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Blacking the bottom of the hull


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Hi,

I am a newby and about to purchase our first boat - I am wondering - does the bottom of the hull get blacked? I can imagine it's difficult due the the blocks that the boat stands on but then does that mean the bottom is left vulnerable to rust?

 

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They rarely get blacked. Mainly because of access issues and the fact it would scrape off anyway.

 

The base plate does rust but its normally much thicker than the rest of the hull.

 

If there are any areas of concern then this should be picked up on the survey. Except of course if the issue is located where the boat is sat on blocks which is unlikely as any problematic corrosion and resulting hull thickness issues would/should be evident on other parts of the baseplate.

 

 

Edited by The Happy Nomad
Edited to add abit.
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The area most vulnerable to rust is around the water line. The further you get below and above that, then less rusting takes place. Usually. Caveats etc. Which part of the country are you planning to do most of your boating? Much of the network is so shallow you'll just scrape off any blacking on the base plate bouncing over mud banks and shopping trolleys. There are a few areas with deeper water. The commercial waterways in Yorkshire for example.

Jen

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There are special docks about. They are called bottom docks. There is one at braunston, called bottom lock dock.

 You float the boat in, and drain the water. The dock is filled with special hot paint. This comes in by tanker which is parked outside, and pumps the stuff into the dock.

This burns off the crap on the boat, and coats the whole thing.
You leave the boat in whilst the paint cools overnight. ( smoking is not recommended) and you have to sleep in a special tent.

when the paint is hard you cut round the skim of paint round the boat and fill the dock.

Off you go.

Once  the boat is out the dock is emptied, and a solvent used to thin down the hardened paint, which is pumped back into the tanker. Very green.

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3 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

There are special docks about. They are called bottom docks. There is one at braunston, called bottom lock dock.

 You float the boat in, and drain the water. The dock is filled with special hot paint. This comes in by tanker which is parked outside, and pumps the stuff into the dock.

This burns off the crap on the boat, and coats the whole thing.
You leave the boat in whilst the paint cools overnight. ( smoking is not recommended) and you have to sleep in a special tent.

when the paint is hard you cut round the skim of paint round the boat and fill the dock.

Off you go.

Once  the boat is out the dock is emptied, and a solvent used to thin down the hardened paint, which is pumped back into the tanker. Very green.

 

It's not April 1st....

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1 hour ago, KLamb said:

Hi,

I am a newby and about to purchase our first boat - I am wondering - does the bottom of the hull get blacked? I can imagine it's difficult due the the blocks that the boat stands on but then does that mean the bottom is left vulnerable to rust?

 

 

Some people do, some people don't. 

 

Most who don't do it pretend it's because there is no oxygen 2 feet down, but never explain how fish manage to swim in it.

 

I have never seen a "proper" boat or ship where they stop painting 2 feet below the waterline, so I have done mine in the past and will do it again in the future.  You just need to be a bit further up in the air so you can get to it, and then move the stands along a bit to do that area.  Trying to do it lying on your back is for mugs!

 

 

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Its easier to paint the bottom if you are in a tidal area. Move the boat to a suitable spot at high tide and fit a leg to one side of the narrowboat. When the tide falls the boat is tipped to one side.  It is not possible to paint the bottom right down to the lower edge so you need to repeat the process for the other side on another tide.  Timing is critical. You have a very short window to dry off the bottom, clean it a bit, paint the stuff on, and get it dry.  It needs to be very quick-drying paint.

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I have had my base plate done twice and it doesn't scrape off. This was brought home to me at Debdale while I was there they lifted a boat. The bottom was end to end with mussels, they weren't scraped off in the canal.

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We are one of the ‘ones that do’ - this came about from the fact we walked away from a boat we wanted due to a bad survey related to base plate corrosion and the fact we intend to keep the one we have for many years. However, would‘nt  stress over getting it done every time if it was an issue. I’m guessing the majority (narrowboats) don’t bother

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We paint the bottom of the two boats I am involved with. But both were built in the 1930s with 5/16" (8mm) plate and both still have the original bottom. I seem to recall you are looking at a much more recent boat with a 10mm bottom. In which case the temptation not to bother is rather stronger.

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