Blacking our Bottom

We’re at Caggy’s Boatyard on the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) near Tipton to black our bottom.

All narrowboats have a black coating on the hull to protect it from rusting away too quickly and from electrolytic action in the water.  This gradually wears away as you use the boat and the hull needs blacking again from time to time.  Opinions vary greatly about how often it needs doing, but typically in the 1 to 5 year range.

Our hull was first blacked and put into the water 2 years ago and after 6 months build it was given one extra coat of blacking 18  months ago, just before we took it over.

Now, after two summer’s use, seemed a good time to apply more blacking.  We had intended to do it a little earlier but this was the first gap in the bookings for the dry dock, which is now booked through to next June.  I was eager to see just what state the hull was below the water line which is impossible to see normally.

I cruised to Caggy’s on Tuesday and went into the dry dock as soon as another boat was let out on Wednesday morning.  The gate was sealed behind and the water pumped out.  Three hours later we were sitting on the blocks on the bottom.

What would it look like?

Surprisingly good was the answer.  The third photo shows the worst part of he hull where the rust was starting, and there was lots of green along the waterline.

The first job is the pressure wash where I made sure I stood well behind when I held the camera.  Water and bits of all sort of stuff came of the hull and went everywhere.

I’d made sure all the doors and windows were closed but, as I watched, I wondered if I should have put the plugs in the sinks and washbasins as I watched water go up the outlet pipes.  Fortunately it was OK as nothing came too far up the pipes.

Then a look at the same worst area of the hull after pressure washing and it looked almost the same as the rest of the hull.  For some reason, the exposed metal hull around here, for about 6 feet of the length of the hull was bright shiny polished looking.

All the rest of the hull looked similar with the same amount of metal hull exposed but looking dull colour.  I wonder if anyone can explain this - is it a hint of electrolytic problems?

Finally, after letting everything dry overnight, it was time to start the blacking.  I got to do all the fiddly bits at the stern, like under the swim and inside the weed hatch, and all along the top edge where it meets the blue while Christine did the rest.

It was easy to see where we had blacked today as we worked along but tomorrow may be difficult seeing where we are as we paint black over black.

Posted on Thursday, November 27, 2008 at 20:47        Comments (0)
Category(s): BCN , Build our Boat

Four Counties Ring DVDs are released

We have just released the Four Counties DVDs.

Just as for the Llangollen Canal there are two DVDs - in Popular and Bowcam format.

The Popular format is a cross between a holiday programme and a documentary with a touch of history all presented to entertain.

The Bowcam is filmed from a forward facing camera and is edited to provide a continuous high speed view of the whole ring.

Both travel anticlockwise around the ring from Autherley Junction.  Starting on the Staffs & Worcester Canal, then the Trent & Mersey, the Wardle Canal, the Middlewich Arm and the mainline of the Shropshire Union Canal.

I’ve tried putting short extracts onto YouTube so you can see how they look yourself - but please be aware these are very low resolution and quality compared to the originals.

Both versions are available Combined in one box.

Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 19:16        Comments (0)
Category(s): Four Counties Ring , Middlewich Branch , Shropshire Union , Staffs & Worcester , Trent & Mersey