NB "Hermes XI"

Iain and Bridget's Narrowboat Hermes XI needed repainting and they engaged me to tackle the job at Stafford Boat Club.

The Boat (formerly nb"Red Deer") has been renamed Hermes XI in memory of Iain's service on the Royal Navy's Hermes X in the Falklands conflict. 

So the challenge is to invoke the memory of this....

 In This...

Luckily Iain was very specific about the paint scheme and layout he wanted (including the fact that although Hermes X was covered in rust after action in the south atlantic, corrosion should be not in any way be evident in Hermes XI!)

As with any paint job the old addage of "fail to prepare; prepare to fail" has to be on your mind from the start!!

 

The usual scraping, sanding, grinding and scrubbing is always a joy to get stuck into...

    

 

Careful priming, undercoating and glossing whilst gently rubbing down between coats is essential to gain the lustre of a long lasting finish.

The colour scheme is a simple two tone atlantic grey and jet black. 

Inevitable intrusions into the wet dock by Stafford boat club members and customers alike are a welcome distraction from my labours.

 Always gracious and helpful enough to form an opinion on the activities of contractors like myself, it was pointed out to me several times that this boat "would end up looking like a bloody battleship!"

Luckily as i muttered "NIL FAECAETUM SHELOCKIUM" it was drowned out by the dulcet tones of radio three, and suggested that before bandying ideas such as coachlines about, that they acquaint themselves with the customers record of war service, and let him have his boat painted whatever way he chooses!

 

 

It looks a bit shinier than a traditional Navy paint job but the idea is'nt far out.

 Iain and bridget are chuffed and that's the point of the exercise!

A tribute to HERMES X in her earlier days...

 

Winter At The Rocking Horse Works

Now that the Christmas rush has finished work carries on apace at the Rocking Horse Works.

New horses continue to be handmade from scratch, and restorations of old rocking horses are a growing part of the business that I love helping out with in the winter and early spring when I take a break from my narrowboat work.

Something quite unique has begun to happen in our little Shropshire workshop however...

Our last Pegasus, The winged mythological steed of Perseus, was sold last year. The boss has begun making another as an ongoing creative project... 

 The new Pegasus is all the work of the proprietor, Steve Bulcock. It currently stands taller than I am and we haven't even made its bow rockers yet! 

The wings are much more intricate than the last Pegasus from the brochure; they have been constructed and carved to appear as if in mid wing beat.  

 

 Now that the main body has been carved off it dosen't take two of us to lift it anymore thank goodness!

As Far as we know it is the only Pegasus rocking horse under construction in the country, if not the world!!

I cant wait to see the progress over the coming months. But for me It's back to work on Narrowboats for the spring and summer season!

NB "Discovery"

I've had to make the best of some tiny spaces on boats over the years but the bathroom on "Discovery" is as tight as they come.

 This large cupboard isn't really used much for storage, but it gobbles up space in this tiny bathroom making it uncomfortable to use the toilet.

Elbows get banged whilst getting dry after a shower.

The whale pump is boxed inside the shower cubicle reducing space and preventing maintenance

The owner has developed a pathalogical hatred of shower curtains from using this space! (apparently it attacks your legs when the water is on!)

The stained walls make the bathroom very dark and dingy, and the plastic wall fixtures are a bit dated albeit functional.

This bathroom seriously detracts from the owners enjoyment of his much loved boat, and I've been given the task of sorting it out.

The customers' requirements seem uncomplicated... 

1. It must look modern

2. The shower must be bigger

3. It must be brighter

4. It must be done on time

5. It must not break the bank

Oh dear... Those of you who have attempted stuff like this before will know what I'm on about! I haven't even removed the old fixtures yet to work out how long the piece of string is!!!

"Youve got a lot of leeway to do what you want in there, but basically; i want to walk into that room and say..... WOW! "

 The customers parting shot is either very brave or...... OH SHUT UP AND GET ON WITH IT!!

 Having removed the trees the wood dosen't look too bad.. no nasty surprises thank goodness.

The problem with a blank canvas and freedom to experiment is making sure the job turns out right!

The plan is to fit a new stone resin shower tray which is larger that the old fibreglass one, increase the leg room around the toilet by about 4 inches (assuming a suitable sink can be found), paint the ceiling and fit new LED lights, and cover the whole bathroom in light plastic cladding of the customers choice.

The new larger shower means the switch for the whale pump needs to be relocated 5 inches to the left...... that'll be easy then!

 Skipping straight to the finished article is best as this job was a real challenge, you can see immediately that the room is brighter and has the impression of being more spacious.

The sparkly cladding is quite something to behold.. from wearing a head torch on the toilet it is now more advisable to don the welders mask!

The new showering space is much larger and more comfortable complete with a new thermostatic mixer. The whale pump is tucked inside the angled cupboard on the left which removes the elbow whacking risk whilst allowing access to the pump.

The shower awaits a custom made bifolding glass door from Wesley Marine Windows which at the time of writing is yet to be delivered. (Come on boys!) At 790mm wide it will provide easy access, and the owner wont have the shower curtain sticking to their legs anymore!

New LED's in the ceiling throw a veritable riot of photons in all conceivable directions! Its quite grown on me this stuff... but I'm not about to re-do "Bardens" bathroom just yet.

If you're not keen on having to wear sunglasses in the shower, there are many styles of plastic cladding available... some are a bit more subdued. Check out the NB "Quercus" post on this blog.

That's the wow factor the customer was looking for alright!

NB "Kismet"

Painting time again!

 It's been a while since Kismet had a coat of paint... With a space booked in Stafford boat sanctuary I've got a good chance to get stuck in and make a proper job of it

Preparation is key. Once all the windows and cabin fixtures have been removed there follows a mad scraping, rubbing and scrubbing session.. The equivalent of 10 days solid work before we even see a paintbrush!

Sand painted non slip areas must be completely stripped and all other areas are rubbed back flat either to smooth sound paint or bare metal as appropriate.

One solid day stripping sand from the roof has been known to induce stigmata! The whole area was sanded back to bare metal in this case too.

 

The dock being ankle deep in dust and smeg, I pulled the boat out once prep was complete to clean the facility before opening any paint! (half a days work on its own!)

 Buckets of primer are in order to begin with. Here you can just make out the stem post, T-stud and hinge straps undercoated for red.

 I dare you rust.... to creep back from behind the windows after this treatment!


All coats are brush applied using traditional technique.

Gentle sanding between coats leads to a good finish, and ensures plenty of paint is left on the boat.

Serious logistics become involved to make sure all areas are undercoated, sanded, glossed... sanded and glossed again allowing for adequate drying time (I like to leave at least 24hrs between gloss coats), and ensure the boat is dry and ready on the deadline. 

 Inhaling vast quantities of paint fumes and thinners in an enclosed space is bad for your health.

 In this case a strange apparition has manifested itself in the stern door....! Hopefully its gone by the time the customer arrives to collect the boat!!

Windows and cabin fixtures reattached, Trevor Counsell arrives to practice the art 

of sign writing.

 Being more glamarous, signwriters always attract more attention than us in the lower orders of paint related activities! 

Coachlines and rear panels are as the customer specified. Windows are resealed with self adhesive neoprene tape which makes for neat clean edges on the finished job.

 

The view from the back of the boat is brightened up a bit with a hearty scallopy slide.

Probably have to keep the mug of tea (or dare i say tinny of beer) on the side now.... I don't want any marks on it!!!

 That's Kismet smartened up and ready for boating!

More paint jobs will be posted next year. All slots for 2016 are now booked, but I have availability in 2017 at the moment.

I wonder what I'll get asked to do next?  Job could be anything??!!  Feels like a bit of plumbing coming on!

Nb "Shropshire Lass"

Nb "Shropshire Lass"

Anyone who's done one of Terry's popular RYA accredited hemlsmans courses on "Shropshire Lass" will have noticed that she's started to look a bit tired recently. I've been asked to smarten her up with a paint job. 

These jobs being all about the preparation i think well forget about sanding for the moment and start with a hammer and chisel!!

 Removing all the windows and cabin fixtures for the first time in decades exposes some exciting rusty bits.... luckily the toy box is well stocked with a variety of abrasives to play with!!

Preparation develops into a two man job and "Electra's" captain (formerly of the black pearl) has come over to join in the fun at Stafford Boat Clubs excellent wet dock

 

Luckily the dressing up box contains plenty of dust masks!

Former "Black Pearl" captain still looks like a pirate!

 

Large portions of the boat were completely stripped back to the bare metal before sanding could begin.

After five days of rubbing down, the wet dock was a good inch deep in dust and rust. It made sense to pull the boat out and hose the dock down so that the painting could begin.

I use the traditional coach painting technique of brushing on and sanding down between coats by hand. 

Especially on older boats, working with a three inch brush enables you to quickly and efficiently paint large areas with much better coverage than a roller.

The finish between coats is also much better, meaning that you don't fall into the trap of sanding off all the paint you've just applied before the next coat. More efficient use of paint coupled with cleaning and re-using your brushes and not having dozens of rollers to discard arguably make this a more environmentally friendly way of tackling a paint job.

With the cabin sides nearing completion its time for a touch of the signwriters art. Trevor Counsell has signwritten boats in his own distinctive style for years, and is something of an institution on the "Shroppie". 

In this case Terry just wanted plain lettering. To see some of Trevor's fabulous shading look at the Nb"Owl" post on this blog.

 

 Could do with corporal Jones shouting "DONT PANIC" whilst carefully removing the masking tape from the finished coach line. Any cock ups in the preparation will bite you back at this moment as the top coat can be pulled off with the tape.... Both sides were unmasked without any problems!

Windows and cabin fixtures refitted the boat is ready to go the evening before the dock has to be vacated.

New Chromed vents and deck boards complement the shiny new paintwork.

I hope the next few training courses manage to steer away from the bushes Terry!