125. Removing the narrowboat engine so I can de-rust and paint the bilge 

I burst into laughter at 7.45. Ive seen cleaner coalminers emerge from pit. I dont know how someone can make me laugth cleaning a bilge thanks David.

I loved the cut to camera with you face covered in muck and I'm still giggling now , brilliant

One of things I like about your vlogs is that there's usually at least one laugh out loud moment (no, not your puns!). In this case the cut from beautifully clean bilge to bedraggled and filthy you. An excellent vision of grime transference. Journalist's juxtapositions 101.

" Iron oxide can expand between 7 and 11 times its original thickness and as the oxide expands it forces the grain structure apart into layers of corrosion. " Your flakes of rust looked about 2 mm, so you might have lost 0.2mm of metal thickness from the 10mm hull. I would watch all your videos if I was laid up : they're very well-made.

Very interesting. I work in the paper industry in the states. Of course, with all the rotating equipment and powered trucks, lifts, cranes, etc., we have in a paper mill, we have our share of oil leaks. If we clean those up with paper towels, oil pigs, absorbent sheets, and clay absorbent, we have to put all the contaminated cleaning material in special barrels and dispose of it with certified companies as "Special waste." The cleaning materials are very expensive, and so is the disposal. However, if we use sawdust, of which we have a lot, as an absorbent, we're allowed to burn the oil-soaked absorbent in our waste fuel incinerator. Sawdust is cheap, effective and easy to handle, burning it destroys the spilled oil completely, and we even get energy from it, with which we produce power.

All the people moaning about there being no metal left after the rust was pulled are clueless, its 10mm thick steel, be lucky if that rust has taken 1mm of the metals thickness away. Nice to see someone taking there time todo this sort of thing as it looks like new now, top job!

Wow! what a job, I like how you take such good care of the ole girl...Well done David.

This episode is so good I have watched it three times now. It just goes to show how well you can transform the look of a rusty cruddy area with determination, hard graft and a few well-chosen products, well done David. I just love the smell of Gunk first thing in the morning! David in Dudley.

In England: a lump hammer In Texas: a 4 lb sledge Universal language: A big-ass hammer Bilge... without removing the works... you did it right. Don't answer... I know... you ventured back to the bilge with a torch... for a few nights after... somewhere down some canal... to admire your hard work. I get it. I'd do the same... with a flashlight. You did a good thorough job. Well done and cheers from Texas :)

You are - yourself - the ultimate bilge cleaning and painting tool. And that is not an insult! Good on ya!

I had to chuckle at you worried about poking a hole in the bottom of your boat whilst wearing a diving submarine t shirt.

A bit off topic, but mentioned it.. I met Mr. Jon Pertwee(Doctor Three), when he was in Louisiana. His opinion on our tea, “hot water” ( I hooked him up with some Earl Grey) His opinion of our coffee, “stood up, bid him a top of the morning, and sauntered off”.

Don't knock yourself too much, you did great that's a lot of work there before putting the engine back.nice job.

You looked like a chimney sweep! (bilge de-rust and paint video)

I have to apologise... @ 7:45 I burst into laughter :)

Bilges are normally filthy, yours are quite good. Oil will help protect the metal. I gues you have no bilge suction and overboard discharge system. You can get electro acidic action where diss similar metals are used in contact with water.. If this is the case fitting a diode will help with this. These days putting an electric charge through the hull can help with this but this is expensive. Your engine is nice really have seen a lot worse as my time as a naval engineer.. I like you reports they are good really. And interesting.

Is there anything in the world more satisfying than a clean, dry, rust-free bilge?

Quite an ordeal! Thanks for sharing.

Something I NEED todo this year... when it’s a bit warmer

4 years ago, but great job! This level of attention goes a long way!

First to get the bona fides out of the way. During my long and maybe some what illustrious career working as a QA for the U.S. DoD I will says that hands down your meticulous attention to detail warms the cockles to the wee patys there-in. It cannot be OCD as I see it. I penny found is a penny earned and that applies to the detailing set forth here. A job well done mate.

What an awesome video; the narrow boat equivalent of lancing a boil, seeing great wodges of rusty baseplate come away..and a guest appearance from the lump hammer too! So pleased to see such a pristine bilge at the end of all the hard work! Thankyou for the entertainment

7:45 The optimism and irony of your shirt is wonderful!

Very pleasing to see you perform a great job which produced a fantastic result.Much of the moisture may be a result of condensation due to the colder temperature of the lower part of the boat with it being below the water line.I find that trays of cat litter absorb moisture. This also works inside boats (as well as caravans etc). A few small tin foil trays (take away food type) placed in the colder corners of cupboards etc. should help reduce condensation/dampness problems. Very well worth doing.

As a former Ship Repair Welder and Supervisor and also small angling Boat owner, I think you did a first class job. You were right to think that the large flakes of rust had not worn the shell thickness too much, it always looks worse than it is. I laughed when you were using a hair dryer to warm the area through, I did the same when I cleaned the fuel tank on my Boat. It's surprising how warm it got. As I said, you did a good job and I enjoyed the vlog, pity about the Spider, I love them and never ever kill them.😁😁

7:50 A truly excellent choice of T-shirt for scraping holes in the bottom of your boat!

Well David I've got to admire your input on your corrective work done on your narrowboat engine inspections and de rusting removal I always love to see a person who is willing and able to carry out a 100% Job done well and as your aware it always pays to be completely positive especially when dealing with rust especially underneath the main heart of your vessel. Certainly a job done well 👍👍

Hello I’ve been watching you from the start of your canal life . I just cannot wait to see what you do next . I love the way you just get down to any job that needs doing .

I live in New Zealand and we have a type of vacuum cleaner that we call a wet pick-up. They can suck up water and oil as well as dust and dirt with a change of the bag to a filter. In America they are called a shop-vac, I think. Consider getting one if you are going to stay on your narrowboat for another bilge cleaning and painting. They come in sizes between 20 and a 100 litres. I'm sure a 20 litre model could be stashed away somewhere on your boat to suck up minor and not so minor floods. Great series... keep up the good work. Thanks.

A wet and dry vacuum to remove all the water after rinsing the degreaser off would have sped things up a bit, I use them at work for cleaning up water spills, they work really well. Good job on rectifying that rust issue, it's right now for many years to come.

That deadpan delivery at 7:45 with a face full of oilsmears had me in stitches. Truly cultish.

Well, I’m impressed! Such a clean and tidy engine bay . Now I may have been mistaken but having watched all your vlogs in recent weeks didn’t I once see you wearing your carpet slippers in there? Clearly the sign of a perfectionist! Great VLOG and thanks for sharing

So… I’m watching a “Cruizing the Cut” video interested in how to clean out a bilge. The narrator is someone I’ve always known as being precise, articulate, neat, and proper throughout all his narratives. As he proceeded to clean out this bilge I empathized how uncomfortable and difficult but satisfying a job this must be. I am very seriously and attentively taking all the information he is giving me. Then suddenly he pops on the screen sitting in a filthy T-shirt with a greasy face and probably oil soaked hair!! Soooo out of character for this wonderful man! I completely broke down into a 10 minute abdominal cramping, full out laughing jag. You’ll have to please excuse my rudeness but it was just so funny! The forlorn look on your face! The tears on mine, I can’t stop laughing!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for a much needed belly laugh after my long heartbreaking week! I just love your videos and subtle sense of humor.

I love hard work, I could watch it all day :p

7:45 That dramatic concerned - face - makeup ! Plus the perfect T-shirt. . . omg Hahaha

David, I really like your videos. You take such pains to fully explain what is going on. The pictures are very helpful. Keep up the good work.

That was a job really well worth doing, if only for the peace of mind it gives. Had it been me that rusty spot in the bilge would have played on my mind.

Your face reminded me of when I finished a shift down the pit, but your making a good job of it

What a project! You’re a braver man than I am ... and also an inspiration to get on with my own unpleasant but necessary jobs around the house.

my secret weapon for smaller ( and hard to access) areas: Owatrol oil for metal, works wonders! it soaks into the rust and solidifies there, blocking oxygen and further rusting. can be painted over with most one part paints. perfect for the occasional tiny blister that isnt really big enough to start the big show.

Oil is great stuff to prevent rust. It's common to apply used oil to leaf springs and other suspension components on trucks and trailers. Most people don't like the way it looks on their pretty cars, but trucks are more utilitarian. A lot of people also want to paint these components, but paint doesn't penetrate nearly as well and oil. Oh yes, rust is eight times greater in volume than steel.

I just discovered your channel and I find it really interesting, you have a nice way of explaining things.

If you want an ongoing method of keeping the oil and water off the bilges and an easy way of getting the water and oil out then get hold of a supply of cheap nappies and chuck them down in the bilges (absorbent side down). Every few months just have a look and pull the "full" ones out and replace with some new ones. I have a cruiser stern and the deckboard drainage gutters can become overwhelmed in a downpour. I remember being down in the engine hole after a downpour chucking full nappies from the bilges up onto the stern deck. I popped my head up and some passersby on the towpath were looking quite alarmed at the sight of nappies flying out of my engine room!

As always you have done quite an impressive job of it. I'm really impressed that you cleaned the engine well. All that hard work will pay off when you do your regular maintenance and find out how much easier it is to work on a clean engine. I saw the alternator video, but I'm thinking about regular every day maintenance and service. Clean is always way easier to work on.

You looked like a coal passer from the good old days of steam. It is better than before. C

i think we should have a moment of silence for the spider

You're right! That engine compartment is beautiful!

Great vlog as always! Thank you for sharing!

You could call yourself a rustifarian now. Nice satisfying job!

Thanks David. A good reminder that boats rust from the inside.

all repairs come with surprises,,,,,engine and transmissions more so,,,,but as we repair, we learn, and for the most part, we save money and sometimes make friends. Good job, great attention to detail,,and im glad your posts are real, and that you include the good and not so good in them. Its great that alllll of us can learn from you. Thanks again for a great video!!

I was taught by my late father that rust always gathers in the hardest to reach places due to the perversity of inanimate objects. That was one aitch of a job. Well done to finish.

thoroughly enjoyed this video.... I myself was very curious about the rust converter called Vactan. When I worked as a lowly deckhand on ships, we had what is called EndRust. It was also white when applied and then soon turned bluish purple. After ir completely dried it was very dark black. We deckhands always put two coats, the first was applied as Port to starboard direction then the second coat was applied bow to stern direction to assure every little spot was covered so the endrust can convert the rust to a sort of primer preventative layer against moisture. If we were in a hurry we would just put two coats of the top coat but if we had time such as a shipyard inspection we would put two coats of primer then two coats of finish coat. Our ship used to shine and we were so proud of her. I can completely sympathise with how you were feeling when you found that little leak had marred your top coat project. You are well on your way to being a top notch and highly qualified narrow boat captain. you are really putting your blood sweat and tears into your boat, even though I found your vlogs years late lol good sailing Captain

You, sir, are a hoot.

Thank you for letting me know England this way, your work is greatly appreciated and professional.

David,,,Another excellent video!! Several of us know the frustration of trying to do a good job but then having surprises pop up along the way, like your fuel dribbles on wet paint. You put in an exorbitant amount of labor,,,lotsa elbow grease, determination, and expertise!! The result is admirable beyond measure on any ones scale!! This shows us once again that you insist on the very best result you can achieve and will take nothing that isnt first rate!! I admire your work and the outstanding outcome!! Thanks also for showing us all the details, the items used on the job, and even not being afraid to show us what a hell of a mess you got yourself into in doing it!!! HAHA!! But in the long run, you are a gentleman in the strictest meaning of the term, and you do clean up well!! Well enough to be a movie star to all of us!! Thanks again for the extra double effort of doing the video! Our wishes and prayers go with you on your journeys through life!!! regards,,,bill in alabama

I just love seeing other people work.

Here's the thing with diesel engines; they always work best with a "halo" of oil vapor around them...

One of the not so lovely things about living on a boat is those messy chores , but you should be proud of a job well done. Shiny !

The cleaning of the bilge was so satisfying to watch! Truly an alarming pile of rust but I'm glad it looked worse than it really was

You are a great RU-vidr

Really interesting, thank you for showing all this, you are extremely persevering and willing to turn your hand to maintaining the boat yourself, as I am a total numpty it’s been great to see this develop over the course of your vlogs. Really enjoying steadily watching the vlogs and I take notes 😂 Our house is now on the market so the adventure is hopefully beginning for us too .... 👍

At last the elusive oil leak is revealed! I am so glad you found the source of your vexation! The patch should help in the short run, but I do see a vlog on the entire repair in somewhere in future. Do enjoy these, keep up the good work!

Oh my word! What a job! Well done, sir....well done!

'A workspace has room for any Two of the following; The Man, The Materials, The Tools.'

David..... I have only one comment. Why oh why did you not change the alternator whilst the engine was out ??? Got it ..... We would have missed that hilarious vlog on the later !!! LoL (not laughing) Excellent job, you are a true perfectionist, well done.

Well I'm pleased it all worked out well. It was no picnic to be sure but a well worthwhile job. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Thats a great job. I love how you take pride in your boat and work. Just like me. Even when you are doing something new you want it done right. With that said we cannot be experts at everything. But we can learn. You did a wonderful job. Well done. Yes the spider would have bothered be too.

You should have had a warning notice on screen before 7:45. The sight of you made me both jump and snort tea out of my nose - most distressing.

HAHAHA!!! THe best laid plans of mice and men!! You surely put in many many hours of dedicated work on that one,,,and still it fought you back!! I admire the quality of your efforts,,,as ive been there waaay too many times myself, on caterpillar, john deere,,many motorcycles and autos. When viewing, i notice you are really working in very cramped quarters,,,but considering it all,,,,you and your engine man did an excellent job. Maybe on the next dry docking, you can cut out and reweld a new and thicker plate inside the hull and over the rusty section. Or just cut it out and make a new one welding from underside and above also. Thanks for the interesting view,,,and we appreciate your determination to make all to the Queens standards!! stay safe!!

David I've been watching you vlogs in order from #1 . Now at #125. I don't know what it is about them but I find then utterly charming. I just have to say that after seeing you emerge from the engine bilge, looking like a sweep, I burst out laughing. You are a genuine good bloke. I am a boat owner in Auckland, NZ and can relate very well to your maintenance vlogs ...

Love the dirty face! Excellent video. You make cleaning up muck interesting. Must have been very satisfying to get it all done!

It looks like taking out the engine made sense to deal with the oil mist (unhealthy stuff :p). A good coating of water chasing wax over the inaccessible paint would help to keep future rust at bay. The ultimate process is zinc metal spray. But you’d not like that in the small space of the bilge. A wet vac is the very best way to shift washing water. Yobbo brand from anywhere is good enough just take out the dust filter. The contaminated paint would have been fine with some degreaser (brush cleaner) and another coat.

splendid job david.

Great job! Impressive workmanship! You even had the right "oil worker" face. Cheers and best. Many many more years of genteel sailing.

I don’t have a boat, never have, never will, but I find your blogs fascinating!!! Keep up the good work

If you ever decide to sell your boat please let me know. It must be the best well maintained boat on the canals! Actually you've put me off a bit buying a boat due to all the work it needs. I wouldn't maintain as well as your doing!

If your mechanic had cleaned and inspected the engine immediately after its removal he might have been able to sell you on repairing it proper. I hate bodges and the OCD in me wants to redo everything in your engine bay and make it all neat and shipshape. Your crimped on electrical connectors WILL give you grief down the road but at least you don't have salt water to deal with. Smooth sailing. :)

I must say I liked your Chofu T shirt with the submarine on the front. You have done a very nice job it all looks so much better. 👍🏻😎👍🏻

Seeing as you've made such a fantastic job and that you are a kind hearted person maybe you wouldn't mind popping around to have a go at my engine bay may I suggest a week on Monday when I will at work so not to impede your progress great video keep the good work up and keep them coming

Im 26 and cant wait for my mid life crisis. This is a dream of mine to live like this. Great videos!

very good and also amusing

A seemingly simple job..... that's really a labor intensive project!! Nice work.. you and your engine guy...

05:17 The way you said _"Mmmm, that was reassuring"_ was straight out of the quality comedy book & had me in hysterics.

If this narrow boat gig doesn't pan out, you may have a future as a makeup artist for post-industrial grunge movies.

Use an organic zinc anti fouling paint directly onto to steel . Attack with a powered wire brush till it’s all bare metal . Use antifouling . Then paint as you please . Make sure you fit sacrifice annodes to the underside of the boat . Especially around the prop , rudder and under where the batteries live inside the boat . There’s a increased risk of rust due to osmosis .

Great Video, Thanks for posting this type of content. I really enjoy seeing all aspects of narrow boat life. Cheers!

you have a great sense of humour 😂 brilliant episode, and yes I’ve vacuumed my bilge 👍

could eat your dinner out your bilge, happy days. it looks amazing compared to how it was before great job

You looked like you'd been digging tunnels in The Great Escape.

Hi David Another great video , that paint you use to prevent rust and treat it as well as top coat is very old method , I have some stuff ( cut edge corrosion ) and top coat , we use it for oil rigs on the North Sea , it has no smell non volatile because of environment it has to placed in , dries quick and has a 20 year life !!! Like all this stuff I was sceptical and thought no way , but we used it for a few years now and it’s incredible all that other stuff peels this stays firm despite being exposed to horrendous conditions ( mind you it costs a fortune ) if you want some I’ll send you a sample , I’m not a salesman on a scam just like doing a job once using the right stuff and thought don’t want you taking that engine out again in 3 years lol Any way good luck and keep the blogs coming !

I've watched this several times and gotten a sense of gratification to see the improvements you made. You got the important bits, but I think I would have painted the whole inside, regardless.

Reassuring fact : Iron Oxide ~ Rust is 13 times the expansion of steel … So you can relax as the thin flakes were not bad at all . Job well done .

Well done Dave you can sleep well now.

That looks like a back breaking job good on you for tackling it. The oil certainly makes a huge difference in preventing the rust from getting out of hand and by far the cheapest solution.

One of your best! Maybe next year, you can have your engine removed and overhauled to repair the minor problems before they become major ones. Hoped you got a chance to sleep for a couple of days after all that, " you looked like you needed it".

The scrapping, cleaning, treating and painting was all well .. until the spider story came up, well that was heart wrenching. Part and parcel of a do-it-yourselfer - if you do it at a workshop the painter would've painted the poor spider over.

Leaky engines prevent rusted out oil pans.

The diving submarine on your shirt isn't exactly what you're going for by cleaning out the rust. Wonderful understated comedy!

Oh my goodness... You have always been our high priest of narrow boating...(also known to us as "Sith Lord of The Cut").. And there you were covered in grime and looking exhausted. "A pallava", you said. Totally scary to watch is what we think...screams and gasps abounded...you are clearly become Joda of the Narrowboat World....May the Force be with you. On the principle that, "It's a good life if you don't weaken!" Our merry band of viewers had to have a serious tea break ( with chocolate digestives ) after watching this vlog. Our best wishes to you from all here....you are braver than we ever imagined...some of these vlogs need warnings of impending dangerous scary content...this one included. Again...thank you for your vlogs.....now it's time for you to take two weeks in The Carribean to recover.