DIY clean hull without diving

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Nani Kai

Our boat was in Shipwright Harbor Marina in Deale MD for 3 months....

Shipwright Harbor is now managed by HHN and in-water cleaning (professional or DIY) is prohibited. I believe this change occured within the last 18 months.


Current? There is only about a 6-inch tide. I've been in Deale for 30 years. Never enough tide to speak of, not compared to many places. But not zero, I guess. Maybe just enough to clear the debris. You can see enough for cleaning. Perhaps you have to get used to it.

[Dr. D]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

What marina would that be?

Herrington Harbour North

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Dr. D

Herrington Harbour North

Shipwright Harbor is now managed by HHN and in-water cleaning (professional or DIY) is prohibited. I believe this change occurred within the last 18 months.



I have questioned to policy at HHN and HHS several times--it is absolute. The local racers meet a dive boat outside the harbor.


The reasons given are:
: Increased silting in slips
: Increase biofouling of neighboring boats

: Liability in general


In general, hull cleaning in MD is unregulated.


Current? There is only about a 6-inch tide. I've been in Deale for 30 years. Never enough tide to speak of, not compared to many places. But not zero, I guess. Maybe just enough to clear the debris. You can see enough for cleaning. Perhaps you have to get used to it.

[PMCunha]

Originally Posted by arch007

Has anyone cleaned their boat hull without diving ?

The hull is only 4 feet below surface so I wonder if there is a way to clean the hull without diving

Thanks

Hi

This may be completely ignorant but in the event that you really do not want to get wet, what about finding a decent mooring up a river and let the sweet water work its magic?

[SaltyMetals]

Maybe locations in N America have greater fouling problems than we do in Europe. I had my boat in the UK before and now in the Adriatic and have always had an ablative anti-fouling applied during haulout (International Paints Micron 350). International Paints tell me that instead of a rather ineffectual scrubbing in the water that a third coat would be much better while hauled out. That any scrubbing of the hull will simply brush off the ablative layers and reduce its effective life so much better to leave it alone. Take the boat out in some "energetic" weather under plenty of power and it will do heaps better for cleaning and the longetivity of the anti-fouling. (Does that put fstbttms out of a job or are things different in the Med compared to N America?)
Andrew

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

That any scrubbing of the hull will simply brush off the ablative layers and reduce its effective life so much better to leave it alone. Take the boat out in some "energetic" weather under plenty of power and it will do heaps better for cleaning and the longetivity of the anti-fouling. (Does that put fstbttms out of a job or are things different in the Med compared to N America?)

I can't speak to fouling conditions in the Med but I can tell you that in this country, the advice given you by International Paints would be complete bullsh*t.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

Maybe locations in N America have greater fouling problems than we do in Europe. I had my boat in the UK before and now in the Adriatic and have always had an ablative anti-fouling applied during haulout (International Paints Micron 350). International Paints tell me that instead of a rather ineffectual scrubbing in the water that a third coat would be much better while hauled out. That any scrubbing of the hull will simply brush off the ablative layers and reduce its effective life so much better to leave it alone. Take the boat out in some "energetic" weather under plenty of power and it will do heaps better for cleaning and the longetivity of the anti-fouling. (Does that put fstbttms out of a job or are things different in the Med compared to N America?)
Andrew

Some areas of the Med have horrible fouling. Siracusa would be one. Cartegena another.

I have to partly agree with fstbttms. Even an ablative paint will need cleaning.
My seajet shogun 032 one was mostly fine but required a clean every month when moving around the med. When sitting doing nothing for 6 months it was finished.

Now my International Micron Extra (I guess extra means extra soft), you couldn't touch it. Even the slightest most gentle wipe with the smoothest microfibre cloth or soft sponge would see massive plumes of it disappear into the water. The problem was that it needed semi-regular cleaning to remove the fouling.

Now in the Caribbean, I'm not impressed with the prices or choices, so it looks like I'll go SeaJet again. It seems they only have 039 2 Component Platinum available. Going to be a right faff having to mix them.

[rslifkin]

I'm surprised you found Micron Extra that soft. I've always heard Extra and CSC described as being a durable ablative, rather than one of the super soft ones. And having used both on my powerboat that spends a decent bit of time cruising at 17 kts, I haven't found either to ablate overly fast at that speed. And both held up fine with a gentle monthly in-water cleaning up until last year when the boat was moved into fresh water.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

I'm surprised you found Micron Extra that soft. I've always heard Extra and CSC described as being a durable ablative, rather than one of the super soft ones. And having used both on my powerboat that spends a decent bit of time cruising at 17 kts, I haven't found either to ablate overly fast at that speed. And both held up fine with a gentle monthly in-water cleaning up until last year when the boat was moved into fresh water.

I had alway read that Micron was soft, but this one has been crazy. The good news is that it will be completely removed when I haul out, just by jet washing. The Seajet on the other hand is much harder. Which makes sense as they list a much higher speed range than International for Micron Extra.

Note that the Micron Extra I used was the original, before they had to change it to Micron Extra 2, then Micron Extra EU.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

... International Paints tell me that instead of a rather ineffectual scrubbing in the water that a third coat would be much better while hauled out. That any scrubbing of the hull will simply brush off the ablative layers and reduce its effective life so much better to leave it alone. Take the boat out in some "energetic" weather under plenty of power and it will do heaps better for cleaning and the longetivity of the anti-fouling....
Andrew

Based on side-by-side testing in the Chesapeake bay, this is true. Perhaps a light wipe down or three in the last few months of life, but leave it alone for the first 80%, other than sailing fast and often.



It also seems clear that the right answer is very local.

[0adbylad1]

I do believe this is called "keel hauling"

[Lihuedooley77]

An easy idea. Call SCUBA SCRUBERS, or similar company, have them come out on a scheduled basis. Might depend on the area and water and weather conditions.

Scubba Scrubers, with their dive tanks do the labor, you Kick back, have a rum, and plan your next sailing adventure . Invite your favorite dock bunny down to keep you company. Enjoy the day, and know the job is in the hands of a professional.

I have not cleaned the bottom, but I have polished out the hull above the water line and topsides by hand. No buffer. That is plenty of dedicated effort.....

End game after finishing up :

head to the dockside restaurant for a reward late lunch , libation, and talk story.
You flat earned it, big time.

[imacad]

https://www.go2marine.com/Scrubbis-Hull-Scraper-Set

[BILLY_BUDD]

Be careful with kids and Hookah. ShLlow water diving with compressed air an be very dangerous cause (pneumothorax), collapsed lung.

[Alawaiorion]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

So you are clearly considering doing this from the dock or even worse, from on deck. As a hull cleaning professional I can tell you that if you do so, you are going to miss many spots, be unable to remove heavy fouling and shelled animal growth and of course your running gear, thru-hulls and transducers are not going to be cleaned at all. No offense but it really is a half-assed way to do the job. Not proper boat maintenance by a long shot.

I agree with this poster. Being in the tropics we hire a hull cleaner who performs this service on our 50 foot ketch every 6 weeks- He checks and cleans the zincs and prop. There are many boaters who try to skip over this important piece of boat maintenance and pay dearly for it.

As an added note - we went for a sail a few years ago and anchored out just off shore in a beautiful snorkeling spot- Ha! we thought. Boy will we save some money and clean our bottom... It was MUCH harder than I thought and really difficult to reach important areas. We learned our lesson and happily pay for this service-Our guys generally use a SNUBA set up. I will say that in the tropics there is serious growth that has to be addressed...And when we haul out our hull never has blisters or damage and just needs to be power washed, given a light sand and then repainted.
FYI We use a layer of blue paint and then several layers of red paint. When our diver lets us know the blue is showing then it's time to haul out....