Cornwall autumn 2022 - hull SMAW-7018

Agency weld-fab'ing on and above deck fittings, the Foreman asked if I was confident to weld the hull. The painter found a weld pore, indeed proving full weld thickness when I ground it, and their welder was on-leave. I affirmed so.

The weld was in the "PE" position, vertically upward under the hull. Given

• defect at/due-to "Y" intersection of 3 plates
• "blowing" is certainly due to trapped moisture between plates
• welding position overhead
• at deepest displacement of the hull
• criticality of weld given this vessel does motor on the open sea

I selected "smallish" 3.2mm 7018 (calcium-carbonate based flux) rods, for the strategy

• drive quite hard at upper end of rod's Amps range
• stringer-beads stringer'ing multi-run weld
• to give assertive fusion
• with rapid freeze (positional weld & avoid blowholes)
• while focused and fluid running into the "Y" intersection
• highest strength and toughness for intersection-point
• weld structure clear in-view reassuring on this critical weld

Result:

In explanation : lying flat on my back under the hull there was so little space I couldn't get the cellphone-camera into sharp focus...
Hence, the welds looked better in real life than appear here. Small-but-fluid multi-run stringer-bead is "engineeringly" the right spec.- appearance reveals that welding approach.

Asked by the Foreman if the weld is good, I asked he be the judge of that. He reappeared in 3 minutes - the time to walk down and under the boat and back to the wharf - and nodded.

(R. Smith, 01Sep2025)
(note - began copied from webpg. CV of 07Aug2025)