by Brent » March 27, 2013, 9:50 pm
One of the reasons the fleets look so bad is the hassle with painting. In the old days you scraped off the rust, laid down a cost of red lead and a coat of paint. The proper way is to sandblast the hull, prime and paint. Now with the EPA and all, sandblasting has to be done in a drydock or have some way to recover 100% of the material--old paint, sand, and rust. Nothing can get into the water.I remember not too many years ago blasting the hull in the water and watching the sand, red lead and all sink to the bottom and that was in the early 80's at Jones Island in Milwaukee. Much easier and cheaper then a drydocking. Everything is driven by the dollar now. A rusty ship can carry the same amount of cargo as a newly painted one. The days of shipowners having pride in their fleets are long gone.
One of the reasons the fleets look so bad is the hassle with painting. In the old days you scraped off the rust, laid down a cost of red lead and a coat of paint. The proper way is to sandblast the hull, prime and paint. Now with the EPA and all, sandblasting has to be done in a drydock or have some way to recover 100% of the material--old paint, sand, and rust. Nothing can get into the water.I remember not too many years ago blasting the hull in the water and watching the sand, red lead and all sink to the bottom and that was in the early 80's at Jones Island in Milwaukee. Much easier and cheaper then a drydocking. Everything is driven by the dollar now. A rusty ship can carry the same amount of cargo as a newly painted one. The days of shipowners having pride in their fleets are long gone.