To ready the keel for welding I needed to clean off the bottom paint so I could identify and remove the epoxy that was covering any rusted areas as well as get rid of any diesel that was in the tank.
I used the mesh sanding screens that are used for drywall sanding to remove the bottom paint. I clean the screen in water and wet sand the keel. This keeps all the toxic paint in the water which can be discarded with other toxic chemicals. I got the main rusted areas uncovered. When I tried to remove the diesel I discovered that the diesel level was already below the pickup tube. I inserted a .25" copper tube down the pickup tube to get the remainder of the fuel, but it clogged up the copper tube, so I was unable to remove the additional contaminated fuel in the bottom of the keel. I'll see what Kenny wants to do about that next time.
The other project is to attach the TackTick wind indicator to the top of the mast in two positions: first at the very top so it will give accurate information on any point of sail, and second in front of the mast about a foot below the top so it will give good information only when pointing to windward, but won't be in danger of being damaged by a low bridge (unless it is really low). The RayMarine wind instrument attaches to the rear radar mast and is inaccurate when close hauled, so having the TackTick in front of the mast and the RayMarine at the stern of the boat will give me accurate data on all points of sail.
I previously had made a bracket that extended above the top of the mast, but while it worked, it blocked the tricolor mast top light. I was able to take the original bracket and using a small piece of it off the top make a very simple bracket that attaches to the top of the mast under the tri-color light using the same machine screws, and taking the old bracket's bottom section, the piece that attached to the mast, make a second bracket that attaches below the top using the same attachment holes. I'll post pictures next time I visit the boat.
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