Rusty old engine hole :(

[Richard10002]

Cruiser stern: For a variety of reasons, my engine hole has got very damp and rusty, to the point where water has been sitting on the bottom for some time - due to the boats angle etc., the water has collected away from the bilge pump. I've now pumped most of it out and find there are some quite sizeable flakes/chunks of rust on one side of the bottom of the space, and the rest of it is a bright orange with a bubbly kind of texture. Embarrassing really, and should have been dealt with ages ago, but we are where we are

Given that rust is much more voluminous than the steel it comes from, I'm thinking/hoping I havent lost any significant thickness of the 10mm base plate.

My problem is that I am too creaky, and probably too big, to get at the bottom to both shovel up the bits of rust and scrape the bottom in order to prepare for Fertan/Vactan and some engine room painting.

Any suggestions for tools that will help me

1) pick up flakes of rust

2) Scrape the bottom enough for Fertan etc.

Any ideas/inspiration welcomed 

Edited March 24, 2018 by Richard10002

[TheBiscuits]

Pay a smaller, less creaky person to do it for you.

[Nightwatch]

First and foremost, it's so difficult to get someone else to do it. Ours is very much the same as yours, and for the same reason hasn't been done proper.

1. Wet vac. Break up the bits with the nozzle. Long handled scrapper first.

2. Perseverance. I'm fairly fortunate. My wife is slim and nimble. She can also get into odd positions. 

3. Get someone else to do it. Ideally, but expensive, get the engine taken out. Will save a lot of knuckle skin and time.

when you find someone to do it for you, let me know. 

[dmr]

It is difficult to find people to do the horrid jobs, and there is always a real chance of them doing a half baked job. There are loads of ageing boaters on the cut, and an increasing number of younger boaters trying to make ends meet so loads of potential but stillnot easy to make it happen. I have paid for two bad jobs and both were done well. The watertank was "bare-metaled"  by a boat engineer (yes, an engineer) who was just getting established on the cut, his daily rate has trebled now that he has got a reputation and he no longer does bad jobs. The gas locker was bare-metaled by a liveaboard friend (10 years younger than me), but in both cases I paid a fair hourly rate.

It old depends upon the value of the boat (to you) and how much you are willing to spend. Engine out (and a good engine clean) shot blast and epoxy would be the gold standard. Otherwise get the loose stuff out, get it dry and cover with rust treatment. I like Red Owatrol.

...............Dave   

[Richard10002]

Thanks so far... I'm off to get a long handled scraper from Machine mart, and some absorbent mats if they keep them in stock. I'm sure I've got a shovel which should get some of the rust bits out.

Wont be doing anything gold standard.... given that there is stuff to convert rust, I'm sure that will get me off to a good start.

[Bee]

The important word here is Dry. Once it is dry - probably sometime in August knowing our weather then a bit of wire brushing and scraping will soon get things looking a lot better, vacuum it out,  if you get off whatever you can and get a dry and oil free surface then there are lots of things like Fertan and similar and then a few coats of paint finishing off with gloss/waterproof/bilge paint and that will be job done for ages. Then you can try to keep the water out, many flat decks are a disaster as far as that goes but that is a subject in itself.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Richard10002 said:

Any suggestions for tools that will help me

Child or Grand child can be quite useful - they even used them for wriggling up chimneys you know !!

Very young ones are quite 'floppy' and can be pushed into quite small places using a long handles brush, or pointy stick.

A fair rate - maybe a bag of jelly babies and all you'll need to do is to supervise and point out the bits they have missed.

[Richard10002]

I’m going to get a cheap wet and dry vac as well. It’ll be for this job only as there is nowhere to store it long term, so it’ll be given away or skipped. Any suggestions for cheap but does the job? Happy to spend £50 to £75 if necessary, but can’t see the sense in going over £100 for a one off use.

[mrsmelly]

10 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

I’m going to get a cheap wet and dry vac as well. It’ll be for this job only as there is nowhere to store it long term, so it’ll be given away or skipped. Any suggestions for cheap but does the job? Happy to spend £50 to £75 if necessary, but can’t see the sense in going over £100 for a one off use.

Asda have some today at £ 40 on offer. Mine is wickes also good and cheap but cant remember exactly how much it was.

[Onewheeler]

6 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

I’m going to get a cheap wet and dry vac as well. It’ll be for this job only as there is nowhere to store it long term, so it’ll be given away or skipped. Any suggestions for cheap but does the job? Happy to spend £50 to £75 if necessary, but can’t see the sense in going over £100 for a one off use.

I bought a very cheap one from Screwfix a few years ago for a nasty one-off job (clearing the contents of a jerry can of red diesel from the boot of my car). Worked fine. They have a different model now for£35. Also the sort of thing that Aldi and Lidl have regularly if you can wait.

[Richard10002]

3 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Asda have some today at £ 40 on offer. Mine is wickes also good and cheap but cant remember exactly how much it was.

Does it pick up smashed up lumps of rust with the liquid, or does it need to be quite fine?

[mrsmelly]

Just now, Richard10002 said:

Does it pick up smashed up lumps of rust with the liquid, or does it need to be quite fine?

My wickes one will suck just about anything up and rust crud will be no problem whatsoever 

Just looked and the wickes ones are at £ 50 and work well 

[rusty69]

Did ours last year. A grim job.

[Taslim]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Child or Grand child can be quite useful - they even used them for wriggling up chimneys you know !!

Very young ones are quite 'floppy' and can be pushed into quite small places using a long handles brush, or pointy stick.

A fair rate - maybe a bag of jelly babies and all you'll need to do is to supervise and point out the bits they have missed.

NO!!  They're family.  That won't do!

A skinny crackhead will do nearly as well if you catch them at the right time. Rattle like a needle gun. Available on a towpath near the OP.

A fair rate - a 'wrap' and a used sleeping bag or two wraps if they do the Firtan.

You will still need to supervise and a pointy stick could be handy.

[artleknock]

3 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

My wickes one will suck just about anything up and rust crud will be no problem whatsoever 

Just looked and the wickes ones are at £ 50 and work well 

I use a Wickes one in the workshop, picks up wood shavings and metal swarfe, also cleans out the oil and cuttings from the lathe bed and the milling machine table so a few flakes of rust should be no problem (if they are small enough to go up  the tube.)

[Nightwatch]

I have one of these. It's been a wet vac and quite often a dry vac to do the carpets when our sweeper is just not enough. No problems with it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Einhell-12-Litre-Wet-Dry-Site-Vacuum-Cleaner-1250W-240v-TCVC1812S-XMS17VACUUM/362113137878?epid=1494015210&hash=item544f9ffcd6:g:znkAAOSwHPdalacu

collect from Argos. Good service  if no address to send to.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Nightwatch

[Richard10002]

5 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

My wickes one will suck just about anything up and rust crud will be no problem whatsoever 

Just looked and the wickes ones are at £ 50 and work well 

Bought the Wickes wet and dry... £49.99, and it's the dogs danglies.

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Wet+Dry-Vacuum-with-Blower/p/215735

Also bought a Spear & Jackson floor scraper from Machine Mart, which scraped, chipped, and crumbled the layer of rust.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/040213517/

Together they have made the bottom of the engine bay look so much better. I'll be covering with some Vactan or Fertan at the next opportunity, maybe next Friday, and see if I can get round to painting the whole bay when things get a bit warmer.

Thanks for the help - particularly Mr. Smelly with the Wickes recommend!!

[Movin' on]

Once you are dry there is a tool I have seen boatyards use to agitate rust it looks like a group of a dozen or so knitting needles clumped together and they move separately (I think) it might be cheap enough to buy or a hire option - I've seen in them in use in gas lockers and engine bays and they are brilliant.

[Nightwatch]

A needle gun? Windy hammer as known in the RN.

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, Halsey said:

Once you are dry there is a tool I have seen boatyards use to agitate rust it looks like a group of a dozen or so knitting needles clumped together and they move separately (I think) it might be cheap enough to buy or a hire option - I've seen in them in use in gas lockers and engine bays and they are brilliant.

Needle gun?

[Sea Dog]

Can we make a note of this thread for next time we're discussing which stern arrangement is best?  

[Richard10002]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Can we make a note of this thread for next time we're discussing which stern arrangement is best?  

I still prefer a cruiser stern... might accept a semi trad if something else was very attractive about a particular boat, and wouldnt not want a trad stern if you paid me

[Dr Bob]

I thought this thread was going to be about Rusty's bottom

[Movin' on]

4 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Needle gun?

Yep that's it!!!

[Dr Bob]

1 minute ago, Halsey said:

Yep that's it!!!

Rusty, needle gun his bottom? We've had enough with hand cranking.