The welder uses his chipping hammer not to test the weld but to remove the slag formed by the flux around the weld. The flux is the coating around the welding rod.

Reallly, I don't know WHY I come back here. I don't own a boat, I don't live in the UK, and I WON'T buy a boat - too costly here. BUT the vlogs are SO well done, the production is SO good, and he speaks SO well.. I just have to see more! :D

I can tell you, because I’m an expert. He wasn’t testing the weld, he was making sure no woodpeckers had taken up residence by pretending to be a dominant male woodpecker setting up home in the territory. Sometimes you just need to ask an expert. Your welcome.

"At some point you have to stop listening to the internet or your head will explode" Sage advice indeed that we should all take note of

found out this about the little boat. it's a tug, named "Mouse", one of three. The other two are named "Mole" and "Frog". They were built and owned by Union Canal Carriers in 1979 for the repair project of the Braunston tunnel. they are small enough that they are able to turn around inside. too bad it's rotting away

You've managed to make watching paint dry rather entertaining. Thank you for the behind the scenes boat maintenance.

She, the mysteriously named boat, is looking fabulous! You take such good care of her and you take care of us with your interesting and entertaining videos. Thank you!

Job well done, ..again, David. One thing; Gary 2, when he was welding the new anodes on, used an 'electrode', (stick welding to the initiated). This leaves a deposit, (slag) on the top of the finished weld. He used a 'slag hammer' to remove this by tapping the weld so that there was bare metal, ready for the new 'Blacking'. He wasn't checking to see if it held. Otherwise, a great video showing everyone how to do it, properly. (Be careful when 'touching up', you wouldn't want to end up being involved in the "ME TOO" chaos) Haha. LoL.

Wow boat came out after the work like a new one, fair play.

My favorite sound in the whole world is a Nitro burning Hemi and here I am binge-watching cruising the cut.

Wow. I can't tell how much I look forward to your videos. As a retired TV broadcast guy who worked with " TV News personalities" every day of my career, I can certainly see where your quiet sense of humor was developed. Keep up the good work.

I couldn't believe how little mess you made on that nice new clean floor! Very interesting video, as always.Thanks.

I respect your conscientious attention to detail in maintaining your very attractive vessel.

My narrowboat had a 6mm baseplate from new. It was built in 1992. At the time of purchase in 2018 we had a full survey which showed, at its thinnest, the baseplate was down to 5.4mm. Never blacked. That's a loss of 0.6mm of steel in 26 years. I'd say the don't bother team are in the right when it comes to blacking a baseplate.

I certainly didn't expect special fx today. Well done, Rustolator!

You have a fascinating way of life. I'm enjoying the picturesque views.

You have made me want to jump on a fast jet to England and then slow down on a narrowboat. What a life...very jealous here on the Great Lakes.

Cracking up at the replacement of old Gary with new Gary :D

lol the new freckles are too cute!

I'm from the U.S.A. and I enjoy watching your videos. Keep up the great work.

The boat looks fantastic you did a great job. I also watched two adverts for your channel today, one before the video started and another at 8 minutes. I always love your channel so it’s the least I could do! Thank you.

Just came across these vids last nite. Quite a curious life yeah? Love the beautiful ways folks personalize their narrow boats. Definatly worth a look if i ever make it to the UK. Thank you David for such well done videos!!

I don't usually read comments and after these I can see why! Most people are 'experts' despite not owning a narrowboat. They don't actually watch/listen to the video. They ask the same questions over and over. You have the patience of a saint David! PS thank you for the fantastic vlogs 😊

A fair bit of work that! A job well done and cups of tea well earned.

When you showed the boats bottom the bare steel appeared to be as good as new so it appears as though no blacking is needed as you said. 👍🏻👍🏻

Hi David and viewers. A nicely shot video with some good commentary. Overall very helpful to other boaters. My only real difference of opinion would be regarding your comments on blacking the base plate (minute 14 onwards). You have obviously been given the same spiel as many other boat owners on this point, which to be quite honest harks back to the distant past. There is one simple reason that the base plates were not blacked, and that is because virtually no yards on the canals had docks or slipways which allowed access to do such work. This didn't matter so much in the days of working boats that did a lot of miles as the base was constantly rubbing in the silt which kept the base clean. Eventually the areas which were rubbing hard ERRODE thin rather than CORRODE. However with today's boats which are rarely covering the miles of old, the base does corrode. Not so much at the edges or at the stern where errosion still is the primary cause for metal loss but the remainder certainly will corrode if left unprotected. So going through the reasons given to you I'll dispel a few myths. Firstly if its only mainly the water line which corrodes why do we bother to paint all the sides when we could just paint a band a foot wide along the water line? If it is merely the presence of oxygen which aids corrosion, and you say there's not much O2 at 2ft down. How do the fish live down there? In fact now that our canals are so much cleaner the O2 levels are far higher than ever before. Not to mention anaerobic corrosion which does not require the presence of O2. As for the blacking rubbing off, well it does in places as mentioned. However where it doesn't the steel remains protected. You are correct that if your'e boat has a 10mm base plate it will take many years to corrode all the way through. However it doesn't happen like that in practice and it will be pits which form. These pits can grow rapidly deeper and will require remedial work if they get too deep. If there are many of them eventually the base may need over plating, which is a costly exercise. The simple fact is, that if a yard can not lift the boat into a suitable working position to carry out base plate inspections and work, then rather than losing your custom they will spin all the above yarns as to why you needn't bother. The choice is of course yours, but if you want to protect your entire hull you need to black the base. And that is why more yard such as mine are investing 100's of thousands of pounds in the correct infrastructure to do the job correctly, rather than relying on a few old wives tales to keep our businesses going.

I've noticed you sometimes seem to doubt your DIY skills even though each project you have undertaken has yielded professional results, it is inspiring.

Another great blog. I Am watching this as I look out at 8 inches of snow in Southern Ontario Canada and the temp outside is -9 C. Even seeing the October day on your video warmed me up. I have enjoyed all of these blogs. The 15 minute length is just right. You provide a great mix of information both technical and scenery related. Thanks very much.

I love all these videos. I haven't got a boat but one day I may have one.

Regarding rust, as a general rule, 1mm of steel, are giving 10 mm of rust, so your bottom plate can in theory "give" 100mm of rust, before any catastrophic events:)

A job very well done. I hope your feeling very proud. There's nothing better than seeing a well maintained narrow boat on the cut. 👍🎉

Thanks! I had a good laugh at your speckled face at the 8 minute mark. What a hoot!

You have picked a fantastic way to live. Great video editing, especially @9:34

12:20 That would be an ineffective method for testing whether it's on correctly, probably a heavy mallet would be more up your alley for that. He's actually cleaning off the slag from the weld with a chipping hammer. Welding like that (shielded metal arc welding, or SMAW) commonly called stick welding, uses a metal rod coated in flux and different gassing materials which, when the rod is heated, form a glassy coating and also floods the area with protective gases to prevent the molten metal from seeing atmosphere. The air we breathe is actually terrible for the weld and leads to bad stuff like porosity (think swiss cheese). Basically all types of welding have a method of protecting the molten metal from the atmosphere, either via a gas shielding or slag coating, or both. It is bad to leave the slag on for several reasons, not just because it looks better, but to properly inspect the weld for things like cold lap and undercut, to paint over, in case another bead is to be put on, and because there can be a chance it could lead to more rapid rusting of the joint or some other deterioration of the weld by creating a pocket for trapping moisture. It's also not good for stuff like that to be flaking off into the canals all the time. Sorry, I just love welding. I'm so happy to have found a profession I have a passion for, and jumped at the chance to explain something I actually know about that others might not. I did go on a bit long about slag, but I wanted to illustrate that in welding, the actual time spent welding is almost always just a fraction of the total job when compared with fit-up and cleanup. It may take me 45 mins to prepare a part for welding, and my actual time under the hood melting metal could be 3 mins. To burn a whole stick like that guy had is often about 60 seconds.

If the yard tells you it doesn’t matter if it rains or the hulls is a little damp, they are lying and just want to get the job done and money in their pockets. You are very detailed, and as a builder and repair guy in various yards you do a great job of explaining it to folks who know very little.

I was just thinking, "Why not the bottom of the boat?" and then you said..... "I know what you are thinking..." Brilliant timing. Great episode, thank you for sharing.

By the power of Screw fix! Classic! So funny😂

I love hard work! I could watch it all day!

You sure do look after your home David. Yet another 1st class vlog. (Y)

Seeing your boat after so little time since the previous blacking, I now see For Sale statements reporting 'last blacking 2010', or so, with a much refined eye. Thanks!

The emblem in front looks like a Seattle Seahawks emblem. I'm a yank but if I were to move to the UK I would only consider a narrow boat. This seems to be a lot like having a truck camper in the US or Canada. The US and Canada does not have canals like the UK does. Truck campers and narrow boats seem to have a lot of the same issues except truck campers don't need 'blacking' I can't believe you got this done so quickly. I have done maintenance on sail boats. That paint is noxious. New Gary was handy with the welder. I learned something about using magnesium anodes for fresh water instead of zinc. Inside condensation is a big problem for truck campers too..

Hi as your channel was the first I saw and joined I have just had my offer accepted on a 55 ft trad traditional boat today. At last I can start my long awaited journey

Arc welding rods create slag so this is what he would of chipped off. Really liked the video and your commentary of it. All the best bro.

Thanks for a very practical look at owning and operating narrowboats.

This is the second time I have seen this vid - your channel is highly entertaining and informative, just the thing to watch whilst crocheting attractive slip covers for a pair of ski boots - but I'd forgotten about the anodes. The sacrificial anodes. One eye is now twitching as I have traumatic flashbacks to chemistry lessons and lectures sat through in a previous century; I fear that tonight my dreams will be haunted by galvanic electrode half equations, brandishing their reduction potentials threateningly as they demand "Balance us! Balance us! BALANCE UUUUUUUS!"

Nice video. Before this video I wanted a 60 ft boat, now as I do not like painting or sanding I want a 12 ft one, or 60 ft stainless steel :-)

Nice one! :) Thanks for explaining why the no-paint on the bottom. Makes perfect sense.

Thanks so much for these fantastic vlogs x

I prefer Old Gary but because of my magnanimous nature I’m prepared to give New Gary a chance.

I'm from the other side of the pond in the US and I have just found your channel and another called The Narrowboat Experience. I find this mode of travel so intriguing and relaxing. Wish we had something like it in the states. I looked at the canal maps online and you have quite the network of canals to traverse. Thank you for your channel.

Super job on the painting, looks awesome. Well done.

Really enjoying these videos. Thanks.

So, Braunston tunnel has a crick and Crick tunnel doesn't. Somebody didn't think this through.

A few things your anodes dont look too bad and the the addition of the centre anode was a good idea , however anodes types are used not just for fresh or salt water, it all depends on the material the vessel is made of that determines the type of anode used and in some cases a mixture of ferrous and non ferrous anodes are used to cover all bases.

Thank you for this video! You did a nice job Sir.

this boat has definitely kept you busy!! nice job as usual. :-)

A friend just recently recommended this channel. I rarely watch youtube but found your vblog fascinating. I knew about the English canals but nothing else. I have now watched all 126 of your vlogs. I really appreciate your very professional videos especially when I compare them to many other videos.

Living on Lake Superior in Michigans Upper Peninsula I'm around boats daily when the water is not hard. I've become fascinated with this series on KZfaq. Really does look like something I would enjoy traveling and renting a boat for a month and experience this adventure.

This vlog answers all my questions!

Hi there David, so very pleased you answered my question before I had an opportunity to ask, now I understand why you decided not to black the bottom plate of your narrow boat. Regards, Garry

They need to have rolls of plastic to lay down before parking the boat on it. That concrete will look bad after many paintings.

0:56 "Where I first fell in the canal." Soooooo, how many times have you fallen in then??? 😆

Thoroughly enjoyed these videos, I’m sitting here in 110° weather in Phoenix Arizona USA ! Thank you for all your time you Have put in these videos.

Such satisfaction in doing it yourself. Looks great, David. Well done.

Damned if you do damped if you don't at the end of the day it's you money lol love the videos

Those appear to be Zebra Mussels, they are an invasive species both where I live (Michigan, US) and in the UK.

She is like a new boat, so much work done by you. well done.

your boat looks lovely David, good job sir

Looked like the quickening there, "There can be only one" :-) Welding next to a block of magnesium? That could have become a very bright affair.

Absolutely paint in the dry. Much better result.

Wow! Really enjoying the beautiful scenery 👏👏👏👏 I’m fascinated as to how one could review a shed - and now I know! 😃

totally with you with the boat beeing dry for painting! "surfaces must be clean and dry" is kinda the mantra in paint manuals...

Just watched, I now have anxiety about the bottom of your boat! 😄

It looked great after you was done. GREAT JOB. But you looked like you had black chicken pox... lol... That was nice that the marina made a deal with you. And now you can say you was the 1st to use it. Happy boating, Chris P.S. I have a question. Where do you leave your van when your on your boat?

I really enjoyed your vlog from Australia cruising the Barrier Reef Steady as she goes, regards Simon

I really enjoy your delivery style and the quality and content of your videos. As a Yank having lived in England for three years (85, 86, 87) I had a wonderful experience. I've been back since then for several short (too short) visits. Love this stuff...keep it coming please.

Maybe a dumb question but why not do the anodes before you re-coat the hull?

The one important amount you left out was how many cups of tea it took to get to the end of the blacking.

Great vlog, thank you for answering my question at the end that I didn’t even have to ask, great explanation and I agree with you, from the small amount of the bottom of the boat it didn’t need blacking. No doubt you will look at again when the boat is out it the water.👍🏻

You may not be a welder or a cattle rancher but you present exceptional videos : HD or 4K images, intelligent succinct comments, and very informative !! You have a 36 HP Narrow boat with blacking below the water line and eat cheddar cheese( sharp) sandwiches for fuel and you don't fish the canals. For 50 yrs of age, you are doing marvelous.

"Old Garry went off to another marina so they hired a new Garry" I was in the middle of taking a drink at that moment and laughing so hard it shot out my nose.

Might seem like a stupid question, but why there the old anaodes removed after painting instead of before as it would have probaly led to more thouching up with the paint.

thank you for explaining the anodes; I've been hearing them referred to for a while now without the vaguest idea of their what or why.

Love your "moon dance" moves around your boat.🕺

What are the costs of each aspect of this process? Use of shed, anodes, paint, welding etc.

A bit naughty not to protect his nice new floor with dust sheets or something.

Your boat is looking great, thank you for sharing your amazing story

Splendid post. Thank you for sharing.

By the power of screwfix 😂

Chiming in more than a year later, but what did you have to do to keep the floor from being all mucked up by prep and painting? Did you use tarps or was the surface protected so all you had to do was do a clean up with a broom, vac, and/or cleaning solution? I am very happy to run into your vlog, as I have always been fascinated with canals and canal boats.

I like your channel. I just stumbled on narrow boats and i think its an amazing world to be part of. Definitely something different and with the rebuilding of many of the British narrow canals and the rebuilding of much of the land infrastructure on the side it looks like a unique way to live. I never knew people lived like this.

I really enjoy your videos. thank you very much for all these videos and updates! your boat is very nice!

ive never once been interested in boating in my life. how tf did i get here?

Maybe next time find a Victorian child to crawl under boat & do the painting for you..

Great job on all your videos. I look at a lot of blogs but yours is over the top on everything.iam in Oregon,USA take care keep them coming..

I love it when you get a chance to clean up the boat. The end result is always satisfying. Well done!

When it's up on the blocks do you still sleep in it etc. or use a b&b?

I realize this video is 4 years old and you've sold your boat and moved into a proper residence. But I wanted to tell you that new Gary was tapping the welds with a chipping hammer because he "stick welded" the new anodes on. Stick welding leaves a crust which must be chipped off so that you could apply a proper blacking to the area. F.Y.I.

Enjoyable and informative. A good watch. Thanks!

I had a nice relaxing wkend watching your channel thanks mate