<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV>Hi James</DIV>
<DIV>Others have much more knowledge than I about the keelbolt project (luckily it was already done on my boat before I bought it), but I do have some hard-earned experience stripping bottom paint.</DIV>
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<DIV>I started out sanding with 80 grit. Great excercise, but very nasty and not as quick as one would hope.</DIV>
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<DIV>Then I moved on to chemical stripper. Works like a charm. Get a couple gallons, a putty knofe, and a few of those disposable dropcloths that are paper on one side and plastic on the other. And heavy rubber gloves. Drop cloth goes paper side up so the stuff sticks to it and doesn blow around for easy clean up. Put the stuff on with a big, cheap paint brush, wait 15 or 20 minutes, then scrape off with the puty knife/scraper. The first pass takes it almost to gelcoat, second pass takes the rest off. I'd recommend about 3 feet square at a time, depending on how hot it is that day-you don't want it to dry before you scrape.</DIV>
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<DIV>When done, squirt the bottom real good with a hose, and later clean up with acetone.</DIV>
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<DIV>I left bare gelcoat on my boat (it lives on the hard) but if you're puting new botom paint on, you may want a barrier coat once you go down to gel coat.</DIV>
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<DIV>For keel fairing, there are great directions on the West System website-West is the best stuff, and the best place to buy it is online at Jamestown Ditributors. Way way way cheaper than West Marine. Jamestown also has the longboard if you want it, and is also hte best place for fasteners etc.</DIV>
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<DIV>Good luck</DIV>
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<DIV>Mike Kennedy</DIV>
<DIV>Pariah #146<BR></DIV>
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<B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> James Dilworth (Public Acct) <info2@dilworth.org><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> tuna@myfleet.org<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Wednesday, April 1, 2009 9:26:15 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> [Santana 22] Fairing Keel / Temp Slip in SF<BR></FONT><BR>Hi all,<BR><BR>I'm hauling my boat at Berkeley Marine Center tomorrow to replace what's<BR>left of my keelbolts, and to fair the keel. I thought I'd throw out a an<BR>offer, and a few questions to the Tuna community :<BR><BR>1) OFFER - My slip in Gashouse Cove will be empty for probably a week or<BR>two. I'd be happy for someone else to use it while my boat is out of the<BR>water. It might be a nice change of scenery for those of you who sail out of<BR>Vallejo, Oyster Point etc... Last week's sunset sail was out to Point<BR>Bonita, and the good wind is always right
there! - Just let me know.<BR><BR>2) QUESTIONS - I've spent many hours before bedtime reading about how to<BR>replace keelbolts, and fair the keel. I'm probably a good armchair expert<BR>now, but am still walking into it with a few questions :<BR><BR>- Is Steve Seal the guy to go to for keelbolts ($195), or is there somewhere<BR>online that sells the same thing for less? <BR>- If so, what size are the bolts?<BR>- What's the best way to strip the bottom paint off the keel?<BR>- Is it worth dropping the keel?<BR><BR>I'll be working at the boat weekdays and weekends, so please feel free to<BR>drop by and say hello if you're passing Berkeley on the freeway!<BR><BR>Hoping to be back in the water for the Rites of Spring. <BR><BR>James<BR>#618 ... Now called 'Pip'<BR><BR><A href="http://www.dilworth.org/" target=_blank>http://www.dilworth.org/</A><BR>+1.415.342.1350<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Tuna mailing list<BR><A
href="mailto:Tuna@myfleet.org" ymailto="mailto:Tuna@myfleet.org">Tuna@myfleet.org</A><BR><A href="http://myfleet.org/mailman/listinfo/tuna" target=_blank>http://myfleet.org/mailman/listinfo/tuna</A><BR></DIV></DIV></div><br>
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