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mario f · 06-02-2011, 07:17

Found this recently and thought it might go well with the idea of sonic anti fouling....
Is shark skin more credible than sound waves? There seemed to be a lot of skeptics on the previous post re the use of transducers to keep your bottom clean ( that is the boats bottom. )

Sharkskin Inspired Material Repels Bacteria

Can a singing shark keep your bottom clean?
How about it you skeptics

captain465 · 06-02-2011, 07:37

I have never seen (in person or in photos/movies) any barnacals, or for that matter, any growth on sharkskin. I would think that a surface akin to sharkskin might have some possibilities.

fstbttms · 06-02-2011, 08:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by captain465

I have never seen (in person or in photos/movies) any barnacals, or for that matter, any growth on sharkskin. I would think that a surface akin to sharkskin might have some possibilities.

You don't see barnacles on fish either and they don't have sharkskin.

**boatman61** · 06-02-2011, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by fstbttms

You don't see barnacles on fish either and they don't have sharkskin.

Nope.... they... like us have parasites that live under the scales/ridges and live of the 'Growth' that settles...
these parasites in turn get 'Managed' at 'Cleaning Stations'....
Sounds kinda familiar somehow......

Jim Quibell · 06-02-2011, 08:45

How about this for a great invention - Olympic swimwear developed from shark skin - Natural History Museum

I'm waiting 'till they find a way to do my boat bottom in the same pattern. Should be way faster than VC17 eh?

jjones1349 · 06-02-2011, 08:47

OK...how can we enlist ramoras to clean the bottoms of our boats?
How do the sharks get this freeby cleaning service? I have heard the sharks won't eat them because they do provide this service. Is anyone here a marine biologist that could shed some light on this matter? Must be something in their skin.

**boatman61** · 06-02-2011, 08:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjones1349

OK...how can we enlist ramoras to clean the bottoms of our boats?
How do the sharks get this freeby cleaning service? I have heard the sharks won't eat them because they do provide this service. Is anyone here a marine biologist that could shed some light on this matter? Must be something in their skin.

Nope.... they just avoid antifouling their bellies as much as possible... and they keep moving..
Remora's used to attatch themselves to ships in the old days when bottoms were just tarred or copper sheathed.... sailors believed they were evil and dangerous and affected the ships speed/course etc..

John A · 06-02-2011, 09:05

Back in the '90's several thousand Nike shoes washed up on the Oregon coast. They were from a container that fell off a condainer ship several months prior. http://flotsametrics.com/excerpt.php
There were no barnacals on them.

fstbttms · 06-02-2011, 09:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjones1349

OK...how can we enlist ramoras to clean the bottoms of our boats?
How do the sharks get this freeby cleaning service? I have heard the sharks won't eat them because they do provide this service. Is anyone here a marine biologist that could shed some light on this matter? Must be something in their skin.

Not all remoras earn their living by cleaning the skin of their hosts (some feed on the scraps left by the host's predation), and presumably this is the case with those remoras that hitch rides with sharks, since apparently a shark's skin is anti-bacterial in nature.

mario f · 06-02-2011, 09:42

A Florida-based company by the name of Sharklet (yes, I laughed at the name, too) came up with this plastic film which "is covered with microscopic diamond-shaped bumps" that prevent all sorts of nasties from building up. It's headed off for FDA testing to be approved for hospital use,

A Material Based on Sharkskin Stops Bacterial Breakouts | Popular Science

Hey this is for real... the navy is interested. I guess it would be cheaper and more echo friendly than transducers and no amps lost.
Wasa matar, nobudy beliefs me??? You guys are a hard crowd...

fstbttms · 06-02-2011, 09:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by mario f

Hey this is for real... the navy is interested. I guess it would be cheaper...

I seriously doubt that applying a film embossed with microscopic patterns to a naval vessel (or 40' pleasure boat, for that matter) will be inexpensive. And assuming it is a film that is applied to the hull, one has to wonder how it will be attached. Nothing about this sounds "cheap" to me.