, I'm not too far from the advertised
> 100lbs.
>
> I'm tempted not to replace the concrete blocks. Positioned where they
> were, it was near impossible to sponge water out of the keel recess
> where it collects in front of the CB trunk. I think it has been
> mentioned that both the earlier AND later Potters do without the
> concrete "pigs" - is the centerboard heavier in those boats? If the
> ballast is really necessary, what about replacing the concrete with
> something else that could be removed quickly to dry the bilge?
>
> The motive for refinishing the centerboard is, of course, because it is
> rusty. The rust is primarily concentrated in two places - the bottom tip
> where it has struck things and around the slots cut for the pivot. This
> second area was rusted so badly I had a tough time getting the
> centerboard to disengage from the pivot pin. There was enough corrosion
> in the normally unused portion of the slot that it had gotten too small
> to allow the pin to pass through. Some scraping and a lot of
> back-and-forth and it eventually succumbed.
>
> I've stripped the old paint off, Naval Jellied and ground out the rust
> ane now have a bare steel centerboard in my garage. The question I have
> is "What to do next?":
>
> Paint it like before and repeat this exercise in 10 years?
>
> Scrap it and buy a brand new galvanized one from IM?
>
> Try and find some one who could "hot-dip galvanize" my present CB
>
> Spray it with the "galvanize-in-a-can" stuff?
>
> I'm curious whether anyone has experience with that last item. The
> manufacturers claim that their product is in excess of 90% zinc after it
> dries and will work as a sacrificial anode the way that conventional
> galvanizing does. Is this for real? Will the stuff adhere?
>
> Anyway, if those of you who have done this project (or one like it)
> before could help me with some advice, it would be much appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Dave Kautz
> P-15 #1632 "Tilly Lucy"
> Palo Alto, CA