Bagging the saildrives

[team karst]

At my dock for a month or two.

Does a canvas or plastic bag keep growth away?
The hull has better AF paint.

[Capt Clark]

TK.

I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Maybe there’s a market for saildrive condoms.

Capt Clark

[Snore]

Of course once you put the “drivedoms” on, disable the ignition as you will block water flow.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by team karst

At my dock for a month or two.

Does a canvas or plastic bag keep growth away?
The hull has better AF paint.

Yes, but then you have to deal with two soggy bags covered in weed and soft corals which will stink when lifted out.

[Manateeman]

Canvas OK. Plastic...seriously...do we need any more plastic in the ocean for ANY reason? So your bag is just sitting there in your marina or while you are at anchor and some innocent bottom cleaning diver or curious child gets tangled up in it and drowns. Do you think they will trace this post back to you or not.
Let’s say a turtle thinks it’s a jelly fish, eats it and dies. Federally protected species. Can you live with that?
Manatees won’t have a problem unless you wrap your whole boat in Handi Wrap.
Then you’ll be looking at the end of a pizza bazooka not a lawsuit.
Plastic. A seriously bad idea.
Mark

[donradcliffe]

A very good idea. It saves a lot of scraping and we have done it many times for extended dock stays. Just put a black garbage bag over the prop and secure it with a zip tie. No turtle is going to mistake it for a jellyfish, and if people let their children swim under marina docks they should be jailed for child endangerment.

[JPA Cate]

We have covered the prop (and part of the shaft) when leaving the boat for a long time. We did it with a line back up to the cockpit, so we could pull it off from above, then dumpster it; with a folding prop, there isn't much to catch on. It was successful in limiting growth. With a big wheel, you'd want to dive on it again, for removal. Plastics are a disposal problem, Manateeman's right about that, but it isn't hard to set it up for retrieval, so it doesn't go right into the sea water. I'd have to say I kind of doubt that canvas would do as good a job, because some of what wants to come and live on your prop is microscopically small, and I'd feel concerned it would come through the weave in canvas.

Ann

[team karst]

Thanks all for ur thoughts. this is my private dock, zero current, zero wave action. Water temp hi ‘80’s. I know sea turtles do pick at barnacles, none this far inland.

[Sailmonkey]

I’ve done this to the prop with great success. Nice heavy black bag and a trifecta of zip ties onto the shaft. 6 months was my longest prop bagging, the prop was spotless when I yanked the bag.

[Baby tug]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

Canvas OK. Plastic...seriously...do we need any more plastic in the ocean for ANY reason? So your bag is just sitting there in your marina or while you are at anchor and some innocent bottom cleaning diver or curious child gets tangled up in it and drowns. Do you think they will trace this post back to you or not.
Let’s say a turtle thinks it’s a jelly fish, eats it and dies. Federally protected species. Can you live with that?
Manatees won’t have a problem unless you wrap your whole boat in Handi Wrap.
Then you’ll be looking at the end of a pizza bazooka not a lawsuit.
Plastic. A seriously bad idea.
Mark

If you’re that passionate about the environment why do you even own a boat , or drive a car or live in a house made out of wood , I’m sure you’ll have a ton of reasons why that’s OK but a plastic bag around a propeller gets a lecture , whatever floats your boat so to speak that’s a contradiction in terms really

[Manateeman]

Please let me try to answer. OK we were a bit overboard against plastic for several reasons. We saw it as plastic vs canvas.
The post offered up a clear alternative...canvas. I’m pretty sure barnacles can’t get through. Canvas is a lot stronger than plastic so the chances of it being torn off is much less. Torn off plastic ends up as micro pellets. No need to expand on the damage that’s doing because this stuff ends up in people never mind turtles.
Usually it’s small clear lunch bags that kill turtles. The micro plastic pellets are showing up in even baby turtles. Why put something into the ocean which has such a serious impact if it gets away.
I’ve been diving for over 50 years and have listened to horror stories about divers who a deathly afraid of nets, wire, rope and plastic.
In Louisiana a child was drowned by construction sheet plastic. The current was stronger as it was in a river but who knows what kids will do near water. It’s a low probability but a lot of plastic bags comes with a warning.
You found my post to be a harsh lecture. I’ll apologize for that infraction.
Sincerely. Mark