Thursday 28 April 2011

Gunning for Star

Poor old Star has taken a bit of a back seat these past few months as we've slaved away on Harry but this weekend it gets its turn.
We came out of the water and onto the slipway today to give a well deserved spring spruce up - a new coat of blacking on the hull, a strip back and repaint of the tug deck and some touching up of the sides.
Which gave me a chance to try out another boatyard toy - the pneumatic needle gun. This is a fiendish device which batters the steelwork with a cluster of steel needles about the size of the knitting ones but a lot more powerful. They tap away at the steel and blacking and paint goes flying.
In only a couple of hours the sides above the waterline were back to bare metal so the blacking will look smooth and flat rather than patchily hiding years of scrapes and dings.
It's a great tool though a bit of a beast; my hands are still shaking from the vibbrratttionn and there's a decent size blister on one of them.
Tomorrow are alternative royal wedding enterprise will be another coat of blacking and a coat of paint. Maybe followed, like today, with some beers and a takeaway.

2 comments:

Andy Tidy said...

Kevin
I came through Seethay last Sunday and nearly clipped Star's bows peeping out from behind the railway bridge! I couldn't see you anywhere - maybe nest time.

Oakleaf - David Oakes said...

Beers and a Take Away....sounds like a good excuse to get on with the blacking. Take advantage of this good weather....it has to change soon.