Interesting remains of steelwork

[LEO]

I had my boat re-blacked recently and came across this piece of steel which had been cut out and was being replaced (Errrr not on my boat fortunately). It was the bottom of the gas locker and adjoining integral water tank. New steel work was in the process of being welded in. The boat looked well kept. 

 

Water had been entering the locker via the drain holes.

 

 

[PaulJ]

Bet his(or hers) tank wont last as long as it did between refills and coffee will taste better now ?

Edited April 26, 2019 by PaulJ

[tree monkey]

It is after seeing photos like this I now paint my gas locker on a reasonably regular basis, foul disgusting dark stinking job that it is

[Bee]

That's scary. Wonder how old the boat is? Integral tanks are probably not so common as they were but I guess the conditions for corrosion were very good. I think the lesson is to avoid water traps, a gas locker should not corrode like that if its got a decent lid. Mine gets a bit of rain in it, mostly because I made the lid but its well painted and is still sound. Worth checking integral tanks thoroughly too, especially along the 'bulkhead' part, if that rusts through it will leak the whole tank into the boat, if the tank is holed as well it will leak the whole tank plus the canal into the boat, some of our boats are a bit elderly now, need to take a deep breath and look in those dark musty corners.

[Alan de Enfield]

18 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

It is after seeing photos like this...…………………...

That the BSS introduced gas locker checks.

 

On one of my boats it was getting a 'bit corroded' and the examiner suggested putting 2" of concrete in the bottom - but - ensuring the drain hole remained clear.

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Bee said:

That's scary. Wonder how old the boat is? Integral tanks are probably not so common as they were but I guess the conditions for corrosion were very good. I think the lesson is to avoid water traps, a gas locker should not corrode like that if its got a decent lid. Mine gets a bit of rain in it, mostly because I made the lid but its well painted and is still sound. Worth checking integral tanks thoroughly too, especially along the 'bulkhead' part, if that rusts through it will leak the whole tank into the boat, if the tank is holed as well it will leak the whole tank plus the canal into the boat, some of our boats are a bit elderly now, need to take a deep breath and look in those dark musty corners.

 

On many boats the drain  holes to let the gas out of the gas lockers are close to the water line, particularly when the water tank is full. Water gets in that way, rather than through the locker lid.

Edited April 26, 2019 by cuthound
drain holes, not ventilation holes, doh

[LEO]

7 hours ago, Bee said:

That's scary. Wonder how old the boat is? Integral tanks are probably not so common as they were but I guess the conditions for corrosion were very good. I think the lesson is to avoid water traps, a gas locker should not corrode like that if its got a decent lid. Mine gets a bit of rain in it, mostly because I made the lid but its well painted and is still sound. Worth checking integral tanks thoroughly too, especially along the 'bulkhead' part, if that rusts through it will leak the whole tank into the boat, if the tank is holed as well it will leak the whole tank plus the canal into the boat, some of our boats are a bit elderly now, need to take a deep breath and look in those dark musty corners.

The boat did not look that old and was generally well kept. Original steel thickness of the lockers was 4mm . I think the main fault was the water storage tank taking up all of the bow area and I suspect condensation exacerbated the problem. The two boats I have owned have had self contained free standing tanks and I have not seen rust problems like this.

 

The Engineer was doing a brilliant job of physically getting into the small area, cutting steel out and welding in new steel bulkheads and floors.

[matty40s]

Stowe Hill boats are renowned for having an integral water tank that juts by 3" into the gas locker. 

This is the bit to investigate,  either hammer or screwdriver, to make sure your water tank isn't being filled from the canal.

[dmr]

6 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

On many boats the drain  holes to let the gas out of the gas lockers are close to the water line, particularly when the water tank is full. Water gets in that way, rather than through the locker lid.

With a full water tank our gas locker drains are just above the water line, but any turbulence when filling a lock puts a lot of water into the gas locker. Epoxy is the answer here.

 

...............Dave

[canals are us?]

A 23ft springer water bug that we have was overplated in 4mm steel in 2017 by the previous owner due to pitting, and when we bought, the gas locker drain was on the water line or under if someone is on board. The extra weight of plating and new fireplace and stove etc have added extra weight.

Plan to get the boat blacked this summer, have hole welded up and re-drill new hole higher up and rust treat floor and install new gas locker floor higher up level with new hole. May modify locker lid higher to fit a larger gas bottle at the same time.

Then a outside paint job.

 

James.

 

 

[NB Esk]

6 hours ago, canals are us? said:

A 23ft springer water bug that we have was overplated in 4mm steel in 2017 by the previous owner due to pitting, and when we bought, the gas locker drain was on the water line or under if someone is on board. The extra weight of plating and new fireplace and stove etc have added extra weight.

Plan to get the boat blacked this summer, have hole welded up and re-drill new hole higher up and rust treat floor and install new gas locker floor higher up level with new hole. May modify locker lid higher to fit a larger gas bottle at the same time.

Then a outside paint job.

 

James.

 

 

Not saying not to do that but won't raising the drain holes mean you have a large area, now undrained, that is potentially full of gas?

 

Ah, too early for me, see you plan to raise floor to match up, disregard first sentence.

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by NB Esk
Got up too early.....

[Alan de Enfield]

7 hours ago, canals are us? said:

May modify locker lid higher to fit a larger gas bottle at the same time.

I guess she will be looking for another job soon.

 

More seriously - it is not just the lid - you will need to increase the 'gas tight' height of the sides so that it is continuous to above the height of the cylinder valve.

[Mad Harold]

8 hours ago, canals are us? said:

A 23ft springer water bug that we have was overplated in 4mm steel in 2017 by the previous owner due to pitting, and when we bought, the gas locker drain was on the water line or under if someone is on board. The extra weight of plating and new fireplace and stove etc have added extra weight.

Plan to get the boat blacked this summer, have hole welded up and re-drill new hole higher up and rust treat floor and install new gas locker floor higher up level with new hole. May modify locker lid higher to fit a larger gas bottle at the same time.

Then a outside paint job.

 

James.

 

 

Thats the problem with having small boats overplated.It's sometimes necessary to raise hull fittings ebxhaust,weed hatch,etc.

Is there much ballast you could remove.?