Volume Six - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Select Aspects - The Royal Navy and Royal Naval Reserve Fleet at Penarth Dock

Normally, when a ship enters the reserve, her ship's company carry out the initial preservation of hull and machinery, with assistance and guidance from the Reserve Fleet Staff, but some ships, which have undergone refit or modernisation by the Royal Yards, have to be preserved entirely by Reserve Fleet personnel, or by a private contractor, supervised by Reserve Fleet staff.

The hull of the ship calls for special treatment, the initial preparation of chipping, scraping and wire scrubbing all metal surfaces is a task not unfamiliar to most sailors, and all will agree that it is a trying and monotonous one, but unless this work is done with thoroughness and care the time and paint is wasted, for the enemy - "rust" - will appear all too quickly.

Modern Aids - Modern aids are used by the slender labour force who prepare the hull for painting. The hand chipping hammer has been replaced by mechanical aids, and painting of most surfaces is done with the use of paint spray equipment.

In some cases, where large areas of metal have to be scaled, such as the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, "electrolytic derusting" agents are used. An electric current is passed through a large mild steel plate contained in a canvas envelope, laid upon the deck. Water is hosed over the deck and the electric plate. This method has the virtue of being noiseless, continuous throughout the 24 hours, and needs only a trained operator to control it. It is only economical if large areas are concerned, but can be most effective inside tanks, or on submerged hulls such as submarines. [This technique was most probably not used at Penarth.]

The aid of science has been enlisted to minimise the work of preserving the hull of the ship which is covered by water. Normally the ship would have to be docked at regular intervals and the bottom scraped and repainted with special paints, but by a method known as "cathodic protection," the effect of electro-galvanic action is offset. This is achieved by fixing suitable metal anodes to the hull of the ships electrically. These anodes, usually of magnesiu, wear away by chemical action which would normally attack the hull of the ship, and are replaced at regular intervals. Sometimes, when a number of ship are berthed together, large steel anodes rather like railway lines are suspended between the ships and electrically charged, producing the same effect as the small magnesium anodes.