Barnacles: What's the Deal ?

[lorenzo b]

I put 4 coats of anti-foulant paint, 2 blue, 2 red, sprayed on my steel bottom 18 months ago. Some blue is beginning to show. When I left Key West I had 1/2 inch barnacles along the waterline and on the prop. I scraped the ones off I could get to easily and yesterday dove down to get the prop and clean off transducer face as my depth sounder still keeps freezing on me and noticed that the bottom is actually pretty clean.

Does running 1000 miles knock off the barnacles?
Do they mostly grow on the sides where they can get sunlight?
Can I get by with pulling my boat up every two years?

As you can tell, I know nothing.

[pressuredrop]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

1) Does running 1000 miles knock off the barnacles?
2) Do they mostly grow on the sides where they can get sunlight?
3) Can I get by with pulling my boat up every two years?

As you can tell, I know nothing.

1) i dont know, but i know it inhibits their growth somewhat
2) i dont think this is true, one of the areas of the most prolific growth on my boat is the bottom of the keel...
3) yes, absolutely, doesnt hurt to scrap and scrub every few months,

the warmer the water, the more prolific the growth, here in south fl it absolutely ridiculous, i painted mine in december and ive been down scrubing once a month since

[motion30]

here is s fl I scrape once a month in the chesapeake i scrape , well never really just clean when the boat is pulled

[dcstrng]

We just pulled ours after a little over two years and was pleased (in the Chesapeake and brackish) to see much less than I’m used to. Had some spotty paint adhesion issues here or there, but no growth to speak of, except where an occasional grounding had knocked the paint off the bottom of the keel… can’t recall the paint, two coats of Interlux something or other, but seemed much better than I’m used to – of course our past two winters have been chillier than usual so that may be a factor as well – but no scrubbing, just occasional day sailing…

[Sandero]

I've used a variety of anti fouling paints over the years and found that the barnacles do not grow on the paint. They do on the prop and top of the rudder which is not well painted (hard to get at). The painted area fouling is vegetative growth and slime. That would be less a problem if the boat was moving (fast) through the water most of the time as opposed to lying at anchor.

[Hud3]

I used ablatives, and found that I needed to put extra coats on spots where turbulence occurred--the stem of the hull and leading edge of the keel, along the waterline, and on the rudder where the prop wash hit it. Barnacles and algae would attach in those spots unless I beefed up the paint. With your higher speed through the water, I suspect this would be even more the case with your boat--if you're using an ablative paint.

[captainKJ]

try a different bottom paint... i used a soft paint on my catamaran,,, left for 2 months and had every barnacle and there cousin on my boat... went back to the yard,,, redid the bottom with a hard coat,, micron 66 I think and for 2 years never had a barnacle while living in the same spot. soft bottom paint is made for a moving boat,,, hard bottom paint is made for a boat that sits for some time

[colemj]

Micron 66 is one of the softest ablatives. Good paint, but if you have it, it is not a hard paint.

Mark

[gonesail]

we use the hard bottom paint but have a diver scrub the bottom once a month in the summer. it's the only way to keep barnacles off.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Hud3

I used ablatives, and found that I needed to put extra coats on spots where turbulence occurred--the stem of the hull and leading edge of the keel, along the waterline, and on the rudder where the prop wash hit it. Barnacles and algae would attach in those spots unless I beefed up the paint. With your higher speed through the water, I suspect this would be even more the case with your boat--if you're using an ablative paint.

We have an International Paint barge moored in our mooring area. They use it to test anti fouling paints. Yes we get growth.

I coudn't spring for Micron 66 (soft ablative) due to price and use Micron Extra. I got just 12 months with the previous hard coat and had to pull and scrape every 4-8 weeks. Micron Extra goes about 16 months.

2 coats overall. 4 coats on keel L/E and waterline.

After application I am good for 4 months doing nothing and then a wipedown. After that a wipedown every 2 months until 1 year and then I am at it every month. The prop is the problem.

[CharlieCobra]

They make a prop antifoul but it's only available from the Distributors and not to the public. I forget the name....

[speciald@ocens.]

I use a hard ablative by Sea Hawk in the Caribbean - made for a power boat application but the soft ablative "ablated" too quickly. Got 2 1/2 yeras on the last application. Uless you use your prop often, it will need to be cleaned every month in the Bay during the late Summer.

[canuck dennis]

"Prop Speed" is the name of the antifouling...some swear by it,,some don't, the longer the boat sits, the more growth you will get, when you paint the running gear, try leaving the boat out of thewater for a few days prior to launch, give the paint a chance to "harden" and not wash off so easily. I did that last year and this year no growth on the running gear.

[senormechanico]

Speaking of prop antifouling, remember last year when using a Sharpie pen was suggested ?
We completely covered our 2 blade Gori folder last summer.
The boat hasn't been used since October, and here is the result of our test.

[sundown]

If you can get your boat into 'fresh' water for a couple of weeks it will at least make the barnacles sick if not outright kill them.
I am using hard bottom paint now I have a glass boat but when I owned a wooden boat I used to mix a quart of creosote in with the copper paint and that held a lot of the growth at bay. (Though it probably is not politically correct anymore).