A weekend paint fest

Painting Montgomery

May 2014

Phew - what a weekend! 

Whilst the world and his wife we attending a soggy Crick or pounding a rain drenched beat on the BCN Challenge I was dodging the rain and getting The Jam Butty painted in the open air.

Fortunately I had a rain free Friday morning, was attending the BCN Photographic Workshop on Saturday, it dried up on Sunday afternoon and was warm and dry all Monday so one way or another I had enough windows of opportunity to break the back of the job. My task was eased by the remarkable drying properties of Symphony Coatings range of Narrowboat paint which is touch dry in 20 mins and capable of withstanding a few spots of rain.

We have opted for the same colours as Wand'ring Bark to make them a pair so its red bows and roof with green side panels and coach lines in cream.

The roof was rather the worse for wear having had several colours applied over its life but a good bit of sanding and the self leveling properties of the thick resin paint flattened it all off and it looks great. I followed the tips from a recent Waterways World article on coach lines, painting two coats of cream on on first, feathering the edges, applying no bleed masking tape and then applying the surrounding red and green. The masking tape is removed whilst the paint is barely dry and voila - a great result, clean crisp lines which are straighter than those on WB.

Its now all set for Jim McCormack to come up with a design for the side panels and stern bends and The Jam Butty will come to life.

This cute little boat is making friends at ever turn. During my weekend in the marina at least 30 boaters must have wandered over to know more and all were very keen to get inside and see what she looks like. I have to admit that this is exactly the reaction I was looking for and bodes well for the future.

I have cleaned the back cabin out a bit and whilst some scumbling needs attention, it has survived its years of neglect very well. In fact, it has a distinct patina of age which is appealing so maybe less is more in this area. I think we will live with it for a while and see how we feel at the end of the season.

Next I need to build the Cratch with the top plank plus the adjustable false floor all hopefully in time for the Birmingham Floating Market where she will be formally "launched".