Bottom Cleaning in the Water

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Sherbo

........... I'm looking to move onto a Hunter 49 soon and am trying to get an idea of what the costs are. So it sounds like the hull should be cleaned every 2 weeks .............

fstbttms can probably inform you about growth rates in different areas of Soutern California, but regardless of your location, marine growth type and growth rate varies in different local environments with changes in salinity, current, dissolved oxygen .... etc.

In addition, if you cruise about, you get far less growth. This is not so much because your movement is knocking off the growth, but because you move to environments that don't allow the survival of what was present elsewhere. There are places in coral reef areas where, if you arrive with barnacles, the Parrot Fish will crack open the barnacles and eat them!

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by Yeti

My boat is on a mooring in the San Diego Bay and as previously noted there really isn't much in the California bays that you have to worry about.

HOWEVER.....

In the San Diego Bay the Navy's Marine Mammal program is nearly always doing some type of training in the bay.

Their dolphins are trained to find divers in the water around boat hulls and I did find out the hard way that the dolphins are very good at this. It's an amazingly weird moment when you are under your boat and you get nailed HARD in the ass by something BIG. I turned around screaming "WTF" through the 2nd stage, only to find nothing but a little orange buoy floating to the surface. I decided to grab that buoy and get out of the water. Just about the time I was getting out the trainers pulled up in their skiff and I then knew what had happened. They were quite apologetic and asked for their buoy back. I was quite happy to actually know what it was that hit me and I wasn't physically hurt at all so I said no worries and we all went about our day.

I had no idea they were in the area and the trainers had no idea I was in the water. The dolphin was just doing what it was trained to do. Overall it was a very interesting experience but not one that I need to replicate anytime soon.

OMG this is hilarious. Heart-attack inducing, yes, but also funny as hell.

I've had people tell me there were sea lions watching me scrub the boat yet never knew it because the viz was less than 6 inches. At least we don't have barracuda around here because they'll get right in your face and scare the bejeesus out of you.

[billgewater]

Hi !I am new here.
For what it is worth there is a very different approach to hull cleaning that I saw being used in Sydney harbour in my youth. The owners used a light weighted plastic bag around the boat with a combination of floats and strings to position the bag. Some pumped most of the water out of the bag and/or added fresh water (at a small marina where I sailed from). They then added a few handfuls of copper sulphate to the water in the bag. I am not sure of the history of this practice but it certainly seems cheaper and easier than manually scrubbing. Clearly it would have some downsides .. not removing barnacles etc, although a quantity of acid may be considered here. (The ocean is a great buffer solution so the acid really is probably environmentally safe to use. It may sparkle up your bronze skin fittings a bit or accelerate the dissolving of zinc blocks!) But it certainly kills any weed or algae. The effect clearly is not permanently ongoing once the bag is removed.

The amount of copper sulphate is minuscule compared the quantity in a re-antifouling process.
Anyone else tried this? Don't expect endorsement from paint companies!

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

While they may not always be the cleanest of dive locations, I have over 20,000 dives in marinas. I have never had an ear or intestinal infection (or any other serious health issue) as a result.

When I first started big-boat sailing in Lake Erie at Cleveland's Lakeside YC the dead-end lagoon was like coffee with cream. The zero discharge laws were recent enough that - well, you know. The boat became entangled in submerged wire rope at the gas dock and a diver's services were required. The guy wore a total dry suit with full head & face coverage. He later said the bottom at the keel was a thick high viscosity layer. Zero visibility as you can imagine. When he got back on the dock the stench was indescribable. He was hosed down and sprayed with Clorox solution several times before removing any part of the suit or mouth piece. People who occasionally fell in often contracted rashes, infections, etc.

Good riddance to the bad-ole days. That lagoon, thanks to zero discharge & zebra muscles is now totally clear with fish & weeds. Michigan & Ontario have been pretty good about clean water laws, farm run-off. Notable exceptions are the Fox river (Green Bay), Detroit & all of Lake St Claire. Farm (and city) run off from all of northern Ohio has made a fertile mess of Lake Erie's basin. Having sailed to the Keewanaw in Lake Superior last summer, its impressive how polluted that drinkable, pristine water becomes on its way to the St Lawrence. Last summer, the algae bloom at Toledo was toxic.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by billgewater

For what it is worth there is a very different approach to hull cleaning that I saw being used in Sydney harbour in my youth. The owners used a light weighted plastic bag around the boat with a combination of floats and strings to position the bag.

The amount of copper sulphate is minuscule compared the quantity in a re-antifouling process.
Anyone else tried this? Don't expect endorsement from paint companies!

"Boat bags" have always been more popular in Oz than in the States. I have been in the boat maintenance biz for more than 20 years and I can count on one hand the number I have seen in use here. BTW- chlorine is the chemical typically used in these things.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

"Boat bags" have always been more popular in Oz than in the States. I have been in the boat maintenance biz for more than 20 years and I can count on one hand the number I have seen in use here. BTW- chlorine is the chemical typically used in these things.

These were common (1970s - 80s) at the Cleveland YC on Rocky River for the R-Boat fleet. They all had a trickle of water from a hose & probably clorox. It looked like a crystal swimming pool. I don't know if they are still in use. There are apparently still 6 boats in the fleet (2 of wood) R Fleet - The Cleveland Yachting Club I was always impressed that there was an official position of bulge pumper on these boats.

LINKS

Sail-World.com : Think green, save anti-fouling, The new-design Boat Bag

Boat Bath | Antifouling a Boat - Available for all types of crafts

Does anyone have experience with PROP PAK? Underwater Propeller Cover | Underwater Propeller Cover It sounds great & it would be easy to try with a big heavy duty trash bag.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Does anyone have experience with PROP PAK? Underwater Propeller Cover | Underwater Propeller Cover It sounds great & it would be easy to try with a big heavy duty trash bag.

The inventor tried numerous times to get me to consider becoming a dealer. I finally stopped answering his calls & e-mails. I just didn't see it as being particularly useful. You have to have a diver install it, then use it once and have the diver come back and reinstall it. Not to mention, you still have to have the bottom cleaned. Plus, now you have this wet, nasty bag stinking up the joint and dripping crud all over your dock and/or boat. Heaven forbid you should forget to take it off before putting the drive in gear.

I don't see the advantage.

[scottydaum]

When I lived in Florida, I had a place just off Sanibel Island (near my house) where the bottom was very white sand, and the water depth was just deep enough for the boat.
The white sand reflected the sunlight and illuminated the whole boat bottom, and because of the depth I could stand on the bottom, put one hand on the bottom of the boat to steady myself and the other hand fro the scraping. I also used the rope around the bottom as mentioned in an earlier post. A snorkel was plenty enough, and the breathe holding was actually a good exercise for me. You never know when you might need to be able to do a long one in an emergency. I was once fouled up in sheets and lines under the boat in an overturned sailboat. It required a long breathe hold to sort it out and escape.
Anyhow....I would put a few rocks in my pockets to get closer to neutral buoyancy at first, but later scored a divers weight belt in a nautical flea market for just a couple of bucks and then used that. With that neutral buoyancy you can stay in place, or move about as you want without a lot of effort. Closest thing to experiencing weightlessness, and I love it.
There are some big Hammerheads cruising around Sanibel and Fort Meyers Beach but they seem to cruise around the pier where they are putting bait in the water......right next to where all the Tourists tell their kids to go swim....lol
Now my boat is in New Bern NC and the Neuse River is very dark and low visibility. Also the bacteria count can be very high after heaving rains as it often causes the hog waste lagoons up river to over flow into the river and I just dont go in that water when I know I am going to skin my hands on something. I had the same issue n the St.Johns River in Florida which is also nasty.
I am looking for a spot in Pamlico Sound thaat is like my spot in Florida so I can get back to a normal cleaning schedule.

[tcpip95]

Originally Posted by scottydaum

When I lived in Florida, I had a place just off Sanibel Island (near my house) where the bottom was very white sand, and the water depth was just deep enough for the boat.
The white sand reflected the sunlight and illuminated the whole boat bottom, and because of the depth I could stand on the bottom, put one hand on the bottom of the boat to steady myself and the other hand fro the scraping. I also used the rope around the bottom as mentioned in an earlier post. A snorkel was plenty enough, and the breathe holding was actually a good exercise for me. You never know when you might need to be able to do a long one in an emergency. I was once fouled up in sheets and lines under the boat in an overturned sailboat. It required a long breathe hold to sort it out and escape.
Anyhow....I would put a few rocks in my pockets to get closer to neutral buoyancy at first, but later scored a divers weight belt in a nautical flea market for just a couple of bucks and then used that. With that neutral buoyancy you can stay in place, or move about as you want without a lot of effort. Closest thing to experiencing weightlessness, and I love it.
There are some big Hammerheads cruising around Sanibel and Fort Meyers Beach but they seem to cruise around the pier where they are putting bait in the water......right next to where all the Tourists tell their kids to go swim....lol
Now my boat is in New Bern NC and the Neuse River is very dark and low visibility. Also the bacteria count can be very high after heaving rains as it often causes the hog waste lagoons up river to over flow into the river and I just dont go in that water when I know I am going to skin my hands on something. I had the same issue n the St.Johns River in Florida which is also nasty.
I am looking for a spot in Pamlico Sound thaat is like my spot in Florida so I can get back to a normal cleaning schedule.

I live in Ft. Myers and clean my boat just off of Sanibel.

I anchor my boat where I've got about 5-6' of clearance above the bottom, then don my scuba gear - less fins. I overweight myself so that I can solidly stand on the bottom and work at eye-level. Makes it very easy to clean it this way. I have a tri-toon pontoon so there's a lot of detail work (between pontoons, lifting strakes, zincs, etc.). Much easier to simply walk around the bottom of the sea.

[Teeto]

We use a hookah and a shark shield - always.


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