NB "Whisper"

In a World of such fast paced political change I hope its reassuring that Turds of various sorts are diligently still being polished in the Midlands!

Whisper is a leaky and rather scaly boat which needed "The Treatment" to restore her former glory...

As with all paint jobs preparation is key, and looking at the state of the job in hand,

  I've engaged the services of my old mate and committed Brexiteer, the old pirate ex captain of the Black Pearl

 After a quick chat about our unreconciled political differences we decide to crack on as the job wont do itself.....

Halfway through the arduous prep job the government in their wisdom upset the apple cart by announcing a snap general election!

Things were going very well with the captain I until that point, and unfortunately, like the rest of the poor British workforce, productivity took a nose dive as the whole "can of worms" 

was reopened and unceremoniously chucked all over the floor!

"Why cant we just be OUT like they promised!?" he growl's through the dust and noise in admirable and dilligent representation of his demographic. Trying not to imagine Blackbeard boarding some poor merchantman holding his sword by the pointy end with

 £350 million quid burning in his beard, I volunteer the following placations.....

"Look mate this boat is in a state isn't it..... but were not scuttling it in the basin are we? Surely putting our differences aside and trying to fix it is the best way forward.... we can do that cant we?"

Unimpressed with my nautical analogies and political idealism he began to vent his rage in true pirate style, as if there had been a free rum token in the daily express that morning...

Et Tu blackbeard? Is that mine own claw hammer stuck in the back of my head??

My inner anarchist was promptly uncorked.... 

Agreeing not to listen to the news we decide on a truce for the duration of the prep job (and hide our most dangerous tools/weapons till hometime).

 

Just Imagine what reform could have been like if we hadn't scuttled our own ship ?

The French and the Dutch clearly thought that the situation was worth salvaging!

Whisper is certainly shaping up with a bit of effort...

Lets face it even America will probably be back to normal (whatever that is) in a couple of years!

More skills and opinions add themselves to the foment in the form of canal legend and signwriter, Trevor Counsell.

The consensus being that its all a bit silly really and most of us humble grafters wont really be affected... The use of Grammar by radio four presenters on the other hand is only sloppy at best... what is the world coming to?

Whisper, however, has come up a treat in the skilled hands of Pirate, a Remoaner, a Taoist with a badger hair brush, and not least Bev and Andrea who restored all of their own brasses to an exceptional standard before refitting.

I guess in an Ideal world all of the politicians that profess to represent our best interests could work together just as our eclectic band of bodgers... but thats the paint fumes talking I think. 

Whoever gets in (and barring another complete poll malfunction we know who that will be) Can you do all of us the courtesy of following OUR example, put your differences behind you, and get on with some F*****G work!

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!