Ghostly writing

[Chertsey]

Whilst putting another coat of paint on Chertsey's hold last week, Jim noticed this for the first time - ghostly writing corroded into the steel (that bit's original).

It looks to me as if something has been painted on there and caused a different pattern of corrosion under the paint - would that be a sensible guess?

 

It looks like it says M S + P.

 

So, has anyone seen this sort of thing before, and can you cast any light on who, what, when, where, why?

[carlt]

Apparently they mark all the luxury yachts, they sell ...

 

Clicky

[Steve Priest]

Harland and Wolff would paint reference marks on plates as they were cut and prepared, so that the platers would know which plate went where as they plated the boats up.

 

They quite often come to light when boats are stripped back to bare metal, and are normally quite easy to read, but I've not seen any cause pitting like that before.

 

I would think that MS + P means plate M, starboard and port

[Chertsey]

Thank you Steve, I'm chuffed to know it goes back that far.

[Phil Ambrose]

When I was in engineering it was common practice to write on metal to identify the part or to use as a "pad" for doing calculations on, however Rolls Royce had a fire at their Derby plant and they thought "everything will be OK as all the components are made of nimonic stainless steel( uneffected by white hot temperatures" but when they did all the ultrasound/ X-ray checks it was discovered that cracks appeared in the form of words/numbers.

It transpired that carbon from the pencils we used was absorbed by the steel and extreme heat caused a change in the steel structure.

 

Rolls Royce had to then warn every subcontractor NOT to write on any engine component. Whoops moment I think

Perhaps this was the case with your boat.

 

Phil

Edited May 29, 2010 by DHutch

[twbm]

It stands for 'More Sanding and Preparation'

[Chertsey]

It stands for 'More Sanding and Preparation'

Oh no!!

[twbm]

It stands for 'More Sanding and Preparation'

 

Having spent four days wire brushing, sanding and rubbing down Brightons cabin sides, imagine my delight when the first gloss coat revealed the old signwriting glimmering through in the right light. D'OH.

 

When I do Nuneaton I may cut the steel out to be sure .....

[Max Sinclair]

Whilst putting another coat of paint on Chertsey's hold last week, Jim noticed this for the first time - ghostly writing corroded into the steel (that bit's original).

It looks to me as if something has been painted on there and caused a different pattern of corrosion under the paint - would that be a sensible guess?

 

It looks like it says M S + P.

 

So, has anyone seen this sort of thing before, and can you cast any light on who, what, when, where, why?

When I stripped off Vestas steel engine room exterior I found all the original lettering and paint decoration stood slightly proud giving me the name and number details.

[mykaskin]

When Victoria was back to her nothings for painting, some steel makers marks could be seen:

 

Copper content percentage?

 

Product stamp?

 

She was made from "Coppered Steel" - why would this be better than "normal" steel? Would it help in a salty marine environment, though a Google search doesn't give any clues.

 

Cheers - and sorry for any thread highjacking, just thought it would be interesting to show the pictures,

 

Mike

Edited June 1, 2010 by mykaskin