A note about nb Empire

Empire has now been sold and has no connection with C.T.S.
We hope it brings pleasure to the new owner, and that he takes a very long time to getting around to repaintig it in his own colours!

To avoid confusion, it should be noted that we did not build Empire, it`s a 1996 Johnathan Wilson shell, with a 2008 Goldsborough fit out.
The best bit of course is our paintjob!
The previous owner fell for our 1960,s livery and we were happy to let him use it as we could ensure the quality of the job and intended use of the boat. We would respectfully ask others not to use our colours or name without prior arrangment.

Intro

As professional Boat painters we are often asked to provide details of what the whole process involves, and naturally people have a few questions as well.
Hopefully this blog will provide a few answers for potential customers, and also be useful to anyone considering doing a paint job themselves.

The featured boat is painted in our colours dated from the 1960's, when we had our own carrying boats.

Hence the rather confusing Company Name, now mostly abbreviated to CTS.

You can find out more about our history on our website at www.canaltransportservices.co.uk.

Incidentally this boat is not owned or operated by CTS. The owner has amibitions to carry freight by water, and we are more than happy to assist with the loan of our colours.

Follow the blog by scrolling down through the pictures, then click on "older posts" at the bottom of each page.

Docking and hull cleaning

As the water is pumped from the dry dock, it,s time to sharpen the scrapers and get the pressure washer out. We can re coat with a good hull black such as Rytex or Comastic, or we can grit blast the hull sides and apply a two pack epoxy system.

Next day, 1st hull black

At Norton Canes Dock we have one of the driest, dry docks anywhere on the UK canal system. It is under cover, heated and ventilated and provides ideal conditions for boat painting and hull blacking.

Welding and alterations

If you want any alterations or repairs done to your narrowboat, this is the ideal time before the paint job. We have all boat yard trades on site and can arrange boat safety surveys, valuation surveys and hull surveys. This is a good time to check the propellor, rudder and anodes too.

Filler time

Even good quality narrowboat shells need a bit of body filler to achieve a perfect finish. Some need a lot! We apply a quality automotive filler direct to degreased steel for maximum adhesion.

Building up the coats,

The secret to a long lasting paint job is to use top quality materials on clean, dry, degreased steel. An intense amount of work has gone into getting this first "all over" coat right.