Tar tears

This week we are on the slipway (helling in Dutch) with Vereeniging. It’s been months in the planning, but I finally got confirmation of my booking last Friday, which was a great relief. The weekend was spent preparing to go: battery charged, fuel tank filled, stern grease replenished. With everything in order, we left the harbour on Monday morning for the short trip south to Zelzate where we were hauled out just after lunch. Things moved slowly to begin with as it's a busy yard, but on Wednesday, the hull was cleaned with a super high pressure hose. That's when the fun began, though.

On our way to the yard.

Waiting for the lift-out

We had to tie up next to those poles to make 
sure we were on the trolleys

Koos chatting to the yard boss

Now we are being hauled out. There's a
powerful winch on the yard that drags the trolleys
up the rails you see ahead of Vereeniging.

Tied to the poles and on the way up

The trolleys underneath

On Wednesday, she was put on blocks ready for
the work to begin.

Random photo of the yard

A track leading out of the yard which makes
a nice stroll

Once she was up on blocks, one of the yard staff cleaned off her bottom but when he'd finished, he commented that there was still a lot of old tar on her hull. I knew this and have always baulked at stripping it off because it's a big job. Sand blasting would be the best choice but very expensive. However, Alex, the yard's main maintenance man, pointed out the risks of leaving the tar in place. I knew he was right and the evidence was clear. The old tar coating that skippers used to paint on the hull has a tendency to move. When it's hot, it softens, melts and shifts; when it's cold it contracts and cracks. I could see the ripples and breaks in the paint for myself, as this past year has been particularly hard on my barge.

So, I decided to have a go at scraping it all off. With the help of my wonderful daughter, Jo, we've just spent two days manually removing the thick layers of tar that remained on the hull. It's been a really tough job resulting in both of us having seriously smarting skin from the 'tar burn'. We both wore protective face masks and glasses as well as hats, but even so, the fine dust from the tar crept through the cracks and, worse still, into the corners of our eyes. Ouch! Tar tears are pretty painful tears, but it is at last done.

Me and my scraper

port side done; starboard still to go.

Our beloved pooches were so patient, sitting in the car. They're
happy as long as they can be together

But with the scraping done, on the port side, the painting could
begin, thanks to Koos. This is a primer coat.

Koos heading down to the water's edge to take
a photo. What else?

Tomorrow, we'll finish applying the primer and hopefully begin on the top coats. There are some anodes to replace and a couple of holes above the water line to be welded, so we'll probably be there until the middle of next week.

For now, though, I have the satisfaction of knowing we've done a thorough job and I can collapse into bed with my sore face and tar tears. I'm sure it will all feel better tomorrow when we can really get painting in earnest.

Have a good weekend allemaal. If it's a holiday for you, enjoy it! If not, I hope the coming week is a good one.