A sunny day, warmest for a while, so thoughts stray to boating and to boat maintenance.
Last time we visited Welford, John opined that the reason Patience was looking so green and mouldy could be because we sluice her down with a mop dipped in the canal. That may wash off some superficial muck but actually creates a mould culture which grows and creeps into every corner.
Looking at dear Patience's increasingly green roof it became clear that the first thing to do before painting or at least patching the rust areas was to scrub the whole roof down. So today I gave it a go. And lo and behold, with a bit of elbow grease, a long hose, some clean water with detergent (marine variety, suitable for waterways) and a scrubbing brush, Patience's roof is now clean and bright for the first time in quite a while. Patience and I are very pleased with the result.
The aft section, however, needs more than a scrub, as with water drained from the bow tank the tilt of the boat is altered so that surface water collects in the area by the hatch, which is peeling and showing first signs of rust. So this bit I scraped clean and painted first in anti-rust, then in red oxide, as a preliminary to an undercoat and then non-slip top coat. As the scrubbing shows most of the roof is in good condition, I think painting in the small patches on the edge of the roof will be all that's necessary next time we carry out maintenance. A triumph of common sense - and elbow grease!
Last time we visited Welford, John opined that the reason Patience was looking so green and mouldy could be because we sluice her down with a mop dipped in the canal. That may wash off some superficial muck but actually creates a mould culture which grows and creeps into every corner.
Looking at dear Patience's increasingly green roof it became clear that the first thing to do before painting or at least patching the rust areas was to scrub the whole roof down. So today I gave it a go. And lo and behold, with a bit of elbow grease, a long hose, some clean water with detergent (marine variety, suitable for waterways) and a scrubbing brush, Patience's roof is now clean and bright for the first time in quite a while. Patience and I are very pleased with the result.
The aft section, however, needs more than a scrub, as with water drained from the bow tank the tilt of the boat is altered so that surface water collects in the area by the hatch, which is peeling and showing first signs of rust. So this bit I scraped clean and painted first in anti-rust, then in red oxide, as a preliminary to an undercoat and then non-slip top coat. As the scrubbing shows most of the roof is in good condition, I think painting in the small patches on the edge of the roof will be all that's necessary next time we carry out maintenance. A triumph of common sense - and elbow grease!
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