Low Budget Haul Out

[bucky]

i would like to scrub the slim and soft growth off my hull w/o the cost of a haul out. my vision is to lay the boat up against a steep sand spit, let the tide go out and scrub away. the boat is a 29' fiberglass mono hull with a fin keel. is this practical, is it safe, what can go wrong?

bucky

[MichaelC]

You could damage your fin when the boat lays over. Your rudder, too. this is easy for full keel boats, not so easy for finners.

[tropicalescape]

have seen this done in the canadian mariatimes.on the bay of fundie also seen in diffirent books ...can be done ..excuse my spelling. dvc

[pillum]

What's your tidal range Bucky? in the UK it was traditional to lay up against a harbour wall to do a bottom clean at low tide. Yucky job... It's when you discover who your real friends are.

[MarkJ]

Face mask, snorkle and scraper. I'm over the side a lot as the anti-foul has worn off.
On a 29 footer it wont take long; the bottom of the keel will exercise your lungs....

[kloro2006]

i me someone through craigslist who owned a Geo Buehler design. He said he did his bottom work using a frame-type device which supported the boat when the tide went out. here is his email address: Mike Nickels <nickels@tx3.net>

[zeehag]

just go over side to do it-- in sd is done that way all the time. easy--just put some dead man lines the length of your boat, jump in and scrape the hull. deadman lines are bow to stern lines hung over side for holding on to so yer not a dead man while current pulls you from here to eternity. saves ye a lot of energy.

[NCountry]

Pool Brush. They make several varieties that are really effective. I like the one that has a flapper thing that pushed the brush against the hull when you push the pole. There are also some that you run a water hose into and the bristles rotate. The water exits out the back and pushes the bristles against the hull. With something like this you can do it long and often....

[Blue Crab]

I've cleaned a million boat bottoms. Look for a yellow-handled plastic handgrip with two blu suction cups. This will hold you in current. Always use the least abrasive medium you can. T shirt or toweling is first. White scotchbrite is mildest that I've see. Eventually you're using a putty knife...then a two-handed scraper.

In the water, the main idea is to leave all the paint on you can.

[kloro2006]

is it possible to apply new bottom paint with this kind of access?

[MichaelC]

I always used to put my hard chined aluminum schooner on the beach for brushing and often repainting. I hauled the boat twice in ten years. The boat had a full keel. A real full keel, not the longish fins some manfctrs call full keels. the schooner I am building has a similar long keel, also hard chined. Either boat would stand up with a couple of legs to support, but I have never used that system, since the lay-it-on-the-beach is so easy. These days, I have to point out, the EPA will get you good, so do this in out of the way places and clean up carefully.

[David M]

I was just thinking along the same lines, to be fair to others don't leave a bunch of old anti-foulant paint on the beach. You will want to take all of it with you and dispose of it legally. You will probably want to put some of those cheap blue tarps under the boat before starting the process.

[hellosailor]

Bucky, that's called careening a boat and it is the traditional way to clean a bottom.

Couple of cautions: Put out a radio call (securite) beforehand, if folks see a boat "on the beach" they may call into the coast guard, who will appreciate knowing to ignore this.

And some folks would recommend putting a number of used tires, etc. between the hull and the beach, to prevent chafing and other damages.

How politely the boat goes over, whether the keel hangs, whether you need some lines to encourage it...all things to consider. And to make sure the deck and hatch won't take water when the tide comes back in and she refloats.

Careening is out of fashion, hauling certainly is easier and faster, but for hundreds of years careening is how it was done. Your local yard may be willing to give you a good rate on a "lunchtime haul", where they haul you before launch break, and drop you back in the water an hour later. That's often time enough to clean the bottom, and a deal can be made.

[zopi]

to do a simple waterline cleaning, I will heave her down...moor fore and aft, put the boom outboard and take tension on the boom end...can usually get the waterline pretty easy this way..I get in an empty slip in the marina and point her diagonally...then heave down against a cleat.

God, my boat needs a paintjob.

[w1651]

I don't know where you are but does anyone know what will happen when the coast guard rolls up and sees him cleaning, scraping, and painting his boat on a sand bar or beach?
I think it's best to do this in southern climates. Otherwise you'll want to start taking donations to pay the fines and lawyers fees.