I have almost got to the bottom of it. And by 'it' I mean Zeelandia and a few surprises were in store. On lifting some of the bilge boards I started probing with various tools into the crud and rusty brown detritus which has accumulated in the bilge. Big chunks started coming up which was slightly perturbing considering this was all that stops Zee from dropping into the inky black of the marina.

Large chunks of scale rust were dislodged with some ease but much more was required to get to solid metal

An initial scrape with a trusty crowbar dislodged most of the really rough stuff. It then needed a tap with a hammer to dislodge the next layer of scale. I was using 'Thor' (my big Dutch precision percussion instrument/clubhammer) but started to think the better of it when I saw how much stuff was coming off. I then opted for my welding slag hammer which has a fine point on it and this seemed to chip off the scale nicely. For once in my life I decided that subtlety and precision were better than brute force and ignorance. My father would be so disappointed. That said, it takes a lot of doing...

Halfway there

Done. Well, one half of one section of the bilge. Only another 119 ish sections to go...

My plan was not to resort to manual labour (I am a graduate don't you know - we don't do manual labour...) but to use an air gun needler. Perfect for the job. However, my little compressor is about as up to the job as Assad is for a UN Human Rights envoy. That's ok, I can use the wire brush on the angle grinder - only the backing drive plate has dropped off and being (as I recently discovered) a Chinese make with no spares support that is out of commission. Arse. I have one ace left and that it the petrol compressor which I shall be firing up today, but it is chuffing noisy so I will have to limit the length of time I run it for.

The final insult and to make the job just a little bit more complicated and messy is that the bilge has been coated in thick oil. The stuff on the horizontal surfaces seems to have dried nicely but the vertical surfaces are still covered in thick, black, glutinous oil. It seems to have done a decent job of fending off the rust but If I want to run derusting solution over them and paint (a light grey oxide primer - it shows up leaks and witness marks) I have to get rid of it somehow. That's going to be another long, gross job. It may require billions of rags with petrol or another solvent. I will try the degreaser I have but feel it may not have the testicular fortitude to cope with it.

The engine needs some spare parts but being nearly 60 years old there is no chance of calling in at Haflords for some. I have been in touch with the Kromhout Museum in Amsterdam to see if the have drawings of the various parts I need so that I can have some spares made up. I have diagrams and dimensions of the normal core plugs but I need at least 3 replacements for the plugs which seems to have a lube oil injector passing through them.

The 2 plugs through the jacket with lube oil injectors. As you can see the witness marks where they have been leaking for some time.

These are the main cause of the water in the bilge (which as I discover I can't get rid of as 'contaminated oil' but have to use oil absorbant pads on to suck the oil out and then return the water back to the sea - what a faff) and are rotting away. I have one on the very front of the engine which is in excellent condition so as a last resort I may remove this one and use it as a pattern for the replacements.

How the injector core plugs should look...

On a separate note, I have been thinking about the wisdom of replacing the sea cock in the main cargo area. Should it go pear shaped, the main cargo hold is sufficient to sink her should an uncontrolled leak occur. For this reason I have been thinking about getting it plated over when in dry dock and a sea cock put in the fo'csle. If this goes pop, the bow has the lowest draught (so less pressure for the incoming water) and will have a watertight bulk head between it and the main living area. Seems sensible to me. Ultimately there will be a reverse osmosis plant on the barge so that wherever we are we can make fresh, clean water from whatever Zee is floating in as part of the self sufficiency philosophy so I don't have to rely on marinas. With a cold water tank and RO unit in the fo'csle this would also remove noisy hardware to somewhere it won't annoy us quite so much when cleaning water. I was planning to have all the electrics in the fo'csle but perhaps it will be only the batteries raised as high as possible in case of water ingress. At least that way the power distribution system will be somewhat protected in the event of a major leak. I will consider putting the distribution system somewhere in the main cargo hold (depending on cable runs and advice from my power guys) so that it can be reached without going outside in the slashing rain.

I have 2 stainless steel anchor plates for the mast on order at a local fabricator and I have ordered some initial porthole blanks (one of each size) to see how it goes with welding them in place or if the size needs changing.

Masts off in Jan but Underfall yard may not be able to take us due to noise problems with neighbours and environmental concerns of blasting the paint of which would then go straight into the water (she is a slipway not a dry dock). Arse. Again. Nothing is easy on this boat, that's for sure.

One piece of good news recently was that (standby for blowing of own trumpet) I passed my MSc in Energy Engineering and Environmental Management with a distinction. Only took me 5 years. Let's hope Zee gets done a bit quicker shall we...