Haul-up and repairs in Belgium
(2004 July)
- An unavoidable formality: the boat must be hauled up and the
thickness of the hull material controlled and certified by a
surveyor
The boat's certificate, compulsory for use of the waterways,
specifies that my Freycinet motor barge, which is both my workshop
and my home, must be inspected out of the water in 2004.
In December 1998, the bottom of the boat had been completely
refitted with new 8m/m steel plates. The top sides, bow and stern,
were reinforced with another 6m/m of new metal. Five years later
there is no sign of wear and tear, the hull looks new.. . This
compulsory inspection shall confirm it. . .
Now, what about finding a boatyard? Most French dry-docks have a
maximum capacity of 1.20 m, not enough for the hefty 1.50 m draft of
d'Argile et d'Eau! Word of mouth from satisfied mariners and
advertising, particularly in the pages of FLUVIAL, urged me to
contact the Chantier Meuse et Sambre, in Belgium, close to Namur.
Christian Laurent, the manager of Chantier Meuse et Sambre is
always available, even at home during the weekend. That is a good
sign! Here is a yard open to do business and ready to help. We agreed
on July 8th as a tentative date for hauling out my boat. The whole
operation will take several days: hauling out, high pressure
cleaning, survey and then two coats of tar.
The cost? 1000 euros for the yard, 750 euros for the survey.
Eight days after leaving Chalons en Champagne, d'Argile et d'Eau
arrived at the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse rivers. A few
more km along the left bank . . . et voilà . . .the Chantier
Meuse et Sambre.
- Days of careful navigation on these mighty rivers, with locks
so big that in the last one, Écluse des Grands Malades, a
u-turn between the gates would have been possible, I felt how
small my barge is on a large river. Still, I was not prepared for
the gigantic size of the slipway and the two towering cranes, nor
for the majestic proportions of the building sheds, where 100m
long boats were being worked on in shelter. Also, hauled out in
the yard, was an enormous 1500 ton oil tanker which shared the
space with several 38 m long barges, all of which looked like
beached whales being (Swiftly?) attacked by hordes of tiny people
armed with various weapons producing a lot of noise and
sparks.
- According to the number of boats tied along the waiting dock,
it looked like I'd have to wait for a few days before being hauled
out. The dock was crowed with large multi-cargo barges of between
1000 and 1500 tons. Finally, I managed to squeeze in third
position alongside a 1000 ton barge whose young bargee was waiting
for a new propeller shaft currently being manufactured in the yard
for his crippled vessel. The second night, the young man's father
arrived, at the wheel of a 500 ton barge, and tied alongside. I
felt very much like a slice of ham in the middle of a huge
sandwich . . . Since I had plenty of time to wait, I decided to
explore the yard. There is an atmosphere of intense activity and
good naturedness and one can circulate without restriction.
Everywhere there are electrical connections to use shore power. It
is only a detail but who likes to live with the roar of a diesel
generator?
- The two giant cranes work constantly, here to move a large
welding machine, there for a container full of oxygen tanks for
oxy-cutting, or a large metal plate. They move on rails, in the
middle of the yard. On each side of the tracks, boats are blocked,
high enough for the workers to stand up comfortably under the hull
and work without having to bend down. That reminded me of my last
dry-dock, in the yard of St-Jean de Losne, where the surveyor had
to crawl underneath the boat, in a space with no more than 40 cm
of headroom, exiting covered in mud and perspiration, with
colourful imprecations about the work conditions!
- While waiting, I am surprised by the liveliness of the boat's
motion. The river traffic is intense, and enormous barges create
waves big enough for me to feel like being tossed on the ocean. My
crew, Christophe, hired for the duration, mentions that the
forward head is not working and overflowing. That attracted my
attention pretty fast . . .because the flush toilet is filled by
the river, on the principle of communicating vessels . . .which
means that we are taking on water! The boat is down by 10 cm . .
.we must already have around 10 000 litres of water in the
bilge!
- In a matter of minutes, the origin of the leak is found. A
weak C-clamp has permitted a flexible hose, normally draining the
stairs, to disconnect from its fitting, leaving it open to the
waves of the Meuse river. I shut off the valve to stop the flow.
Once the boat is out of the water, a simple incision in the bilge
will drain it completely.
- Fortunately, there will be no consequence for the insulation.
The water went into the bilge, where the ballast, 140 tons of used
rails lodged between the ribs, is held in place by a steel floor
above which the insulation starts, 30 cm above the bottom of the
boat.
- Finally, after a six day wait, a space was made available and
it was time to start the hauling out operations
Three travel lifts were immersed in the Meuse river, ready to
receive my boat. Carefully, in slow forward, I aligned the bow until
it nudged the upper lift, lines were made tight, and the engine
switched off. The trip upward starts, very, very slowly. When the
whole assembly reaches the horizontal level of the yard, three other
travel lifts, combined with hydraulic jacks and circulating on rails
take over my boat while the first three go back to the river where
they join forces with two more travel lifts in order to haul out, on
my left, a 1033 ton barge (L.O.A. 67 m. , B.O.A. 8.25 m !). Her
propeller shaft will be pulled out and replaced with a new one the
same day! It takes only one hour for a team of two workers to haul
out any barge with this venerable (built in the 60's) but very
efficient system. The yard can haul out boats up to a draft of 1.60
m.
As soon as the boat was out, still dripping, I made two cuts in
the bottom, close to the middle of the hull, in order to evacuate the
water accumulated in the bilge. Not exactly comparable with the
Niagara Falls but yet quite impressive. With a bucket, I measured the
flow: 5 litres per minute - and the complete drainage took 37 hours .
. .that is over 11 000 litres!
The under water part of the hull was full of life. Fresh water
mussels, large green patches of algae, themselves home to myriads of
little crustaceans which looked like tiny shrimps, but no lobsters,
no oysters. Too bad!
In the yard, a subcontractor is in charge of all the high pressure
cleaning and tarring of the boats, on the three company sites. He is
a mountain of a man, always ready with a joke but, under the clownish
bearing, there is a real professional - knowledgeable, fast and
efficient - who never forgets to have the client sign a discharge
certifying that the job has been done to his satisfaction.
-
- Under the relentless attack of his machine, curtains of
various underwater life forms fall to the ground, at least most of
it . . . the rest, temporarily airborne, ends up on deck, on the
hatches, which gives me the opportunity for a general cleaning
with a long brush, a hose, and a lot of elbow grease.
- The hull looks new, without a trace of corrosion except, of
course, on the anodes, but that's what they are for!
- The surveyor inspects the hull and admits that it was a bit
draconian to order the boat out when the original coat of tar had
not yet worn off. The next day, the first coat of tar is spray
painted on the hull.
- The inspection had revealed damage to one of the propeller's
blades. Immediately, the propeller is removed and sent for repair
to another shop. Here again, the yard is most efficient and, for
any problem, always offers a solution that is the fastest and the
most economical for the client.
- This complication gives me time to apply a fresh coat of paint
on the topsides, not as usual from an unstable raft on the river,
but with my feet solidly planted on terra firma. What a
luxury!
- The yard offers all the specialised services one could hope to
find. An electrician gives the kiss of life to my diesel generator
(one of the coils was defective), and the manager of the
stockroom, after numerous phone calls, finds a source for the 25
litres of special oil needed for the transmission.
- While my boat is being rejuvenated, various teams of
specialised workers are performing marvels on adjacent boats. A 9
metres section is being cut out and removed from a 38 m. barge
similar to mine, reducing it to a 29 m. length, compatible with
its future destination, the Canal du Midi
