​Hull protection.

It goes without saying that keeping the hull of your narrowboat in good condition is fundamental. At Rose Narrowboats we have a variety of services to take care of it for you.

The first part of any out of the water job is to bring the boat out gently of the water on our specially designed slipway trolley and hot pressure off all the weed growth and other detritus. What happens next depends on the type of coating used.

Different types of coatings:

Conventional bitumen based “blacking” is still the most common hull coating used on narrowboats. It is designed for application straight onto bare steel or to itself and can be applied straight on to the hull once it has been throroughly pressure washed. We always apply 2 coats of good quality hull blacking and allow plenty of drying time (typically two days) before the boat is returned to the water.

Comastic: This was a pitch-vinyl based alternative to bitumen single pack coatings which has worked very well for many years. Unfortunately as of 2018 it is no longer available as a result of changes to EU legislation regarding the use of coal tar by-products. We recommend switching to bitumen based coatings which will overcoat Comastic without any problem.

Two pack epoxies:

Preparation of the hull and application of the coating varies according to the system chosen – please contact us for further details. We can carry out gritblasting using the Quill wet system if required.

A basic visual hull, anode and stern gear inspection is included in the price.
Marine Surveys can be arranged at extra cost. We can replace anodes and fettle propellers while the boat is out of the water and advise on any larger repairs.

Larger out of the water jobs, steel work and stern gear take longer than blacking, but can often be combined to help reduce costs.

Other possible extras whilst blacking – sheer strake repaint, fenders, counter bands.

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