Happiness Is a Clean Bottom

[Beenjammin]

I searched for threads on this subject without luck, so if there's already one in existence I apologise in advance....

I'm considering getting a "boat bag"/"boat bath"/"boat saver" to help keep my bottom nice and shiny. I'm moored (mostly) in Brisbane, Australia.

Anyone in this forum use these?
Do they make a difference? Enough to justify cost, that is.
Do they reduce the time required between anti-foul painting? Do you in fact still anti-foul at all?
Any hints or tips from experienced users?
Any recommendations/warnings about suppliers? (without breaking forum rules of course)

Thanks!

[wetsail1]

Sounds interesting

[rebel heart]

I think you're talking about the tarp sleeves that you you slide the boat into, and it's fresh water that gets pumped in plus some cleaners / additives that keep growth at bay? I've seen power boats with it. My neighbor (another power boat) has two pontoons that lift the boat out of the water. These guys drive around all the time here:

Bottom Paint No More! Use an ARMOREDHULL Boat Shield!

Pretty expensive way to avoid jumping in the water with a piece of carpet and your scuba gear once a month.

[Beenjammin]

Yep, basically a submarine tarp. Vendor sites suggest you pour half a cup of chlorine in once you have the "bag" closed off which is whats meant to kill off the spores/larvae in the enclosed area. More enviro-friendly than paints as the chlorine breaks down to form naturally occuring salts.

Heres two vendors from Australia & a pic:

http://www.boatbag.com.au

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~boatbath/



So...do they work?

[Minggat]

Well, work... ?
Probably would have to say yes (not from experience), except for the part about possibly saving zincs. This is as reported by divers in my former marina.

Don't need to replace seawater with fresh.

The better question would be, are they justifiable? Saw plenty of them on weekender powerboats. Never saw anyone invest in one for a sailboat. They get their own marine growth on the outside. Saw several of them cut up in the dumpster. Very stinky with 5 years of marine growth.

Does that help?

[Beenjammin]

Thanks Minggat,

I thought they'd probably get grotty on the outside themselves. Ill have to find out if you can invert them so the growth on the bag itself does not build up.

Well, thats one up for the "nay" vote.....anyone used these and is happy with them? Im trying to determine if they save you time,effort and cash on antifouling over the long term.

[imagine2frolic]

I crewed on a boat that raced S.F. Bay. He used a tarp to keep his bottom clean, and it seemed to work quite well......i2f

[Mule]

Gotta be careful about how and where you discuss plans for cleaning your bottom. I was at a watering hole and this lady ask me what I had planned for the next day. I responded w/o thinking, that I was going to clean my bottom insofar as I had stuff growing on it. I went on to invite here to come over to watch. She took a pass and beat a hasty retreat.

[fstbttms]

I have almost nothing to add except to say that boat bags are seen very rarely in the San Francisco Bay Area. I suspect the reason is that they aren't the "magic bullet" their manufacturers claim they are.

[donradcliffe]

I sailed several years on a boat which was in a boatbag in San Francisco. The boat had no bottom paint, and the bottom was always clean and fast. It took a few extra steps to get in and out of the slip, because the entrance to the bag has to be pulled up out of the water and tied to the transom of the boat to enclose the boat. A few tablets of swimming pool chlorine would keep the water growth free for a couple of weeks.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I sailed several years on a boat which was in a boatbag in San Francisco. The boat had no bottom paint, and the bottom was always clean and fast.

No offense, but I find that very difficult to believe.

[Healer52]

Wow, those take me back. We had them in the slip when I was a kid.... We'd pour copper sulfate into them after the boat was in, and it worked quite well at killing most everything.

I recall having to replace ours once, when the CB dropped out of our Cal-24 and tore the bottom of the bath. We hauled the boat bath while the boat was in the yard getting fixed, and decided it was unsalvageable (not sure how old it was). We got another. A small jug of copper sulfate would last a nice long time, but of course we can't use it any longer. Cheaper than paying a cleaning service, too.

One nice thing about them is that zincs lasted longer...maybe the plastic insulated the boat from the electrical current in the marina? I'm not sure when they were banned in California, or if they were also banned elsewhere but it's been a long time (20+ years?) since I've seen one.

[Healer52]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

No offense, but I find that very difficult to believe.

Makes sense to me: Anything that attaches while the boat is out of the bath would be killed by either the fresh (city, chlorinated) water or the bleach added to the bath. Racer boats used to do it when I was a kid (30-40 years ago). Nice hard bottom paint, not necessarily anti-fouling.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Healer52

I'm not sure when they were banned in California, or if they were also banned elsewhere but it's been a long time (20+ years?) since I've seen one.

They are not banned in California. They are just not very common.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

They are not banned in California. They are just not very common.

They are well known. Not widely used. Those that do use them are mostly powerboats. But I say mostly powerboats because I have never seen one on a sailboat and someone is going to clobber me if I say never.

I considered usiing one when I first bought Minggat. After sharing the idea with others (as we are doing here) I decided against it. Reason- just not cost effective.

As far as turning it inside out goes, if there is hard growth on it, it would soon be dead hard growth that could provide some scrubbing action. Just the labor to turn it would put me off.