Blacking and anode advice!

[LadyR]

Hi there, I’m looking for some advice/guidance.  We had a pre purchase survey done of our boat today, a 51ft 2006 cruiser stern and it is really in good condition, but it has been recommended that we have it blacked and some additional anodes putting on. We are going ahead with the purchase, but I have a bit of a dilemma. So the Marina can arrange the blacking and we have asked the engineer at the boatyard about putting anodes on which he can, but this is going to take time, a week or more and we were really wanting to make the most of the remaining summer holidays having a big journey ahead of us to get her to her new home (100miles). My question is, will it be detrimental if we wait and get the blacking and anodes done at its new destination. The local dry dock can fit us in mid October. I realise I may be being eager, but really want to do the journey at a leisurely pace with our son before he goes back to school and not rush coming up to the end of August which will be stressful. Thoughts/ideas/comments please 🤗

Edited August 13, 2021 by LadyR

[dmr]

Unless you are on a mains hookup in a marina some surveyors and boatyards would say that anodes don't do very much, other surveyors say fit lots of them. Whatever you believe I doubt a month or three would make much difference. Getting the boat shot blasted and done in epoxy would likely provide much better protection than fitting lots of anodes.

[Ianws]

If your surveyor said it's in good condition a couple of months to sort the anodes and blacking shouldn't be a problem but there will  be additional costs pulling the boat out of the water again to do it. Epoxy is an option that would cost more but last longer.

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, LadyR said:

Hi there, I’m looking for some advice/guidance.  We had a pre purchase survey done of our boat today, a 51ft 2006 cruiser stern and it is really in good condition, but it has been recommended that we have it blacked and some additional anodes putting on. We are going ahead with the purchase, but I have a bit of a dilemma. So the Marina can arrange the blacking and we have asked the engineer at the boatyard about putting anodes on which he can, but this is going to take time, a week or more and we were really wanting to make the most of the remaining summer holidays having a big journey ahead of us to get her to her new home (100miles). My question is, will it be detrimental if we wait and get the blacking and anodes done at its new destination. The local dry dock can fit us in mid October. I realise I may be being eager, but really want to do the journey at a leisurely pace with our son before he goes back to school and not rush coming up to the end of August which will be stressful. Thoughts/ideas/comments please 🤗

 

Surveyors generally have to find something to report in order to justify the cost of the survey especially if there is nothing else to comment on.

 

I seriously doubt waiting a couple of months will be detrimental.

[Ianws]

The caveat is that October might not be the best time for blacking given the temperature. It might be worth sounding some opinions from members here on whether that's a good idea. I've only had it done in summer.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Ianws said:

The caveat is that October might not be the best time for blacking given the temperature.

 

Yes. Very true.

[LadyR]

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. I am a complete novice as far as narrowboats are concerned, but I am learning all the time. I am contemplating doing the blacking myself, purely to save time and get it back in the water, that way depending on the weather we could be on our Merry way by Thursday next week. I can source the blacking and kit and may even find it an enjoyable process, given a bit more research and hopes that the yard allow me to do this. 

[Ianws]

It might be helpful to have a look at this re. timings and what is involved 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

7 hours ago, LadyR said:

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. I am a complete novice as far as narrowboats are concerned, but I am learning all the time. I am contemplating doing the blacking myself, purely to save time and get it back in the water, that way depending on the weather we could be on our Merry way by Thursday next week. I can source the blacking and kit and may even find it an enjoyable process, given a bit more research and hopes that the yard allow me to do this. 

 

To do blacking properly it takes 7 days.

If you don't do it properly you may as well not bother doing it as it will flake off.

 

Uf you do it in an unheated dock in Octpober then you have a problem with condensation and you end up trying to paint over water - and - it won't stick very well to water.

 

October is fine is you can hire a heated dry dock for a week. If not, wait until May/June onwards next year.

[LadyR]

Ok thank you. If we were to potentially leave it till next spring, would it do any damage between now and then leaving the hull exposed?  It’s been power washed and looks like it could do with it. I don’t want to cause the hull any potential damage for the sake of getting away a week early. So I have three options, let the marina black it which will not allow us the enjoy the boat before my son gets back to school, black it ourselves if the marina will allow, or leave it till spring time. 

[Bee]

Most people leave it a year or two later than they should so a couple of weeks won't hurt. As for anodes its difficult. If you get advice from the anode manufacturer they will tell you where to put them and the spacing. Snag is that you can't as there will be half a dozen on each side and lots on the bottom. First narrow lock you come to you will not get in or out of 'cos the boats too wide. I put anodes near the propeller (as its a dissimilar metal) and on the rudder (mine is a hollow shaped one so more expensive than a flat plate.) then a couple on the bow for luck and a few on the bottom. Not perfect but I think that if the boat is well painted they don't do much anyway. Its the paint that matters,  Edit to add, Have just seen the photo. Just for information and absolutely nothing to worry about but those anodes are too close together, they will probably attack the paint. The whole anode thing is witchcraft and magic but too many anodes is a bit like too much beer, a couple of pints is great so 10 pints must be really, really good. Sadly not.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Bee

[Col_T]

I wouldn't worry about the blacking - it looks as though it will last until next year, and probably beyond that. As for the anodes, they look like they'll last into next year. My vote is for blacking and anodes next year; enjoy the boat now.

[Sea Dog]

You've already got double the amount of anodes that most boats have up forward and they both look in good nick. Its usual to have one either side down aft on the "swim" near the prop - so not visible in that photo. Then there's the contentious ones in the middle that seem to get recommended a lot in surveys nowadays but, whilst it might be good from a protection point of view, most baulk at the extra width giving the potential to foul in narrow locks. If the aft ones are as good as the forward ones, I'd certainly not bother with anodes, but it's a very quick job anyway which I think a different welder might be able to do without causing the delay you speak of.