Watching paint dry

I have just come back from a family visit to Kent. We have seen two of our granchildren and their parents. I have been measured for a suit for my son's wedding; the Best Mate has looked in all the usual places for a wedding outfit and we have dined with another daughter and son-in-law. Apart from the soon to be married son's fiancee we have seen all the Kent branches of the family. Pooh made a visit to his own Nanny and Granddad and we stopped off at the Best Mate's parents on the way home. A very successful couple of days.

We are now exhausted and back in Banbury where the boat's top coat should be drying off nicely ready for the signwriter in the morning. Hopefuly we will be able to get onto the boat and get a few things sorted because we are seriously in need of preparing the boat to leave on Saturday.

I am sure that we won't have any time to watch the paint dry.

Progress Report

No photos today because I did not go into the dock while Martin was lovingly applying paint to the roof of the boat but we had to have a peep on the way to lunch at the club. It is still looking good.

However, I had a call from Matt the boss this morning. He is back at work for as long as he can stand (pun) with crutches but he rang to tell me that they were not going to be able to pull back lost time in the preperation stage when he had his accident and Martin got steel in his eye. He needs to talk about the final stages of completion on Wednesday when the sign writer, Jezz, will be working.

There are a few unknowns. What will the internal trims be like when the new windows are fitted? There will be no time to remedy and dress up any gaps in the lining wood that is there. The windows might fit like a glove but there is no guarrantee that the work will not be without hitches.

Matt says that the probability is that we will be floated out of the dock on Saturday afternoon. We will need to be away straight away and heading up the cut to get to our rendezvous with friends in Cosgrove on Wednesday the next week. Nick's Canal Planner gives the distance as 26 hours, 19 minutes cruising. This is over 8 hours a day assuming we get to Cropredy on Saturday night. We usually cruise for far less and this doesn't take into account Bank Holiday Monday in Braunston!

We will need to return to Tooley's later in the year for a few touches and internal tidying, which is a pity.

Glistening

SONFLOWER is glistening in the sunlight that streams into Tooley's dock as the first of the two top coats is completed.

The roof has had its first coat of Raddle and looks very nice in its new grey livery and the grey decks offset the green and yellow beautifully.

The yellow looks thick and lush and the painter wishes that we wanted more of it as he loves working with it. It is expected to be ready for the signwriter next Wednesday and on schedule to come out of the dock on Thursday, all being well.

The Big Green Machine

YES

SONFLOWER is back to her normal colour. Having been embarassingly naked and metallic then in her prime and with her underclothes showing she is now getting her petticoats on with a green undercoat. That is except for the yellow bits. They are being unedercoated in 50% gloss. Martin explained this. He said the yellow does not cover easily and it is therefore necessary to build it up a bit at a time using the finished colour.

I can attest to the non-covering qualities. The back rail must have had three coats when I did it and always looked blotchy.

The finish will be started about next Wednesday she will be sanded back to give the base for the last glistening in the sun shiny Mason's enamel finish!

There are other details to see to. We are having 'Raddle' (by Craftmaster) on the roof and decks and sand on the gunwhales.

There always seems to be more to do than can be achieved in the next two weeks. We'll see.

NO ENTRY! chequing in....

There is a sign on the door to the dock. DO NOT OPEN. That is because the undercoat is now going on to SONFLOWER. After all the preperation the paint is now being built up and the painter does not want any nasty dust to get into his very clean dock.

It is very obvious why we had trouble trying to DIY under the M42 bridge when we last painted the boat. It was little more than a gloss over really.

I came across another narrowboat painting post (a series really) which tells how to do it yourself. The time and effort to get a good job is terrific. I am glad I have put it into the hands of professionals.

There was a slight hiccup which took me to the boatyard this morning. I had not signed the last cheque that I gave Tooley's. It was quite a sizeable amount and this left them with a bit if a cash flow crisis as it was returned. I signed it this morning and took them some cash so that they can pay the painter while they wait for the second attempt to clear. I don't want him to stop work!

What's in a name?

I had acall from Matt at Tooley's this afternoon. I forgot to sign the cheque I gave them last Saturday and it bounced. Ooops! I will need to put it right in the morning.

While I was on the phone, I asked him about the paint that we are using. The quotation I got said that they would beusing Mason's undercoat and top coat. Martin the painter, was using Craftmaster primer and told me he would be using Craftmaster Undercoat, so I asked matt what were his intentions. I was told the sad news that Masons cannot supply undercoats any more. We therefore will have to use Craftmaster undercoats. Tooley's say that they really like these paints but still use Masons Boat Enamel over the top.

I looked at the Canal Junction web site where Phil Speight, reputed to know a few things about canal boat painting says: "be sure of the quality and quantity of the paints to be used. There are some other good paints on the market but obviously we recommend CRAFTMASTER products because we developed them, we use them all the time and we're sure of the results we get. Avoid cheap paint. Once the boat is primed you will need a MINIMUM of two coats of undercoat and two coats of gloss. Make sure that there are at least two undercoats and one (dry) gloss coat on any areas that may be sanded BEFORE sand is sprinkled onto wet gloss. It will then need at least one more coat over the top once its dry and been cleaned."

Thanks for the advice Phil.

Not today

The Owatrol
was still tacky today and so Martin would not risk getting dust stuck to it by putting filler into the undercut and cavities and sanding it back.

He primed the swan-hatch doors, the covers and deck fittings but that was the only painting done today.

SONFLOWER stands gleaming still naked.

I am impressed that the boatyard are not cutting any corners. The infrared heaters remain aglow, warming the dock as the painter waits until the conditions are right.

Progressing

Here is a picture of one of the Tooley's men who are busy busy busy taking SONFLOWER back to bare metal in places. There is dust everywhere and bright steel is showing in places. There is also a considerable amount of filler showing as well.

Clearly visible are the welds where the boat was extended about ten years ago. About twelve foot section was inserted to extend the craft to a little under 57 feet. One result of this extension was that the inserted steel has become a sacrificial anode to the original structure. It is this section that requires complete corrosion protection (new anodes) and rust treatment to arrest the pitting.