New Rules for Bottom Paint

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by KnottyBuoys

In Maryland there is a new law that state that it is illegal to scrub ablative paint in the water. I race a couple times a year so I scrub the bottom to get excess slime off. Looks like now I can not. Should I change my paint from ablative to hard?

This has been the law of the land in Washington for years. No cleaning of ablative paints whatsoever (although I gaurantee it still happens.) I too, would like you to post some verification of the new Maryland law.

[KnottyBuoys]

As much as I appreciate the environment, the Chesapeake is tough on bottoms. If I don't clean my bottom like the rest of the racers, I have no chance. I guess I should be using hard? Brand favorites? I don't mind jumping in every weekend to keep it clean and fast.

[boatman61]

International Interspeed Ultra

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by KnottyBuoys

As much as I appreciate the environment, the Chesapeake is tough on bottoms. If I don't clean my bottom like the rest of the racers, I have no chance. I guess I should be using hard? Brand favorites? I don't mind jumping in every weekend to keep it clean and fast.

Every weekend ?! Wow, I would consider a Teflon paint in that case... gets you a secret weapon too

Still waiting for an inventer to take one of those pool-cleaning robots and create a bottom-scrubbing robot for our boats... will be the first buying one and putting Teflon paint on Jedi

ciao!
Nick.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Still waiting for an inventer to take one of those pool-cleaning robots and create a bottom-scrubbing robot for our boats... will be the first buying one and putting Teflon paint on Jedi

Wrong. You'll be the second one buying one.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by KnottyBuoys

As much as I appreciate the environment, the Chesapeake is tough on bottoms. If I don't clean my bottom like the rest of the racers, I have no chance. I guess I should be using hard? Brand favorites? I don't mind jumping in every weekend to keep it clean and fast.

No new law, then?

You started the thread by talking about 1-2 times per year. If you are going to scrub every few weeks (every weekend is going to get pretty old, and tough in the early and late season) then hard is the deal.

[sww914]

If you want some hard bottom paint, I just bought some Interlux Ultra-Kote for $55.00 a gallon from Defender.

[Bergovoy]

Originally Posted by Bash

It's been a long day. During my afternoon class, one of my students kept mispronouncing "zooxanthellae."

what do you teach and can i sign up if i can pronounce it


zoo an thelly

[Bergovoy]

instead of a ROOMBAH, it would be a KEELBAH?

[KnottyBuoys]

Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Boating

This is the new policy for professional divers cleaning ablative paint

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Bergovoy

instead of a ROOMBAH, it would be a KEELBAH?

I must admit we have a Roomba aboard already and yes Keelbah would be the perfect name

One thing I'm sure of: it's not gonna be the paint manufacturers who will bring it on the market heheh (although it would work for the first one who does it).

There were some tests in Holland a long time ago, using a fixed installation where the boat would go through much like a car wash, installed at a marina. It tended to miss some spots and instead of perfecting it, they decided that sales of paint (much of it is produced by Dutch companies) was the preferred path.

cheers,
Nick.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by KnottyBuoys

Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Boating

This is the new policy for professional divers cleaning ablative paint

OK, this is not a law, it is not a regulation, in fact it is nothing that is even a requirement. What it is is the "Clean Marina Program", a voluntary program that is in place in many states. It is a set of guidelines that marinas agree to use in order to achieve the "Clean Marina" certification. The program stipulates that marinas should have (for instance) oil & battery recycling available for their tenants, have a spill prevention plan in place, have working shoreside restrooms etc., etc. Among the list of things the marina is supposed to do to achieve Clean Marina status is to have hull cleaners use their Best Management Practices for in-water hull cleaning, one of which is to refrain from cleaning ablative paints.

Let me tell you this; I work in probably at least 10 marinas that are certified as Clean Marinas. In the history of the program in California, I have never been asked to read the Clean Marina program regarding in-water hull cleaning, much less sign anything that says I agree to use their Best Management Practices for hull cleaning. In fact, in the course of actually doing business, the Clean Marina program or the BMPs for in-water hull cleaning have never even been mentioned to me by any marina staff. Seriously. While the Clean Marina Program is a noble effort and actually does help marinas operate in a "greener" manner, when it comes to in-water hull cleaning, it is absolutely toothless and (in my experience) completely unenforced. If the Clean Marina Program in Maryland is run the way it is here in California, the marinas that wish to participate (again, not required) will jump through the necessary hoops to get certified and for the most part, you and your hull cleaner will never hear about it. There are certainly no legal ramifications for cleaning ablative paints in any case.

[Bergovoy]

i am not sure giving it teeth will actually help anyways...

marina waters suffer from a number of hazards...and it seems that it is a 'given' that boats pollute, and under those understandings, ntohing will ever get done...

too bad kinda.. ad i would hope it lends itself towards changes and improvements that work and are cost effective (along with environmentally effective)

seems paints are a planned obselescence type of thing

[daddle]

One more reason to not stay in marinas. As if there weren't enough already.

[Bergovoy]

if the problem was significant and if there was a real resk or potential for eco damage then 'not staying in marina' is still not the answer..

the question needs to be whether or not this is the most practical/responsible thing to do... and all issues would need to be reviewed, i.e what are the affects of the manufacturing of 'green materials', and everything... not all GREEN materials and methos are green... as was discussed in teh hudrogen thread... it takes fossil fuiles to create hydrogen on a mass scale...

electric cars use lead and still need electrical generation to repower them...