Steel Boat restoration

[Trevorleach]

if you can get the water in , theres a hole big enough to suck it out again ,,, lol

then leave a bit of bradford hose in place to hand pump it out once in a while , from inside the boat , Im not a fan of drilling holes below the waterline , again depends if you have access to the top of the bilge keels from inside or not , but Id rather drill a hole and put a brass bung on the inside and bail it once in a while. Hard to know without looking from the inside of the boat really.

Brass wont last to long if in salt water.

 

[tom2207]

Brass wont last long if in salt water.

what ? the brass on my last boat was still gleaming , and that was nearly 100 years after it was built.

and lots of polishing of course.
Ive a brass pin sitting on my window ledge at the moment that was holding a ships hull together before it sank 300 years ago , still as good as the day it was made too , rest of the boat isnt just as good , although the hull was copper plated and its still like new too , brass is divers gold.

 

[Trevorleach]

what ? the brass on my last boat was still gleaming , and that was nearly 100 years after it was built.

and lots of polishing of course.

Key word being in, and not on.

 

[tom2207]

what ?

Key word being in, and not on.

not at all ,,, why do you think they used so much brass on old boats ?

 

[tom2207]

Brass wont last to long if in salt water.

View attachment 323030thats hoofed into stainless

never mix colours if you can avoid it ,,, an old guy I sailed with would just look at shafts and bearings and shake his head ,, and say '' too many colours'' .

 

[Trevorleach]

not at all ,,, why do you think they used so much brass on old boats ?

The key word being old, see much brass on underwater fitings on todays boats do you?
Remember the bilge drain bung will by its very nature be underwater.
Brass is like wood, a royal pita.

 

[Trevorleach]

never mix colours if you can avoid it ,,, an old guy I sailed with would just look at shafts and bearings and shake his head ,, and say '' too many colours'' .

Im not sure how old that bung was, I went to undo it to drain the stainless pipe, and the bloody thing just fell apart, actually drilled out the remains whilst holding the drill bit with my fingers, glad it did not fail underway.

 

[tom2207]

Im not sure how old that bung was, I went to undo it to drain the stainless pipe, and the bloody thing just fell apart, actually drilled out the remains whilst holding the drill bit with my fingers, glad it did not fail underway.

its amazing how some things just hang on to the end ,,, I was at the bottom of a mooring pile yesterday morning , only about 2m down and the guys who put it in used stainless nuts on galv threadbar , about 32mm bar , when i measured it yesterday it was waisted and was down to about 20mm and gleaming like new silver aero ,,, what ever was going on round the pontoons with ac and boats leaking dc . the threads had just dissolved away ... I should have taken pics but as there was all ready a que of brass monkeys standing out side the welding shop ,, I wasnt for hanging about in the water longer than I needed to.

 

[awemawson]

what ? the brass on my last boat was still gleaming , and that was nearly 100 years after it was built.

and lots of polishing of course.
Ive a brass pin sitting on my window ledge at the moment that was holding a ships hull together before it sank 300 years ago , still as good as the day it was made too , rest of the boat isnt just as good , although the hull was copper plated and its still like new too , brass is divers gold.

Probably bronze rather then brass ?

 

[tom2207]

Probably bronze rather then brass ?

nope ,, I know the difference , brass . theres lots of bronze and gunmetal too of course ,, but brass is still brass.

 

[daedalusminos]

Im not sure how old that bung was, I went to undo it to drain the stainless pipe, and the bloody thing just fell apart, actually drilled out the remains whilst holding the drill bit with my fingers, glad it did not fail underway.

That'll be galvanic corrosion

 

[Trevorleach]

That'll be galvanic corrosion

Think its called Dezinfication, first time I have actually seen it with my own eyes.

 

[tom2207]

Think its called Dezinfication, first time I have actually seen it with my own eyes.

yep its the zinc working as an anode , brass being copper and about 12% zinc from memory , zinc will vanish if theres electric about , but on older wooden boats it wasnt such an issue ,,,

 

[awemawson]

Which is why underground water fittings are made from bronze and not brass. I've seen water valves reduced to a sponge like honeycomb as the zinc has leached out in the wrong type of soil.

 

[bert]

I think it's safe to say I won't be worrying any pipe welders with my skill on a stick welder and learning on the job might not be the best of ideas when it needs to keep the water out.

 

[bert]

Sadly I've run out of time to get it all welded up so will finish it off next weekend.

 

[roblane65]

It'll be fine , stick loads on grind it off ,paint jobs a gud un

 

[Bullet2012]

Keep going, you are doing a grand job, your parents would be proud and happy that you are doing all this.

 

[tom2207]

certain points in time it may be prudent to pay some one to do it , as youve done the hard bit , and have peace of mind if your not 100% confident , but its off to a mighty start .

 

[a111r]

That's a welding job for @spaffmonkey, offer him bribes / swaps?

You're an expert on thin MIG. This maybe needs an expert on 5+ mm MMA, for the sake of one pin hole or suchlike that's later a massive ache to fix?