In Water Hull Cleaning

I'm thinking of changing my hull maintenance regime.

What expreiance do people have of in water cleaning of their hulls?

Is this better than antifoul?

How often do you need to get a diver to clean the hull?

How much is it to get the boat cleaned by a diver?

What are the benefits and disadvantages with in water cleaning?

Your feedback is appreciated.

John

You would not even consider no antifouling. If I leave my rib in the water for only a week it will have pin head size barnacles all over it and they are a pain to get off. If your use a good antifouling ag. Micron 66 in Sydney you will get 3 to 4 years. After 2 years you may need to put a diver down every 3 months to keep every thing in good order especially the propeller as after 2 years there would be very little protection left on it.. I have a diver wipe my boat down every 8 weeks at $120.00 a hit.

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twodogs1969 said..
Jodee that depends on where you are moored i used micron last year in the bay I am moored in we antifoul every year. I have it dived on after about 3 months then slowly get more regular down to 4 weeks by the time i get antifouled again. The bay operside ours is much better. I put it down to more water movement and sandy bottom where my bay is mud.
So there is no general rule as to how often.
If you want to reduce antifouling get a boat bag.

I agree, imagin what the boat would look like with no antifouling. It also depends on how much you use the boat.

If you had no anti-foul you might need to clean your hull every month maybe. Like what Jode said, barnacles and weed can grow fast. Depends how much growth you are willing to tolerate. I myself don't like any since it slows the boat down aside from looking bad.

My boats 35ft and cost was $300 each time I had it diver cleaned.

One good thing about frequent diver hull cleaning is you get your boats undersides checked each time.

A downside is its legally tricky I think. If the diver scrapes off the barnacles thats OK, but if a bit of your hull or old anti fouling paint comes off technically speaking you can get a fine for that.

As we also race weekly, I get a diver once a month @ $100 a pop. Takes before and after photos, so I get a good idea of where the ant-foul is up to. I schedule for out of water every year regardless, so she can get a good spruce up while out.

As Shaggy mentioned, you notice very quickly if the diver has been late this month.....

I like the idea of the hookah Brusk. Be good to get under and have a look whenever you felt
like it, but we've been inundated with jellyfish this year in Pittwater...I'm talking CLOUDS of 'em.
I don't know wether they're stingers tho'. I hope we don't have those little jellyfish they have in QLD,
y'know they're as big as your thumbnail and kill you as soon as you put your foot in the water
for a paddle, brrrrrr.

I did an underwater scrape in September, the first time since January. The prop was a barnacle ball and the hull was covered in 5mm thick fur. Inside the fur were millions of tiny shrimps that decided I was their new home. By the time I was finished I was completely covered in them, the underwater equivalent of rolling on an ant nest (without the stings). Checked the prop again on Thursday and there was a half dozen barnacles and the fur was back. Definitely time for a new coat of antifoul and some propspeed.

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Wander66 said..
I did an underwater scrape in September, the first time since January. The prop was a barnacle ball and the hull was covered in 5mm thick fur. Inside the fur were millions of tiny shrimps that decided I was their new home. By the time I was finished I was completely covered in them, the underwater equivalent of rolling on an ant nest (without the stings). Checked the prop again on Thursday and there was a half dozen barnacles and the fur was back. Definitely time for a new coat of antifoul and some propspeed.

Pays to wear a hood when doing that job.,, keeps the sea life out of your ears that can cause you a serious ear infection.

Thanks for your comments.

I was thinkng that in water cleaning had to be done with no anti foul as it would just be wiped off during the cleaning process, and could lead you towards a fine.

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cisco said..

Ramona said..

Trek said..

If you had no anti-foul you might need to clean your hull every month maybe. Like what Jode said, barnacles and weed can grow fast. Depends how much growth you are willing to tolerate. I myself don't like any since it slows the boat down aside from looking bad.

My boats 35ft and cost was $300 each time I had it diver cleaned.

One good thing about frequent diver hull cleaning is you get your boats undersides checked each time.

A downside is its legally tricky I think. If the diver scrapes off the barnacles thats OK, but if a bit of your hull or old anti fouling paint comes off technically speaking you can get a fine for that.

It's the other way round. Bit of antifoul bloom is ok but there is a nasty fine if your caught scraping off shell.

What is their thinking behind that?? Doesn't make sense to me.

Rich people get divers to rub down their yacht bottoms regularly so it's unlikely that will ever become illegal. The antifoul bloom is just spent antifoul anyway. They probably would not have time between cleans to get shell. Us plebs scrape off the shell and as it falls the fish gather and feed on it. It would have spent antifoul and some reactivated antifoul on it and it may not be good for the fish. I may scrape off shell occasionally but always do it out of sight of pensioners.
At our local slipway we cannot clean the bottom till the tide recedes past the "Sump". All the shell scraped off we have to pick up and remove and not return it to the water.
I was told the fine for scraping shell on a mooring was $800.

"Under section 120 of the POEO Act it is illegal
to pollute or cause or permit pollution of waters.
Under the Act, ‘water pollution’ includes
introducing anything, including litter, sediment,
fuel, oil, grease, wash water, debris, detergent,
paint, etc. into waters or placing such material
where it is likely to be washed or blown into
waters or the stormwater system or percolate into
groundwater....

Barnacles and growth arent any of the above because they grow there naturally, but anti foul paint is certainly on the list.

Because Im not rich I get my boat diver scrubbed sometimes to stall off the huge cost of slipping and anti-fouling. As do many!!

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Trek said..

"Under section 120 of the POEO Act it is illegal
to pollute or cause or permit pollution of waters.
Under the Act, ‘water pollution’ includes
introducing anything, including litter, sediment,
fuel, oil, grease, wash water, debris, detergent,
paint, etc. into waters or placing such material
where it is likely to be washed or blown into
waters or the stormwater system or percolate into
groundwater....

Barnacles and growth arent any of the above because they grow there naturally, but anti foul paint is certainly on the list.

Because Im not rich I get my boat diver scrubbed sometimes to stall off the huge cost of slipping and anti-fouling. As do many!!

So no peeing over the transom peoples

I'm going to try the Sharpie pen in a couple of weeks. May as well I have tried everything else except propspeed.

HG,
Do you mean the ones in your avatar aren't rectractable?
You're such a handyman, that surprises me. Slacking off you are...

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Ramona said..
I'm going to try the Sharpie pen in a couple of weeks. May as well I have tried everything else except propspeed.

I am really tempted to do it too but after all the money I am spending on the current slipping I don't want to have to slip again for at least 12 months.

Does anyone look under their boat with one of those old fashioned tubes with a glass end.
Were they called bathyscope or something ??. Would be handy to sit in the dinghy and take
an easy look at your prop.