Bill Burke
Plymouth, Mass
Boat Name: Irish Wake
Model/Year: Catalina 22, 1983
Hull No. 11499
Hailing Port: Plymouth, Mass |
 07/31/2009 12:03 PM Pacific Time
Can someone clarify what this is and why its needed? And then gently break the news to me about what my keel will look like after sitting in the ocean all season long without one?
Bill |
Howard Friedman
Pisgah Forest, NC
Boat Name: Forspacious Seas
Model/Year: Wing - 1989
Hull No. 14907
Hailing Port: Lake Keowee-Seneca, SC |
08/01/2009 5:22 PM Pacific Time
The keel, hinge pin, and pin brackets are all made from different metals. Stick them in salt water and you have a galvanic reaction. The low man on the totem pole is the keel. Catalina recommends that you place a tear drop shaped zinc on the keel as close to the hinge pin as possible without interfering with the full range of motion. The zinc will then be the sacrificial anode thereby saving the keel from corrosion around the pin. This is a relatively easy task. Zincs are cheap. Locate the position of the zinc and drill a hole through the keel for the connecting bolt(1/2 zinc on each side of the keel). Make sure the zinc has good metal to metal contact with the keel and don't paint the zinc with bottom paint.
Check it every year and replace it when it gets worn down. Use some anti-corrosion grease on the bolt end by the nut so removal is easy.
If you don't use the zinc, eventually the pin hole in the keel will wear away and require rebushing, a far more labor intensive job. |
Lynn Buchanan
Nevada City, CA
Boat Name: SAILYNN
Model/Year: SWING 1984
Hull No. 11994
Hailing Port: SCOTTS FLAT LAKE, CA |
08/01/2009 10:21 PM Pacific Time
Great explanation and advice. |
