Challenge: Bloody Barnacles . . .

[zopi]

So, Her Idea has not been hauled in awhile, and through a couple disasters and my pending retirement and starting a business to feed us, I have, until the last week, neglected my big wide tubby mistress...so, I got the engine on her (from christmas, no less) last saturday, and took her out for a little shakedown...like sailing on velcro...yecch...gotta bite the bullet...so out come wetsuit, mask fins and snorkel today..and the ubiquitous scrapers....cornered the market on the little crusty buggers...scraped her down to the keel, and hit a wall literally...it is bloody bad they are so thick down there...keel is iron, so I took a soff copper mallet down amd started chipping at them...this is going to take awhile...never seen em so thick...sigh...gonna haul her this winter, but, would like to have a bit of smooth sailing between now and then...keep in mind I am skin diving on breast lines to do this...sucks...any of you folks have any experience to make this easier, or do I just need to quit crying and suck rubber?

[Kettlewell]

If you can move the boat put her aground a few times on some sand--that'll take the barnacles off the bottom of the keel. Might be worth it to hire a diver to do it for you.

[zopi]

I guess tha would be one way to do it, if I had a place with sifficient tidal range and a solid bottom, I would probably vareen her and take care of it that way, but just getting them off the bottom of the keel won't help as much as the aggravation of catching the tide right, or kedging her off...most of the heavy growth is up on the sides of the keel....
Wish I had the dough to hire a diver...probably if I did I would just buy a tank, octo, and bc, and dive her myself...been certified for years...just haven't been to active, hence no gear...
Thanks for the inout though!

[Steve Pope]

Put he on a grid, give them a squirt of bleach, wait a week and see what is left.

[senormechanico]

Just be glad the damn things aren't on the Endangered Species List !

[zopi]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Just be glad the damn things aren't on the Endangered Species List !

Lol...Then I could sell them on the black market and support my boat habit...

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by zopi

do I just need to quit crying and suck rubber?

I have that problem but fortunately I am hauling in a month, and I am in the nice warm waters of Grenada. However the goobles grow fast here.
My trick is to go scrape a bit every time I am in and only to do a bit at a time. No use doing an hour solid, I just keep it to 30 mins and then relax.

If you have to bash with a mallet then you must have a significant problem! And I don't think you're gunna come out the winner.

Just sail the velcro and forget about it

[zopi]

Oh...the only thing left to clean is the keel...five feet long and solid iron...I have located an old navy chipping hammer and will give that a shot..I will have her out in clear water this weekend..I will pull a pair of breast lines and see what I can do with it...

[tager]

Sail into freshwater for a while, they die and fall right off, after a year in fresh, the barnacles on my rudder came off with my bare hands.

[zopi]

That is a good Idea for Her Idea...but I would have to go pretty much to Richmond to get any fresh water...

[SaltyMonkey]

was also going to suggest the fresh water idea, but also the bleach

[Alberto]

I am in the upper Bay. Over the past couple of weeks we went from some barnacles to an unbelievable amount of them, to the point that last Sunday I had to dive to scrape the rudder and propeller in order to have some decent speed. I guess they get active with the warm water... Scheduling a haul-out

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Alberto

I guess they get active with the warm water...

Warm water! What's that and where can I find it? Somethings are worth having to deal with growth on the boat bottom.

[SaltyMonkey]

Nay, not just warm water. The water become more salty during the summer as evaporation occurs from the heat, and lack of snow/rain

[Astrid]

Lower salinity also makes it difficult for some species to attach and stay attached, and many predators that prey upon barnacles prefer cooler environments.