14 Oct Massey out of water for the first time since restoration
On Saturday 14th October 2017 the volunteer crew of Massey Shaw set off from West India Dock and took her up river to use the Port of London Authority (PLA) drying out facility – known as Kew Grid – alongside Strand on the Green, opposite Oliver’s Island.
The Grid allows us to moor at high tide and then settle on to the Grid as the tide drops, thus providing access to the rudder, propellers and shafts, and the hull below the waterline. With Massey’s flat bottom and lack of keel she is quite comfortable in these circumstances.
We needed to get her out of the water in order to inspect and clean the hull, do a bit of painting, and inspect the sacrificial anodes which are attached to the hull to slow down electrostatic damage to the metal.
The painting of the lower rubbing strake (the wooden beam that goes round the boat to take the brunt of touches against lock sides etc) improved the look of things considerably.
Once we got the jet wash working, scraping and jet-washing the hull was a great success and I’m sure we got at least 1 extra knot on the way home!
Finally, we identified what type of anodes we will need in future and what size they need to be. We’ll replace them next time Massey is out of the water.
All in all, a good weekend’s work – only made possible by the hard work of the half a dozen volunteers involved. As always a HUGE thank you to them. If you’re interesting in helping with future trips like this, please get in touch!
Finally, our thanks to the PLA for providing and maintaining such an excellent facility.