Gentlemen blast old queens bottom

The queen in question is a small Falmouth ferry, which, over the years, had built up so many layers of antifouling that this itself had formed a rough surface and was causing drag. The problem is that the Queen of Falmouth is a delicate lady of a certain age, whose bottom needs careful treatment so as not to damage the original red and white lead putty which protects the caulking.The ferry’s owners called in a company called The Gentlemen Blasters to find a way to get the old Queen down to the necessary state for treatment, without going too far.

Blaster’s MD Jason Freeborn explained the difficulties, ‘In the past, many boat owners have cleaned off old paint by sandblasting below the waterline, but that method can be quite aggressive and abrasive.’

So, in order to take off the outer crusts without intruding on the body underneath, the team used a soda mix. ‘The Queen of Falmouth had many layers of paint to remove and needs to be treated kindly, so soda blasting is the ideal way to remove old antifouling from the hull gently,’ he added.

Mr Freeborn went on to say that the soda mix is fired almost the same way as a traditional sandblast but with a highly modified compressor and pot. It is an effective method in these cases, since the action of the mix is not just to abrade the surfaces. The soda also ‘soapifies’ the oil in the paint, allowing it to come away easily. It will also do the same for oil and dirt.

However, he admits that certain precautions need to be taken, including the building of a tent around the boat to stop the powder from escaping into the environment, and the workers also need to prepare by suiting up in special gear with ventilated masks. This isn’t just protection from the soda, antifouling itself is pretty nasty stuff as anyone who has worked with boats can confirm.

The work on the Queen of Falmouth took just three days to blast through 14 layers of anti-fouling and according to Cornwall Ferries’ operations manager, Garrick Royle, the end result is pretty impressive. He said, ‘We are really pleased with the work that Jason’s team did – it saved us a lot of time. The sodium bicarbonate is amazing as it can take off as many or as few layers as possible.’ He added that he expects the Queen’s newly smooth bottom should result in a faster passage for Falmouth’s travellers as well as cutting fuel costs.