This 60ft narrowboat recently came to us for shot blasting and two-pack epoxy blacking after 26 years of service.

Over her lifetime, she had been blacked numerous times with bitumen, leaving many layers built up on the hull. Her owner decided it was time to remove the accumulated coatings and find out what lay beneath, including any hidden corrosion and pitting.

Shot blasting stripped the hull back to bare steel, allowing us to assess its condition properly. The owner also came to see her once she had been shot blasted, so he could see the condition of the steel for himself before the new coatings were applied.

Surprisingly, the pitting was relatively modest for her age — we have certainly seen worse!

However, the corrosion around the waterline showed that she had come to us at the right time. In our assessment, leaving it another 12 months could have allowed those areas to deteriorate to a more concerning condition.

With the old coatings removed and the steel prepared, we applied two-pack epoxy blacking to protect the hull for the years ahead.

Another satisfying job completed, and a good example of why looking beneath years of blacking can make all the difference.

Boat: The Lethbridge Stewart