Boatyards that can black the baseplate.

[Theo]

I know that Debdale has a transporter crane which allows easy blacking of the bottom plate.

 

In order to plan where we need to be at the beginning of next year I would like to build up a list of any other boatyards where this can be done.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Nick

[Traveller]

Ely Marina black base plates but that is probably of not much use to you.

[Tim Lewis]

I know that Debdale has a transporter crane which allows easy blacking of the bottom plate.

 

In order to plan where we need to be at the beginning of next year I would like to build up a list of any other boatyards where this can be done.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Nick

 

Kind of depends on what you mean by easy blacking.

 

We always paint the baseplate of Fulbourne when blacking. We have used the dry docks at Uxbridge and Bulbourne but you have to like lying on your back in a puddle of in an 18" space

 

However the best one we have used is the new covered slipway at Circus Fields, Aylesbury, where th hydraulic jacks gave as about 3 feet in a dry and heated facility.

 

 

 

Tim

Edited September 14, 2015 by Tim Lewis

[Tim Lewis]

If you are still on the K & A have you tried Semington Dry Dock(s)

 

http://www.semingtondock.co.uk/content/docks-semington

 

Tim

Edited September 14, 2015 by Tim Lewis

[Chewbacka]

If you are near the Gloucester & Sharpness canal then RW Davis have a deep dry dock that has the boat on approx 4ft stands.

http://www.rwdavis.co.uk/services/drydock.html

[Theo]

Thanks for the info. ATM we are quite close to Debdale but we don't want to be here in the spring! The Circus Fields one looks good, though. With it being heated we would not be hindered by we weather.

 

Any more paces?

 

N

[Theo]

As something of a postscript, SWMBO has persuaded me that I don't want to black the bottom myself this time and am willing to pay someone to get blacking in their hair.

 

The other job that I want done is to do the roof in something that looks like red oxide. Am I right in thinking that the yard is likely to have a competent person on hand to do both of these jobs?

 

N

[mayalld]

Thanks for the info. ATM we are quite close to Debdale but we don't want to be here in the spring! The Circus Fields one looks good, though. With it being heated we would not be hindered by we weather.

 

Any more paces?

 

N

 

If you are heading north, Ashton Packet Boat

[Tim Lewis]

As something of a postscript, SWMBO has persuaded me that I don't want to black the bottom myself this time and am willing to pay someone to get blacking in their hair.

 

The other job that I want done is to do the roof in something that looks like red oxide. Am I right in thinking that the yard is likely to have a competent person on hand to do both of these jobs?

 

N

 

Circus Fields is DIY but if you speak to Bryan Barnes there he might know someone who could do it for you, contact details:

 

http://www.aylesburycanal.org.uk/#!covered-slip-way/c1uh2

 

Circus filelds also has a heated wet dock:

 

http://www.aylesburycanal.org.uk/#!wet-dock/ccbt

 

Tim

Edited September 14, 2015 by Tim Lewis

[David Mack]

Andy Davey is based at Aylesbury and paints boats in the winter months (and runs a hotel boat in the summer). He can be contacted at the 'boat' phone and email details at http://classicwaterwayholidays.co.uk/contact_us.php .

[dogless]

Can I ask a stupid question please.

Bearing in mind the depth of most canal's, is it worthwhile blacking the base plate ?

Additionally I was told the base plate is not usually blacked as there is no air/water interface, the

area where the damage can be done.

Genuine questions thanks

Rog

[bottle]

Can I ask a stupid question please. Yes, but it is not stupid

Bearing in mind the depth of most canal's, is it worthwhile blacking the base plate ? Your choice, mine is.

Additionally I was told the base plate is not usually blacked as there is no air/water interface, the

area where the damage can be done. There is air down there but not as much as at the waterline, the most vulnerable place. The baseplate is less likely to rust, still your choice though.

Genuine questions thanks Yes it was and there are only two answers really, yes and no.

Rog

[Machpoint005]

Can I ask a stupid question please.

Bearing in mind the depth of most canal's, is it worthwhile blacking the base plate ?

Additionally I was told the base plate is not usually blacked as there is no air/water interface, the

area where the damage can be done.

Genuine questions thanks

Rog

 

All good questions, and opinion varies.

 

We're on a shallow canal so I see no point in blacking a baseplate just to scrape it off again on the way home. Even more so if you use a 2-pack epoxy (ours is traditional bitumastic).

 

My argument would be that we polish the baseplate as we go along.

 

No visible corrosion last time out of the water, and the hull is 20 years old.

 

Does that answer some of your questions?

[J R ALSOP]

Don't forget P&S Watford based in Casio Marina. 07966266107 for Tom or 07956333892 for Ralph. Two top lads taken over from John and Derek.

[merline]

+2 for P&S

[Theo]

Thanks for the tips. What a useful forum is this.

 

N

[Doodlebug]

The whole thing about there being no air down at the base plate for corrosion to happen is total rubbish. How do the fish breath? and how come the nails I fish up with my magnet are rusty?

 

Rust happens on iron because of the effects of electricity which is why iron doesn't corrode in dry air. It needs water which acts as the electrolyte. Anodes prevent this rusting from happening.

 

(Nothing to do with shore power by the way, though that makes it worse - electricity if produced in tiny amounts in the same way as a potato clock works)

 

Bearing in mind the rust is due to electrical contact with the water an entire uncoated base plate will rust evenly and very slowly, but I believe that a base plate that has been blacked will rust more because one single scratch will be the area that all that corrosion (usually spread over the entire base) focuses on.

 

Hope that makes some sense - ive tried to simplify it but try googling the process of rusting and how anodes work and then make up your mind.

I think to test it out properly I should get 4 pieces of steel. One uncoated, one totally coated in blacking, one blacked but with a scratch in it and drop them (on string) into the canal for a year. Then one other piece which is floated on the surface in order to work out which rusts most. But I think it would be the one with the scratch on it due to the ions in the water being focused on that one point.

[larkshall]

On a shallow canal is it not pointless? Because the baseplate is continually being abraded

[Midnight]

Can I ask a stupid question please.

Bearing in mind the depth of most canal's, is it worthwhile blacking the base plate ?

Additionally I was told the base plate is not usually blacked as there is no air/water interface, the

area where the damage can be done.

Genuine questions thanks

Rog

 

The answer, in my experience, is it depends on your boat or should I say the quality of the steel. I've seen the baseplates of several older quality boats (20+ years respected builder) with only minor corrosion. On the other hand I recently saw a 4 year old cheap shell the owner scraped of two barrow loads of rust some of the pieces were up to 4mm thick. Most of the boats under 10 years old that I have looked at this year had enough corrosion to cause the owners to black the baseplate.

 

I now black the baseplate which has a lot of pitting but no rust. After I cleaned it the steel around the pits (up to 4mm) was shiny like new.

[Traveller]

"However the best one we have used is the new covered slipway at Circus Fields, Aylesbury, where th hydraulic jacks gave as about 3 feet in a dry and heated facility."

Do they move the supports so the entire base-plate can be blacked?

[peterboat]

Castleford marina big dry dock high stands and it is dry plus they have people that can paint black and blast if needed

 

Peter

Edited September 16, 2015 by peterboat

[dogless]

Thanks for all the information.

I have my boat blacked every two years. The boat is 23 years old and the steel is in pretty good order. It was blacked two weeks ago, and whilst out of the water I had a good look at the base plate. It appeared in good order with no obvious signs of rust, despite never having been blacked. I was concerned that I was missing out on some basic maintenance, but it would appear it's very much a "make your own mind up" situation.

Mine is a 12v boat, and cruising mostly so rarely plugged into the mains.

If it was moored in a marina or similar with boats all on mains power, would this increase the risks of excessive corrosion ?

Perhaps I ought to start a new thread for this question but hey.....I'll risk the wrath of the mods

Rog

[Traveller]

You are in the same "boat" as me, dogless. I did speak to my surveyor about this when I first bought the boat (she is over 20 years old and the hull is said to be better than fine). He went through all the arguments that have come up on this thread but could only conclude that it was indeed a "make your own mind up" scenario. He did say that mine is a 1980s boat that is wearing very well indeed despite the base plate not being painted. She has not been in a marina berth for years, is never plugged-in and is on the deeper waters of the Great Ouse.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Traveller

[Midnight]

You are in the same "boat" as me, dogless. I did speak to my surveyor about this when I first bought the boat (she is over 20 years old and the hull is said to be better than fine). He went through all the arguments that have come up on this thread but could only conclude that it was indeed a "make your own mind up" scenario. He did say that mine is a 1980s boat that is wearing very well indeed despite the base plate not being painted. She has not been in a marina berth for years, is never plugged-in and is on the deeper waters of the Great Ouse.

 

 

Exactly my point older boats seem to be far more durable probably because of better quality steel.

 

In regard of canal depth my experience suggests that the baseplate coating doesn't suffer that much. This year we went over the Rochdale which often gets criticised for depth. When I checked in the dry dock in August no real damage just a slight scrape along the side at the stern (the deeper bit). In my case such scrapes are not that much of an issue as the blacking in the pits doesn't get removed. Similar experience last year when I welded up the deeper pits. I had a bit of an issue cleaning the blacking out of the pits even with gun-wash.

 

Luckily I have access to an inexpensive dry dock so can check the state of the baseplate annually. Since I started blacking it three years ago I no longer worry about corrosion and will probably leave it for at least eighteen months before checking again.