cleaning barnacle "glue" on knot meter paddles

[Clivevon]

How about the leftover vinegar from a jar of pickled onions?

[Scorpius]

Apparently the natural glue barnacles produce is the strongest glue known - and it works underwater! Amazing! I know years ago scientists were trying to duplicate it in the lab - and I guess they've succeeded if that is what dentists are now using.

Yup. It's tough stuff to get off. I'm happy to hear that vinegar works. Yay for this forum!

[MJH]

Originally Posted by raingolfer

I typically pull my knot meter when we're going to sit at anchor or in a marina for an extended period. Invariably there is still some baranacle "glue" on some of the paddles.

Does anyone have something you do to get that off other than carefully scraping with a knife? I don't want to; break a paddle by applying too much pressure. I'm not aware of anything I can soak it in to help loosen it.

I keep my boat on a buoy 24/7/365. I always remove the paddle wheel for the winter and install in the spring for the first sailing and extended voyage. Its interesting to note how different the amount of growth and the type is on the wheel from one year to the next, the worst was cover by mussels.

I use a putty knife to follow the flat surfaces of the paddle wheel, a toothpick to get into the underside as long as its not hard stuff, an old toothbrush to get rid of the slime/dirt, and spray with WD40 to lubricate the wheel and encourage anything I missed to get off.

"Its a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it."

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[Reefmagnet]

In Oz, Bunnings sell double strength vinegar in the cleaning section as, appropriately, "Cleaning Vinegar". It's also good stuff to flush and soak through the head once per week to help dissolve the crud that builds up inside the hoses.


I've used a homemade paste consisting of flour and vinegar for years to clean the barny glue off the prop. Glug it on, wrap in plastic and come back in an hour or two.


Lanolin helps stop growth on both props and paddle wheels. I use the grease for the prop and aerosol spray for the paddle wheel.

[chasfgr]

Vinegar does it, if you don't mind the wait and it's nott dilute.
Using wine vinegar appears to me to much like gilding the lily.

Any of the mineral acids are quicker but need far more careful handling.
I've found dilute H Cl, the easiest to use, for those of an alchemical bent it's also known as muriatic acid.
Go for low (less than) 0.05%, solution.

Steer clear of H2SO4, the reaction is too intense, even with fairly dilute acid.
Invariably, when tied uo, replace the blank plug and keep the paddle-wheel transducer in the boat, especially in places where oyster-beds lie.

[doublewide]

Catsup. Heinz, DelMonte make excellent tomato scented barnacle removers. Well, yeah; it’s vinegar in a sticky base. The stickiness is great when you want it to stick to your prop or some other surface. Apply, let it stand for a while, and scrub with a 3M pad. Works great. Then to inhibit barnacles on your clean speedo paddles smear them with zinc oxide (Desitin) ointment. QED

[thunderhoof]

I use the white vinegar soak approach, too. Seems to work well.
Another thing I do is, after soaking, rinse it with fresh water and let the paddlewheel dry well. Then clean it and its housing and coat it with spray-on PTFE Mold Release, letting it dry per instructions. This seems to give several weeks of growth protection and acts as a lubricant as well.

[CATJAVA]

I’ve never tried vinegar cause I don’t like to remove the entire unit from the hull. So I just scrape it with one of those great scrapers that dentists use for cleaning teeth. Works great, very sharp & delicate!
Evan on JAVA

[sailingchiro]

Pickle juice can be used in a pinch. If no vinegar is available.