My 36 foot
aluminum sloop is on a
mooring in Chalong Bay, Phuket,
Thailand. I have to dive under the
boat once a month to scrape the
barnacles off so that the
boat can be used. I have heard of many ideas for preventing
barnacles from fouling the prop. First I have a 16 inch
3 blade fixed blade
propeller.
1. Put a thick black plastic bag with a plastic tie wrap on the shaft. The downfall with this is one time my
mooring dragged in a bad storm while I was stateside and the guy looking after my boat had to dive under the boat with a knife and cut the plastic tie wrap in the storm so they he could move the boat. I may go back to this now that I have 3 anchors set in 3 directions with a stainless ring in the middle joining them so that it will now take a 100 mph
wind to drag now!
2. When I
haul out next year, I will break the piggy bank and buy some prop speed or equivalent. I hope that stuff will last 2 years!
3. I have heard that a mixture of bees wax with Tefgel can be smeared on the blades underwater after each sail but it is a bit costly and the last thing I want to do is go
diving under the boat in the polluted Chalong Bay at the end of one week cruise!
4. I have heard that if I buy ladies nylon stockings, I can slide one leg over each blade and when I put the prop in
gear, all the barnacles will slip off the blades with the stockings. Has anyone tried this?
Hopefully some out there might have a better idea because I am dreading spending my Sunday under the boat with gloves and a putty knife!