'Blacking' a Narrowboat ... Question ?
Trevor George
plate, as I'm told that being away from the light and air there isn't the requirement
for it to be blacked, as minimal corrosion or electrolysis will take place. (I think
that's what was said)
However I've seen many local Narrowboats in Bristol Docks (a very slightly salty
water) having the bottom blacked as well.
Is there a hard and fast rule as to whether to black the bottom as well?
I'd be interested to hear if you paint your bottoms black, or leave them 'naked'.
--
Cheers ..... Trevor George, Bristol, UK.
Ex-Narrowboat - http://www.OnMyBoat.co.uk
Home - http://www.PoolesWharf.com
Mike Stevens
> Hi all .... The Narrowboat I am purchasing has its sides blacked but
> not the bottom plate, as I'm told that being away from the light and
> air there isn't the requirement for it to be blacked, as minimal
> corrosion or electrolysis will take place. (I think that's what was
> said)
If you'll be using the boat mainly on canals, I see little point in blacking
the bottom plate since a few shallow moorings & crud in bridgeholes will
scrape it clean.
--
Mike Stevens
nb Felis Catus III - back again in Paddington Basin
web-site www.mike-stevens.co.uk
No man is an island. So is Man.
furnessvale
Mike Stevens wrote:
> If you'll be using the boat mainly on canals, I see little point in blacking
> the bottom plate since a few shallow moorings & crud in bridgeholes will
> scrape it clean.
Years ago my surveyor gave me a very good bit of advice on the subject.
When the boat is in dry dock go under and look at the bottom. If it
is rusty and "blebbed" clean and paint it. If it is scraped and shiny
don't bother as that is what will happen to your nice new black.
Steve King
<t...@REMOVE-THISonmydoor.co.uk> wrote:
>Hi all .... The Narrowboat I am purchasing has its sides blacked but not the bottom
>plate, as I'm told that being away from the light and air there isn't the requirement
>for it to be blacked, as minimal corrosion or electrolysis will take place. (I think
>that's what was said)
Surely it's obvious that the main reason bottom plates of new
narrowboats are not blacked is that the boatbuilder cannot get a paint
brush to them as the hull has been built directly on the workshop
floor? 'Out of sight, out of mind' might be his maxim. Then, when the
boat is craned out on completion there isn't time to paint the
underside and wait for it to dry as the lorry is wating to take the
boat away. And it's a messy job that no-one wants to do anyway. So a
story is peddled that it doesn't need to be done - which of course is
true in a way, because by the time the bottom has rusted badly the
guarantee will have expired and/or the boatbuilder will have ceased
trading and cannot be held responsible.
Narrowboats most certainly do suffer deterioration of the bottom
plate. The company I worked for purchased a 1978-built Malcolm Braine
hull in 1989, one of Johnson Brothers open working boats. The combined
pitting from inside and out during a mere eleven years in the Caldon
Canal required the hull to be re-bottomed. The pitting from underneath
was up to 3 or 4mm deep.
Certainly, the deterioration of the bottom plate will normally be much
less than that of the side plating as there's much less scope for weed
growth etc in the darker water underneath. But to say that any
blacking will all be scraped off when the boat is used is complete
rubbish (sorry Mike!), it just doesn't happen. You might similarly
expect when the boat is docked that the propeller will be bright and
shiny after churning through all that debris in the water - but it
never is, is it?
I think it depends how much effort you are prepared to make to
preserve your investment. I would certainly paint the underside of a
new narrowboat given the opportunity, perhaps at the first docking if
not initially. I did this to my own boat and the wasting of the anodes
slowed markedly. Think of all that bare steel underneath acting as a
battery! Leave the bottom unpainted if you like, you'll probably sell
the boat long before it becomes a problem, but we shouldn't perpetrate
a myth that it isn't worthwhile doing the job!
Steve
Electricky Dicky
<st...@voxhumana.servefree.co.uk> wrote:
Snip
>I think it depends how much effort you are prepared to make to
>preserve your investment. I would certainly paint the underside of a
>new narrowboat given the opportunity, perhaps at the first docking if
>not initially. I did this to my own boat and the wasting of the anodes
>slowed markedly. Think of all that bare steel underneath acting as a
>battery! Leave the bottom unpainted if you like, you'll probably sell
>the boat long before it becomes a problem, but we shouldn't perpetrate
>a myth that it isn't worthwhile doing the job!
>
>
>Steve
I totally and completely agree with the whole of this post, (snipped
for Sue ;-) )
Richard
Nb "Pound Eater" Parkend G+S
Trevor George
> If your bottom plating is 10mm or more and dry inside, it's quite
> possible that it'll last as long as the rest of the boat even without
> regular painting.
Thanks to everyone who has replied in this thread. It's given me some guidance (and
hopefully others)
As it's a newish (2002) 10mm bottom plate and looks in VGC I think I'll use the
Narrowboat this season, then do a haul-out next Spring to see what prevails.
If the slightly salty water of Bristol Docks, or any other ingredients, have had a
detrimental effect on the bottom plate, then it'll be a mucky weekend for me and kids
with a can or two of blacking.