Belzona Rebuilds 112 Year-Old Yacht Hull

KHIA ID: 7770
Industry: Marine (MRNE)
Application: SOS-Ships and Offshore Structures (SOS)
Substrate: Steel
Customer Location: Washington, USA
Application Date: May 2018
Products:

Belzona 1151 Smoothing Metal


Problem: Several areas on the hull were corroding and getting thin. The front port side was thinning from wet/dry action due to being tied to a dock for a couple decades. The port side propulsion area was suffering from minor cavitation and erosion in the seam areas of the original riveted hull which had been filled with lead.
Photograph Descriptions

1. The Sarah Elizabeth Banks, formerly the SS Fire King

2. In dry dock, ready for repairs.

3. Port side hull application complete.

4. Port side propulsion area application complete.

Application Situation
Hull rebuilding on a 112 year old boat.
Application Method
The hull coating was removed and the application areas were grit blasted. The areas were then treated with Salt-Away to remove the impregnated salt from 112 years of sitting in saltwater. The areas were then blasted once again just prior to the application. Belzona 1151 Smoothing metal was mixed in several batches as there was one large area, and several smaller, detailed areas to work on. The Belzona 1151 was completely hand applied and finished using a Belzona applicator and a 10" steel putty knife. The Belzona 1151 was allowed to cure, and then over coated along with the rest of the hull with a standard hull coating anti-fouling material.
Belzona Facts
Areas of the hull had already had doubler plates welded to it many years prior. The owner, who happens to be the ship builders grandson, did not want to go through the time and expense of welding, and then relieving the heat stress of the welded plates. Using Belzona allowed for considerably less time in dry dock, which saved him a fair amount of expense. The application was inspected by a yacht surveyor who reported the application had returned the hull quality back to excellent condition.