Bottom Cleaning in the Water

[goodoldwoody]

Hey,
Here's how I do it, no fuss, just wetsuit and goggles.
First I get a diver's weight and tie it loosely to one of my mooring lines. Tied in such a way that it will slide. I proceed to the stem of my boat slide the weight roughly to the middle of my mooring line then lower it into the water so that it is deep enough to clear the keel. Next I walk it back, one side at a time until it is hanging beneath the centre of the keel. I then secure one end then run the other through the jib sheet traveller and back to the corresponding winch. I winch it on tight. That gives a secure holding line right under the boat. Next I run another mooring line along one side, the full length of the boat with another diving weight attached in the same way so that it can slide along under the water but keeps the line taught but loose enough to easily get a hand hold.
By using these lines I pull myself around under water using a minimum of effort and as a result a minimum of oxygen. I use a very soft house broom head and gently brush as I quickly move along surfacing for air as required. The line under the keel makes a dive to clean the keel easy. One side of the keel can be done in two breaths. I have tried the diving tanks and frankly think that while it's easy enough there's a lot of gear to find a home for. That all has to be cleaned in fresh water and stored for another six months till next time.
I use Soft antifoul and Propspeed I find it necessary to clean the bottom no later than every six months. Especially the prop. I'm in a river and we get a fair bit of slime & Algae but never barnacles unless left for more than six months.
Another option is to get the boat lifted at your local marina for a wash down (you do it with hose & brush). Usually costs less than $200 and of course is all over in a flash. So
Hope you try these methods before you outlay money on unnecessary equipment.
I'm 68 yo have had cardiac 4 bypass 22 years ago and still dive on my boat. All part of keeping fit. My yacht is 34 ft long 6ft draft.
Forget about the sharks As I and most everyone else does but don't dive after 4pm as that's their feeding time I think.

[Yeti]

Originally Posted by Land an

Nice Video. I have a couple of questions:

1- do you worry about stray voltage in the water? Sharks?

My boat is on a mooring in the San Diego Bay and as previously noted there really isn't much in the California bays that you have to worry about.

HOWEVER.....

In the San Diego Bay the Navy's Marine Mammal program is nearly always doing some type of training in the bay.

Their dolphins are trained to find divers in the water around boat hulls and I did find out the hard way that the dolphins are very good at this. It's an amazingly weird moment when you are under your boat and you get nailed HARD in the ass by something BIG. I turned around screaming "WTF" through the 2nd stage, only to find nothing but a little orange buoy floating to the surface. I decided to grab that buoy and get out of the water. Just about the time I was getting out the trainers pulled up in their skiff and I then knew what had happened. They were quite apologetic and asked for their buoy back. I was quite happy to actually know what it was that hit me and I wasn't physically hurt at all so I said no worries and we all went about our day.

I had no idea they were in the area and the trainers had no idea I was in the water. The dolphin was just doing what it was trained to do. Overall it was a very interesting experience but not one that I need to replicate anytime soon.

[Nicholson58]

We have added a Brownie Hookah for fun & bottom cleaning. Do it often and it isn't too bad. In the Great Lakes, every weekend to race or every month to cruise. Its only algae slime here.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by goodoldwoody

Hey,
Here's how I do it, no fuss, just wetsuit and goggles....................
.................

There is certainly no fault in goodoldwoody's hull cleaning procedure. I cleaned my hull in a similar manner for 42 years. I didn't use any guide lines,- 'just swam about the edge with a snorkel to reach the first four feet down and then free diving for the keel. I would do this anchored out and make a series of sweeps from the bow to stern. I did not use a wet suit as this was in clear warm water.

I do enjoy casually spending longer times below detailing and inspecting my hull with my new system. The storage of the equipment can be an issue for many, but we have still not filled the void after having our two teenage children move off the boat seventeen years ago!

Goodoldwoody's activity in taking care of his own maintenance is a behavior that I admire. fstbttms provides an important service for many, but others value the independence of doing it all themselves. In the 1970's and 1980's I used to careen for bottom painting , but I do use boat yard facilities now.

[Kenomac]

The first couple of times I cleaned our boat, I used just a snorkel, fins, mask and weight for a 53ft boat. It took over an hour anchored in a cove with clear water. Now I used a Hookamax 12v system. On a Macgreggor, 26, you should be able to reach most of work from the surface. Find a clear water cove outside the marina, the marina water is gross unless you have a dry suit or full face mask along with scuba. I never head under the boat inside a harbor unless it's absolutely necessary or to avoid the expense of a diver. In the EU, divers charge 3-4 times what California divers charge.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

...............
the marina water is gross .......................
...................

Sadly, this might be often true, but this is not the case in many places with good current flow and/or complience with clean water legislation.
My choice to be out of the marina is more often to be clear of the barnacle coated pilings, jagged cement & rusty rebar just at the perimeter of my slip.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

Sadly, this might be often true, but this is not the case in many places with good current flow and/or complience with clean water legislation.
My choice to be out of the marina is more often to be clear of the barnacle coated pilings, jagged cement & rusty rebar just at the perimeter of my slip.

Hudson,

Have you seen the marina water in Southern California? In Dana Point marina where the OP has his boat, my friends dog fell in the water along the dock following a storm one day.... thinking the water was dry land due to all the junk in the water. Now, normally this is not the case in Dana Point which has one of the nicest harbors in Southern California along with an excellent kids beach inside the breakwater, but the Southern California beaches and especially LA harbor do get the run off following a storm or sewage spill from the tens of millions of people living inland. Nothing much can be done about that other than making sure your immunizations are up to date; plus.... I know you don't want to know about this, but..... not everyone uses a holding tank in the marina. :-)

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Hudson,

Have you seen the marina water in Southern California? In Dana Point marina where the OP has his boat, my friends dog fell in the water along the dock following a storm one day.... thinking the water was dry land due to all the junk in the water. Now, normally this is not the case in Dana Point which has one of the nicest harbors in Southern California along with an excellent kids beach inside the breakwater, but the Southern California beaches and especially LA harbor do get the run off following a storm or sewage spill from the tens of millions of people living inland. Nothing much can be done about that other than making sure your immunizations are up to date; plus.... I know you don't want to know about this, but..... not everyone uses a holding tank in the marina. :-)

rodlmffao.
and yet, when the runoff dissipates, the water is actually cler enough to see bottom of the bay. btdt.

if you donot wish to do y
our own boat hullcleaning, there are sharks with 2 legs want to fleece ye for the privilege of diving your bottom. there are more bottom diving folks in kali than there are boats.
mebbe one actually knows how to clean your boat ll without scratching your precious hull,and mebbe you can fin this soul to clean your hull for you. is easy.merely costs xx per foot of hull length. last one i hired in san diego charged me 50 usd for my ericson 35 fin keel to be cleaned in san diego. not too bad. they wanted 150usd for my formosa...lol....
here in mex it is 500 pesos to clean a 40.9 ft lod deep keeled ketch and its prop.

if you are in san diego bay, there is a company named aquarius that does a decent job, cal divers also dooes a good job, and there are many other opamies and individuals from which to choose, depending on where you are in sd bay--it is a big bay.

have fun.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by zeehag

they wanted 150usd for my formosa...lol....

Gosh, I wonder why?

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Hudson,

Have you seen the marina water in Southern California? ....................
...............

Yes, though not with my boat, I was at some Southern California marinas just a couple weeks ago, but there's no cause for a debate. As I said, "sadly this might often be the case....". I' no stranger to polluted harbors, but I spend most of my time in some verry nice places.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

Yes, though not with my boat, I was at some Southern California marinas just a couple weeks ago, but there's no cause for a debate. As I said, "sadly this might often be the case....". I' no stranger to polluted harbors, but I spend most of my time in some verry nice places.

I didn't mean to sound confrontational. Note the smiley face at the end.

[fstbttms]

While they may not always be the cleanest of dive locations, I have over 20,000 dives in marinas. I have never had an ear or intestinal infection (or any other serious health issue) as a result.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I didn't mean to sound confrontational. Note the smiley face at the end.

LOL,- 'not taken that way,- 'though I am emoticon impaired!

[Sherbo]

Thanks for all the great feedback on this question. All very helpful. "Keel hauling the wife" got me thinking... What about getting a large fat abrasive rope and sending it under the boat from one side to the other, then one person could hold each end on each side and move it back and forth. This would not remove major buildup but if done regularly may prevent buildup in the first place.
Would that work?
Can you suggest any improvements to that method?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Sherbo

Thanks for all the great feedback on this question. All very helpful. "Keel hauling the wife" got me thinking... What about getting a large fat abrasive rope and sending it under the boat from one side to the other, then one person could hold each end on each side and move it back and forth. This would not remove major buildup but if done regularly may prevent buildup in the first place.
Would that work?
Can you suggest any improvements to that method?

If you had a perfectly round boat, plus I think it might be hard on your bottom paint. Seems to last longer if cleaned more frequently, but with much gentler methods as opposed to less frequently, but with a scraper etc.