The Journey -
Ashore in Veurne

These witterings are available as e-mails as (and when) they are written.  If you would like to be on the circulation list, just drop me a line at website@billybubbles.demon.co.uk, and ask to be put on the distribution list.  E-mail me at the same e-address if you wish to be taken off the distribution list.  PLEASE send only plain-text e-mails, and refrain from sending me pictures of yourself, your boat, your cat etc.  My clunky system e-mail system is S-L-O-W, and will trash anything over about 60 kb

The witterings are also archived on this website.

I hope that there is no-one, who receives these witterings by e-mail, who has expectations of a regular supply.  What passes for my brain doesn't work like that!  I write them as and when a few ideas come together.  By chance, several just have!

We are at currently at Veurne (just across the borders of France, in Belgium, on the Channel coast).  During World War 1, Veurne was the HQ of the Belgian Army, with the front line some 10 or 12 kilometres to the East.

The whole area was pretty much devastated.  The front line was the River Iszer.  Dixmuide was on the eastern bank, and, hence, under German occupation.  It was flattened.  When the Germans left, the citizens returned and had the choice of having their old town rebuilt or having a new one.  They opted for the former.

In Ypres, the damage was so severe that the 'authorities' decided to abandon it, and to keep it as a memorial.  The returning citizens objected to this, and eventually the town was rebuilt.

I've been told that the authorities laid a line of marker stones along the line of the maximum German advance, but that most were removed by the Germans during the World War 2 occupation.

KINKY HOSE-PIPES

Getting water from shore to boat seems to pose some people problems.  There are several solutions.

The high-tech method is one of the clever 'fold-flat' pipes that winds onto a spool.  The advantage is, that when not in use, it takes up very little space.  It has two disadvantages.  First, it is about the most expensive solution.  Second, even if you are moored next to the tap, the whole pipe still has to be unwound - not, I accept, a huge inconvenience.

The second method is to store the hose pipe on a reel, so that only the length required to meet the tap needs to be un-reeled.  This system has disadvantages.  First of all, I have never yet met a free-standing reel that stays put when being unwound or wound.  They invariable start practicing gymnastics as soon as they get the feeling that they are about to be used.

More seriously, it is hygienically important that the hose be stored without water in it, and turning a reel constantly in order to expel all the water in it is a torture that I am informed is in daily use, and is even under consideration by the GBDCSB  - The Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre Supervisory Board.

My preferred solution is to buy a length of hose, preferably of a brand that has a line (or lines) going all the way along it.  These act as a visual guide as to whether the hose is twisted.  Or not.  (As the case may be).

The hose is then cut into lengths, each about 15 to 20 metres long.  Each length is equipped with a 'click' connector (Hozelock, or Gardenia for example), both to connect to another piece of hose AND to connect the two ends of each length together, to exclude the ingress of beasties when the hose(s) is/are not being used.

The advantage of these short lengths is that it is not too tiring to coil each one up after it has been used.

Of course, before coiling up a length, it is most important to properly drain it of water.

The line along my hose is a good visual aid when coiling the hose, and it helps to ensure that coils are not twisted into the hose.

Perfectionists will pay a fortune for a 'food quality' hose.  Us poor relations get along with ordinary garden hoses.

MAINTENANCE OF BOATS

At the moment, we are ashore for a bit of maintenance - scrubbing bottoms etc.

Stripping the hull:

The hulls have quite thick layers of blacking on them.  I though that this was all to the good, but am now convinced otherwise.  Mike is scraping his hull back to base metal.  He is using a Bosch PSE 150 scraper, with an SM40HMS blade.  It's a long job - two or three days.  BUT, as the paint is scraped away, it reveals damp patches that dry out in a few seconds when exposed to the warm(ish) air.  In other words, water is trapped UNDER the paint/bitumen.  I plan to strip off all of "Rosy's" hull paint at the next haul out (in two years' time).

Preparing new shells:

I have some notes that I made a while ago about preparing new steel boats.  For those that know him, they were put together by Pat Garnet when he was building "Rahmani" - his steel copy of Joshua Slocum's "Spray" (the first boat to be sailed single handed around the world).  For what they are worth, here they are (without prejudice!!)

First, the new steel boat needs to be blasted inside and out.

INSIDE: boil a kettle of hot water inside the hull, to encourage the growth of a fine layer of rust.  Then apply Neutra Rust.  Then do what you will.

IMPORTANT: Be VERY WARY of using Waxoyl (as, I believe, used in the Ziebart process).  This stuff is very effective at sealing the surface and, hence, excluding rust BUT it is highly flammable.  With Waxoyl on the boat, it is nearly impossible to do any welding, as the heat may ignite the Waxoyl.

OUTSIDE

Having blasted the outside, IMMEDIATELY apply zinc epoxy.

HULL

My note (made some 15 years ago!) says epoxy tar chlorinated rubber.  I think that this might be one coat of epoxy tar and a second of chlorinated rubber, but then again...

TOPSIDES

A coating of Micatious Iron Oxide.

Top-coat of your choice.  I believe that polyurethane paints can go straight on - traditional oil based paints might need an undercoat.

THE VEURNE BOATYARD

The boatyard at Veurne was built in 1923, as part of the reconstruction of Belgium after WW1.  It was taken over by the father of André, the current proprietor.  As built, it was 100 metres long, but some 30 years ago a motorway was built over part of it, so it was relocated and is now much shorter.  It can still accommodate a peniche sized vessel.  Boats are winched out sideways, up an angle of 20 degrees - the usual angle for such slips is 10 degrees, but the narrowness of the dock necessitated a steeper angle.  Rosy and Temujin were each hauled out, sideways, on two trolleys.  Each trolley is pulled up on some rails, and each trolley has its own winch.  These days, each winch is powered by a 2hp electric motor, massively geared down.  In the past, each winch was turned by hand.  The 15 or 20 metre haul-out took close on 30 minutes.

The winches are of British origins.  They were abandoned by the Brit Army at the start of WW2 and were found by André's family in a scrap yard.

The yard has been run by André's family since it was first built.  Unfortunately, André retires at the end of the year, and he has no children.  Also, the licence to run the site as a boat-yard expires soon (in 2023, I assume), so no-one has shewn any interest in buying it from André.  An added complication is that the side arm, where the slip is located, is in dire need of dredging.

Once the boats are out of the water, the slip has some intermediate trolleys that can take the weight of the slipped boat, enabling the complete base plate to be painted.  On most slips, it is awkward/difficult/impossible to paint those sections of the base plate which are sitting on the trolleys - without putting the boat back in the water, and then hauling it out again, having moved the boat so that the unpainted lengths of base plate are no longer in contact with the trolleys.

Unfortunately for my bank balance, but fortunately for Rosy, André gave her prop a nudge, and noticed that it moved around in the stern-tube bearing.  I've managed to extract the prop shaft.  It had to come out into the boat, so the prop had to be removed, and then most of the drive train had to be dismantled.  We had to remove the stern tube greaser, as it was hiding the nuts of the greaser gland, which also had to be removed.  When the shaft was finally out, we knocked the bearing out, and it is, indeed, badly worn.  The largest marina in Europe (or, at least, a contender) at Nieuport, only stocks 'cutlass' bearings, but a dockside engineering business offered to make one within 24 hours.  I crossed my fingers, and hoped that it would be ready on time, AND that it would fit.

Indeed, Rik Maes of 'Ship Support' (rik.maes@pandora.be) was as good as his word.  It was ready on time AND it fitted like a glove.  He charged 120 Euros, but as an unscheduled job I thought that a very reasonable price (I guess that 'off the shelf' in UK, it would be £40 - £60).  Had he not made it, I would have had to phone round UK (at international call rates) to source one, pay to have it freighted out, and, probably, would have had to pay extra charges for staying on the slip-way beyond the agreed date.  So I was very satisfied.  It is now fitted, and seems to be working OK.

I put two coats of tarry stuff onto the hull, and topped it off with some International 'Bottomcoat'.  I've not put antifouling on before, so it will be interesting to see its effectiveness.

The anodes that we welded on two years ago are nowhere near half way depleted, so the new set that I have in the bilges can stay there until the next slipping.

Veurne is a very good centre.  The main square is surrounded by bars, restaurants and specialist shops, and there are plenty of other decent shops and supermarkets that are easily accessible.  There is a d-i-y store adjacent to the main town mooring dock - which is free, though one has to pay for electricity (cards are Euro 2.50 for 10 kw, and are available from the lock office, or the tourist office in the main square).  A video store rents and sells videos and DVDs, has internet connections at a good price and has a downstairs section for the over 18s only.  There is another internet connection in the library.

Er ....  That's all, Folks!!

Toodle pip!!

Bill