Okay, so the video here is a pretty cracking cure for insomnia but it shows quite graphically the problems I am up against in the bilge. Having run out of stuff I can viably do on the engine (apart from niff naff and trivia or repainting the oil reservoir which really isn't the best use of time), I have gone back to the bilge to derust again. This time with kid gloves...

Yes I know it's pretty dull but does give you an idea of the problems with the bilge

From just my own observations it looks like the majority of the bad corrosion has occurred at the junction between the curve and the flat bottom of the port side. It is possible that over time with a poor vapour barrier, the constant cycling of warm and cold led to condensation (my nemesis) which pooled in the bilge.

Although the old trick of greasing the bilge seemed to work in some areas, in other areas it has degraded with the grease/oil mix drying out which then peels off the steel and lets condensation build up. As with most things, unless treatments are not maintained on a scheduled basis, it becomes a pretty pointless exercise. Additionally, grease/oil will eventually slip due to gravity meaning that some areas end up with a large accumulation and vertical surfaces eventually end up with very little, especially if heated where what little liquid fraction of the grease is driven off. Trust me, a steel hull in direct summer sunshine gets more than hot enough...

I will be following up where I stand legally with the surveyors as I had no response from the snot-o-gram I sent to them late last year when I encountered my first leak. I think possibly communication from my solicitor might just nudge them into action and see where I stand. I will look through forums and ask questions and see if anyone has had this problem and been through the process before.

Anyway, I am making progress (about 40% of the main cargo area) and then as I find areas of concern I tread with caution (literally). I will have to make multiple trips to the dump as there is a lot of rust debris to be removed, as well as moving the ballast around to reveal more of the bilge. The big pain in the sphincter is going to be by the stairs as there is a large steel 'grey' water tank which will need draining (and we all know how amazing grey water smells) and then removing. On the plus side, the oven has finally gone - unfortunately not to someone who can use it but it will be recycled. If I can get rid of the old CH boiler tank, the grey water tank and the oven to a scrap dealer that would be a massive bonus...

Anyway, on the plus side I saw this on the internet and it made me cry. A lot. In a good way. In some ways it sums up my days on the barge. No matter how hard I try it just never seems to go plan...