Steel Centerboard Restoration in a "Trailer Sailor" "Swing Keel" Sailboat.

Learn with me as I remove rust, fill craters, and prime and paint the 180 lb 2'x4' steel plate used as a centerboard in my Aquarius 21 trailer sailor, solo.
Video Credits
NASA
Music Credits
Old Nick's Laundromat - Trees of Mystery
Increased Chances - Chitlins, whiskey, and skirt
Butchie and Billy - Trees of Mystery
This One - The Brownies
DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert or professional at this type of work. I am learning as I go, and my goal is to help you learn what not to do so you can save time and money.

[@omnip0d]

A friend and I bought a 1971 Venture 21 and we're going to have to pull our keel and remove the existing fiberglass and remove all of the rust, it almost looks like the plates are delaminating! Thanks for documenting your process, hope you're having fun with your boat!

[@DellaDeLobos]

LOOKS LIKE A PIECE OF ART...

[@mynextprojectglenn]

I agree.

[@john1boggity56]

This is such a useful post - I'm about to buy an Investigator 563 (small trailer sailer - I live in Australia) and the centre board is sitting separate to the hull. You have answered all of my questions. I've got this :)

[@martyb3783]

Great job. It looks great. I am sure it was a good learning experience for you. I certainly learned allot!

[@user-gg6om8vp4f]

I am looking at some large Irwin sale yachts, which all had swing keels and most of them have been lost in people retrofit just for the solid Keel. But lie that they ever had a swing. Keel.

[@jimlofts5433]

the ospho probably has phosphoric acid in it - the acid combines with the rust (ferric oxide) and steel to create ferric phosphate which is inert and doesn't rust with a black appearance In Australia it is called Ranex and can also be used to clean stainless steel

[@liamstone3437]

I have to wonder about the ccost of a piece of plate steel cut with cnc plasma or water saw would cost compared to the consumables you used.

[@myboatprojectaquaris]

That is a good point. I have no idea.

[@martyb3783]

I wondered the same thing. I have no idea either.

[@timburnett6729]

Great job bro

[@brentmarzan6793]

Thank you for posting just got a 14 ft with center board and not impressed with it

[@SteelDoesMyWill]

A $150 Sandblasting bill would have significantly decreased your time invested as well as consumable material cost, but most importantly would give you 1000X better mechanical adhesion of the epoxy sealer & fairing. The shiny surface left by the wire wheel is bad ju-ju when expecting epoxy to really grab.

[@myboatprojectaquaris]

Thanks for the feedback. I didn’t know that about a wire wheel.

[@mynextprojectglenn]

All of the blasting I looked into was more than $1,000.

[@benkanobe7500]

Was there an existing keel bolt bushing you drove out? Did you drill out the hole and then insert the new bushing?

[@myboatprojectaquaris]

There was no bushing. I inserted one because the hole in the keel was rusted and didn’t have as much material as it did originally.

[@hansjas]

Kudos for attacking the job !

[@leigholding1397]

🤣😅haha

[@farmer998]

epoxy without cloth has no more strength than glass.

[@mynextprojectglenn]

Facts

[@arneherstad2198]

Not everyone deserves a fifty-year-old centerboard.