0
First time doing a full bottom inspection solo and actually spotted the coating failure before it got bad
Been working on a barge in Norfolk for the last 4 months. Usually I'm just the tender or doing basic hull cleaning. But last week my supervisor had me do the quarterly bottom inspection on my own. I found this 3 inch section near the stern where the anti-fouling coat was bubbling up. Showed it to the lead diver and he said if I hadn't caught it, that spot would've been a full repair job in another month. Felt good to know all those hours staring at painted metal paid off. Anyone else have that moment where you finally felt like you knew what you were looking at?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
tyler61mo ago
Oh man, that's exactly how I felt last year when I caught a bad weld seam on a tanker before it started leaking. I was just doing the usual visual sweep and something looked off about the way the paint was cracking near a joint. My mentor checked it out and said I saved us a messy environmental report and a ton of headache.
6
gavinw451mo ago
That must have been a close call, really glad you caught it before things got ugly.
6
@tyler6 hit it on the head though, that weld seam thing is a bit different from coating failure. In my experience, bubbling paint usually means moisture is trapped underneath, not necessarily a structural issue like a bad weld. Still, good on you both for catching stuff early, your mileage may vary but those little saves add up over time.
2