Blacking the Boat

We have completed the four county ring and are now heading to Fradley Junction, where we have been before, to leave the boat for a week to be blacked.

The hull is blacked to protect the section of the boat that is in the water and just above the water line. The process protects the steel in the hull from rust, pitting, and the unavoidable rubbing that occurs when you enter/exit a lock, come in contact with something submerged in the water, get stuck in the mud, come in contact with the sides of the canal and such. By periodically blacking the boat you can extend the life of the boat.

The boat needs to be taken out of the water for the blacking to be done.  Ours will be floated into a dry dock and the water will then be removed so that the work can be done.

Blacking is a three day process at a minimum.  Where we are having ours done it is a six day process so that complete drying is assured between the three parts of the process.

On day one the Boat will be  pressure washed to remove as much of the old blacking and gunk (a technical term) like weeds, mud, and rust as possible. Doing this prepares the hull for the new blacking to be applied. Day two will be a "rest" day to make sure the boat is completely dry before the re-blacking is done.

The boat is taken out of the water and the hull is pressure washed (this is not our boat, just a picture I found).

On day three the first coat of blacking is applied to the hull.  Painting the coating on is done manually with a small roller, the reason is that the paint goes hard very quickly and has to be applied in small sections.  Day three is a day to make sure everything is dry.

The hull is ready for blacking

On day four you put on a second coat of the blacking.  You also put in place the sacrificial anodes on the hull. Sacrificial anodes are put there to "sacrifice" themselves and protect the hull from corrosion.The boat is then left for 48 hours to dry before it is returned to the water.

The blacking is applied

 
In two to three years, repeat. :-)