Clearing a rusty bottom.

[Carmen Smith]

My grandson, now in his 20s, used to holiday with us on our narrowboat as a boy and got the canal bug. He bought a ‘project’ boat (about 50ft) a year or two ago  but is finding it hard to make progress owing to limited time. The interior has no floor and there is a layer of rust on the steel base plate. He’s trying to chisel it off but it’s hard work and will take for ever. It also creates a lot of dust. He’s already broken a couple of hammers! Does anyone know of a quicker and easier way to treat the rust? He doesn’t want to paint over it for fear of it continuing to rust underneath. Any sensible suggestions appreciated. 

[David Mack]

Discussed in another recent thread:

 

[mrsmelly]

Needle gun, air chisel. 

[Tony Brooks]

21 minutes ago, Carmen Smith said:

My grandson, now in his 20s, used to holiday with us on our narrowboat as a boy and got the canal bug. He bought a ‘project’ boat (about 50ft) a year or two ago  but is finding it hard to make progress owing to limited time. The interior has no floor and there is a layer of rust on the steel base plate. He’s trying to chisel it off but it’s hard work and will take for ever. It also creates a lot of dust. He’s already broken a couple of hammers! Does anyone know of a quicker and easier way to treat the rust? He doesn’t want to paint over it for fear of it continuing to rust underneath. Any sensible suggestions appreciated. 

 

Remember 1mm thickness of steel will turn into 8 or so mm of rust, so what looks scary amounts of rust may not e anything as bad as the way it looks.

 

If he has power where boat is I would suggest looking at hiring a compressor and needle gun, and buy the goggles, earplugs, and face mask.  I suspect a long weekends hire would get it all done.

 

Edited to add: if it is afloat then test each area first with a few good hammer blows, whatever method he is to use, you don't want to knock a hole through a badly rusted baseplate. Any signs of darker rust patches may well indicate the start of a leak.

Edited Sunday at 14:04 by Tony Brooks

[Carmen Smith]

Thank you for some very good advice, Tony. Co-incidentally, I believe my husband, Ian Smith, did a course in engine maintenance with you when we bought our boat at the end of 2000! We had more than 12 very happy years living aboard and continuously cruising. 

[Peugeot 106]

I used a needle gun from tool mart and hired a compressor you need a decent compressor for continuous operation. Be aware some marina’s won’t let you use a needle gun it’s incredibly

noisy on a Narrowboat not only for the operative. I was in a barn in the middle of nowhere. 

Agree with Tony get well wrapped up and a long weekend should do it but you will be sore ( and black!)

[Tony Brooks]

You will probably need a good vacuum cleaner as well with a decent filter on it. There is likely to be loads of dust and rust flakes. It will then need priming ASAP, before it starts to rust again.

[Peugeot 106]

9 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

You will probably need a good vacuum cleaner as well with a decent filter on it. There is likely to be loads of dust and rust flakes. It will then need priming ASAP, before it starts to rust again.

I used a leaf blower to clear the whole barn out

[Carmen Smith]

Thanks for the comments, Tony and Peugeot 106. It sounds a horrendous job and I suspect my grandson, Joe, is maybe regretting letting his heart rule his head, bless him. 

[Tony Brooks]

36 minutes ago, Carmen Smith said:

Thanks for the comments, Tony and Peugeot 106. It sounds a horrendous job and I suspect my grandson, Joe, is maybe regretting letting his heart rule his head, bless him. 

 

Not horrendous in my book, noisy, dusty, dirty, but faster than angle grinders and drills etc.

 

Get him to look at Tercoo rotary blasters that ca be used in a drill, these were mentions in the link David posted.

 

I bet virtually all experienced boaters have let their heart rule their head at one time or another - that is how they got experienced.

 

 

 

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, Carmen Smith said:

I suspect my grandson, Joe, is maybe regretting letting his heart rule his head, bless him. 

No. No. Never... I've never let my heart rule my head in boat matters!

(Not sure my bank account would agree, nor my body with the various aches and pains and scrapes and scars it has experienced over the years.)

[Peugeot 106]

8 hours ago, Carmen Smith said:

Thanks for the comments, Tony and Peugeot 106. It sounds a horrendous job and I suspect my grandson, Joe, is maybe regretting letting his heart rule his head, bless him. 

I’ve seen quite a few young dreams come to nothing. Us oldies have the massive advantages of time and probably a bit more cash. I had built a few small boats and renovated my house so had an idea what I was letting myself in for. I still got a surprise. 
Best advice is concentrate on one thing at a time and make a good job of that before moving onto the next. There’s nothing more dispiriting than having to redo things you didn’t do properly in the first place

He may well end up with a better job than a pro would.