Bottom Cleaning

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Dear lord...in Annapolis my boat is $90...$130 if it's filthy. Then again they are making the rounds and not suiting up for just my boat.

A vote for hard bottom paint. It absolutely rules. The good stuff is 3x more expensive than ablative, but pays for itself in short order. And is better for the environment.

I think it's reasonable to assume that, hard paint or ablative, after 3 years nearly all the copper that was in the paint is now in the water. Otherwise, why do the paints stop working?

[CarlF]

Is your bottom paint Micron 66?

Great paint but not in the low salinity water like Stuart. I'm not sure if it works again once it's back in salt water or if you may have to repaint.

[Kenomac]

Use an eight inch drywall taping knife. Semi- flexible metal and first sharpen the blade so it won't gouge the paint. Use a 3 inch stiff taping knife on the prop.

[Hasbeen]

If it is a glass boat, be very careful doing this with well established barnacles.


If they have really stuck, & are very hard to remove they can take the gel coat with them. If that happens water can then get to the matrix, & start osmosis. I have seen a number of hulls require serious repair work, after rough barnacle removal damaged the gel coat, & the boats were left in the water without sealing the damage.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by rwidman

My diver charges $2.00 per foot. I wouldn't consider doing what he does for what I pay him.

Cough up the few bucks and contribute to the local economy. Stay dry and enjoy a beer or two.

That's super cheap. I was charged €300 but there were two and spent a good 90-120 working.

Still cheaper than a haul out and wash.

[chouliha]

We had the very same issue in Ecuador. The water was very nutrient rich and the barnacles grew so fast it was amazing. Soft paint - we used a large plastic drywall knife. Similar to the metal one pictured above. We rounded the edges to keep gouges to a minimum. Never used a scotch pad on the paint or you will remove a huge amount with one pass.

We only used the plastic scraper and never scrubbed the bottom.

[paulajayne]

Nuke them for orbit, It's the only way to be sure.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

I wouldn't do what he does for what you pay him either!

That's the going rate in Charleston, SC. That's for regular service. It might be higher for someone who only calls a diver once a year. He usually does several boats at the marina on the same day so it's not a special trip just for me.

The cost of living (and the pay rates) are relatively low in SC.

As far as "jumping in the water and doing it myself", FDR was President when I was born, the water around here is yucky and full of little biting things, I don't know how to dive and I have no diving equipment.

My diver doesn't just clean the bottom, he inspects everything under water, tells me about any problems and replaces spent anodes.

I do much of my own boat work but not diving or bottom painting.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by rwidman

That's the going rate in Charleston, SC. That's for regular service. It might be higher for someone who only calls a diver once a year. He usually does several boats at the marina on the same day so it's not a special trip just for me.

My diver doesn't just clean the bottom, he inspects everything under water, tells me about any problems and replaces spent anodes.

Yeah, I get it. I'm a hull cleaner too. It's how I've earned my living for the last 23 years. I'm just saying, two bucks a foot is dirt cheap and (in my neck of the woods, anyway) we've been higher than that for years and years.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Hasbeen

I have seen a number of hulls require serious repair work, after rough barnacle removal damaged the gel coat...

I've performed over 30,000 hull cleanings in my time. I've never seen or heard of barnacles taking gel coat with them when removed. Ever.

[CaptsWife]

a64pilot: Aren't you at Brunswick Landing Marina right now? If so, the guy we use is about $110 for a 37' boat.

[Diesel Bill]

What a perfect coincidence. I read the long long thread on hooka diving last month. I liked the rig that Cotemar showed pictures of. I copied and got the same. Boat has been sitting in San Pedro, Ca. since bringing it up from La Paz in July, 2016.
Long story short, I didn't clean the bottom till last week. Had new Trinidad Pro hard bottom paint applied in La Paz mid June, 2016. I really didn't know what to expect when I first went down to clean it. After 14 months the rudder had some large growths the size of a cabbage. Mostly soft type calcium tubes that knocked off easily. Every through hull had a similar growth. The very bottom of the fin keel had the same and the rest of the bottom was a thin coat of slime that wiped off with a fox tail brush. The hardest part was cleaning the props (2) and shafts. Much harder and more effort.
All together it took me about 2 hours and I figured that 2 hours paid for all my hooka gear. I worked pretty steady but didn't over exert myself. All the zincs were still good and intact. The fish loved the picnic. Surrounded by 100 or more most of the time.
I wouldn't recommend doing this for everyone. I've been certified since the mid 70's and had the wife standing by just in case.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Diesel Bill

Long story short, I didn't clean the bottom till last week. Had new Trinidad Pro hard bottom paint applied in La Paz mid June, 2016.

So you waited about a year too long to clean your bottom. Typically, one wouldn't need to clean a new bottom until about 90 days after the boat was splashed. Following that, in the LA/OC region, you normally would clean monthly. And that is not only to ensure that fouling doesn't adversely affect performance (which it most certainly did in your case) but because relatively frequent, gentle cleanings are much easier on your anti fouling paint than less frequent, more abrasive cleanings. So much so that infrequent cleanings can dramatically shorten your paint's lifespan.

Not to mention that you got lucky with your anodes. Waiting well over a year to even inspect them? Could've easily ended up being bad news.

[landsend]

I'm in S Fla. $2.00 a foot is normal as long as you are committed to a monthly service.As rwidman says, diver gives me a video and commentary on condition of paint, zincs etc. When I'm snorkeling my hull is always clean etc from monthly service.

[Cheechako]

Get a good one of spring steel and grippy handle.