Ultrasonic Antifouling Info

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Hirum.

[Hirum]

Thanx Singleprop. The intermittent idea sounds promising.

[Wilpower]

Has anyone experience with BarnacleRID system Barnacle Rid | Easiest Anti-Foul Ever! , which is said to form an electronic field around the boat by hanging electrodes fore & aft?

[gelana]

I'm located down in South Florida and I'm presently using an ultrasonic antifouling system by Barnacle Zapper. I'm not sure if this is the company that you're looking for. I had mine installed around a year ago and have had great results with it. That company was the only one offering a money back guarantee if it didn't do as promised. I researched probably 12 different ones before choosing them. Some even had 110v ac units that would be mounted in my bilge. Not a good idea around water. The best ones were all 12v dc units. So the final step was price and guarantee. I was local to the company so they installed it for free. So at this point I've saved enough to justify the cost of $1500. I didn't want to look at photos on a website showing clean hulls that could have been taken at any boat yard. All I cared about was how my boat looked after a few months. I might have also just gotten lucky that I chose the best system.

[Singleprop]

I bought an old ultrasonic system from the mid 1990's - cheap of course, I intend to test its effectiveness by installing it so that a comparison can be made - maybe only install on one side of the boat.
Any recommendations to how to do this test?

[Krogensailor]

Is it just me? I have the distinct sense that this thread is being led by something other than the search for info/data. Reads like a marketing script. "Lets create a dialog, we pull folks into it and lead them along, structure the conversation along the lines of our interest, ie marketing our BS product," add some testimonials contributed by only new members,
Gelana 2
Wilpower 8
Pwhitburn 17
Hirum 2
Realem 4
All of whom have 33 post between them.

And they, of course, all think its a great product.
And we say, 'Well lets keep and open mind, maybe these here young fellers might be on to sumthin'. And we want to believe. I've seen crazier things. This is the telemarketers script, poorly re written for Web forums. Interesting. Could be one person, maybe two. I think one, that would explain the poor writing. How many names do you old timers recognize in the thread?

[Singleprop]

Could also be that very normal reaction to an expensive piece of equipment - we want it to be good and our opinion is therefore biased...

I will give my cheeeeap buy a try - then it will not be biased.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by gelana

I'm located down in South Florida and I'm presently using an ultrasonic antifouling system by Barnacle Zapper. I'm not sure if this is the company that you're looking for. I had mine installed around a year ago and have had great results with it. That company was the only one offering a money back guarantee if it didn't do as promised. I researched probably 12 different ones before choosing them. Some even had 110v ac units that would be mounted in my bilge. Not a good idea around water. The best ones were all 12v dc units. So the final step was price and guarantee. I was local to the company so they installed it for free. So at this point I've saved enough to justify the cost of $1500. I didn't want to look at photos on a website showing clean hulls that could have been taken at any boat yard. All I cared about was how my boat looked after a few months. I might have also just gotten lucky that I chose the best system.

Let's see... joined today, have posted twice, both posts reviving long dead threads about ultrasonic anti fouling systems with rave reviews for one particular product that just happens to be sold close to where you keep your boat.

Hmm... been working for Barnacle Zapper long?

[David M]

I'm sure that if the technology worked the worlds maritime industry and militaries would have been using it many years ago. They have tens of billions at stake in reducing fuel costs and creating faster vessels. The yacht industry is miniscule by comparison.

[muskoka]

DavidM,

I don't think commercial/military boats need such systems for two reasons: Firstly, they spend most of their time underway so ablative antifouling and speed work to keep them clean. Secondly, they're allowed to use the really nasty stuff which yachts are prohibited to use.

I really think this is an issue which plagues pleasure boats which sit for days (or weeks) at a time between trips.

Cheers

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by muskoka

I don't think commercial/military boats need such systems for two reasons: Firstly, they spend most of their time underway so ablative antifouling and speed work to keep them clean.

Yes, commercial and military vessels spend lots of time under weigh. But that does not mean that those entities are not constantly looking for ways to reduce fouling. Hull fouling can mean millions of extra dollars in fuel per year for a single vessel. If ultrasonic worked, they'd use it.

Originally Posted by muskoka

Secondly, they're allowed to use the really nasty stuff which yachts are prohibited to use.

Speaking for the U.S. Navy- they are on the cutting edge of alternative anti fouling coating research and I guarantee they do not use "the really nasty stuff." Further, tin-based paints have been banned worldwide since 2008 and most commercial vessels no longer use it because the ports they call on would not allow them access if they did.

[muskoka]

The stuff that the commercial ships apply in Hong Kong are prohibited to me as a yachtsman. It's a hell of a lot nastier than anything I can legally apply. Needless to say some of the yachties use it (I don't and won't) and it works far better than any "yacht approved" anti-foul. God knows what it does to the harbor.

Commercial ships are like aircraft - they aren't making any money sitting around. Sure clean hulls are more fuel efficient, but they spend over 90% of their time underway. Pleasure yachts probably spend 95% of their time moored. I've never had a problem when cruising, but then that's when I'm putting miles on like a commercial boat!

[stevensuf]

Tin based paints are still available in the Caribbean, so no world wide ban there.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

Tin based paints are still available in the Caribbean, so no world wide ban there.

The fact that a few countries have chosen not to ratify the ban doesn't mean the ban isn't in place. The shipping industry abides by it because most of the nations they travel to require that they do.

BTW- China is a signatory to the ban, so it seems unlikely, Muskoka, that anybody is using tin-based anti fouling paint in Hong Kong. I suspect that you merely assume that that commercial shipping is using something other than copper paint.

[gelana]

I'm learning more than I think I wanted to know. I wasn't aware of many of the things that are being said. In the end all that I was trying to eliminate was the monthly cleanings of my boat. I dive and fish at least twice a month so it became a hassle. My turbos on the diesels would take forever to spool up because of the fouling on my running gear. I didn't even really care that much about the hull being clean, it was more about my props. I would end up jumping in the water before I went out just to clean the props. I tried prop speed but it didn't last more than three months for me. My hull remaining clean was more of a bonus rather than a need. I would much rather have had a paint that lasts for one year with no issues. I have tried everything up to $450 a gallon for bottom paint. You obviously see more hulls in a week than I'll see in my lifetime. So any thoughts that you have are greatly appreciated. Also any products that you come across that are working please mention them. I'll never live long enough to make all the mistakes on my own.