Paul Browne wrote: <<The hull construction is riveted galvanized steel, built in 1965. There is a lapped seam just above the water line which is rusting. I don'tthink there is need to worry about structural integrity yet. Right now theboat is in fresh water, but she'll taste salt water when I sail her homenext week. Once she's where I can work on her, I plan to haul her and put a goodfix on the problem.If anyone can comment on proper means of treating the existing problem andpreventing further damage, I would greatly appreciate it. I <<don't need asuper glossy finish, just a good workmanlike job. Since no one's responded in a couple of days, I'll take a stab. As usual, there are several approaches, depending on how much $ and effort you want to spend, and how long you want the fix to last. A good workmanlike job would be to power wire brush the rusted areas severely, until most all the rust is removed, leaving some small pits and a slightly scaly appearance. If rusting is severe, sanding with a disc grinder may be required. Then spray the cleaned area with a can of cold galvanizing compound, used to repair galvanized metal. The good ones are very heavy, due to high zinc content. When this dries thoroughly (overnight), top coat with paint to match the boat, or leave bare if the boat is bare (but left bare it won't last as long). The gold-plater job would be to hire a sandblaster to blast all signs of the rust away, then pay to have the surface flame-sprayed with molten Zinc/aluminum alloy. This process is used by many of the best steel boat builders. Costly, but maybe worthwhile if the rust is extensive and you plan to keep the boat a long time. == Mark Richter, M.E., aboard M/V Winnie the Pooh custom Morgan 46 Trawler. Homeport Stuart, FL lying Stuart, FL through Feb 1. "Mark's Mobile Marine" electrical & diesel repairs _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com