Belzona Keeps Historic, 70 Year-Old Vessel Steaming On

Nearly 70 years on from its maiden voyage, PS Waverley is still a gleaming vision of British maritime heritage, being the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world. Listed among the National Historical Fleets records, the vessel retired during the mid-1970s, but was then acquired by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society and lovingly restored to its original condition. The PS Waverley now operates passenger excursions around the British coastline and thanks to tireless maintenance efforts, it remains a much-loved tourist attraction.

Any maintenance to the Waverley takes place out of season, in Winter, as to avoid any downtime during peak periods. During the most recent maintenance phase, some of the steam cylinders on board the famous vessel were inspected for damage. This revealed them to be heavily corroded, due to the high temperature steam conditions.

This steam environment exploited the porosity of the cast metal cylinders, over time leading to significant pitting found throughout the metal. Attempts had been made to repair this previously, however similar defects had arisen. Therefore, Belzona was recommended as a viable option by Engineers from a neighbouring ferry company, who had successful experiences with Belzona’s polymeric solutions.

To reverse these effects and combat the high temperature environment, Belzona 1511 (Super HT-Metal) was used to rebuild the pitted areas. Hand-applied and solvent-free, the solution leant itself well to the confined space on board the vessel. Once cured, the metal repair material was machined down to be flush with the surrounding areas.

This application took under two hours to complete, demonstrating the rapid-curing and easy-to-apply nature of the solution. The client was impressed by the speed of the repairs and expressed interest in additional applications to the other steam cylinders. Each individual steam cylinder is accessed every five years; therefore, any further applications of this type will be reviewed within the next maintenance window.