Cleaning hull before shipping

[malaka93]

Hi all,

New to the forum, and looking to pick some brains on this. I’m having my boat shipped from the Caribbean back to the Mediterranean fairly soon, and was trying to decided whether to have it lifted and cleaned first before putting it on the ship.

The tropics haven’t been kind to the anti-foul as it’s a Mediterranean-style coating, so there’s considerable growth on the underside right now. I was considering getting new anti-foul applied in Antigua, but have since realised that it would probably dry out and need re-application once it’s put back in the water in the Med on arrival anyway, so to just hold off until then.

However, is it worth still having it lifted out and properly cleaned over here to avoid all the algae etc drying on the hull? Or should I again leave it to when it’s over the other side of the pond.

Looking forward to any answers!

[tkeithlu]

Welcome to the forum, malaka. Which route is going to cost you more? Personally, I'd be embarrassed to have my weedy/barnacled hull among all those sleek hulls on the transport ship.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by malaka93

However, is it worth still having it lifted out and properly cleaned over here to avoid all the algae etc drying on the hull?

Yes, Absolutely!!!!! Many places I've gone include powerwashing when a boat is hauled. Others add it on for a fee. It is the easiest to get the growth off immediately at the time of hauling. If you let it set up, it will be much more difficult to remove.

Then after shipping, have the hull painted on the other end before splashing.

[John_Trusty]

As Shrew said, some types of growth become harder to remove as they dry. When fresh (still alive, really) slimes can be removed with power washing, but harden when they die and dry. Three dimensional growth, barnacles and bivalves, probably does not matter as their cement is setup forever.

[CassidyNZ]

Besides the already-expressed thought that getting growth off is easier when it’s fresh, your boat, if left unwashed, will quickly start to smell real bad for a while as the sea life on the bottom begins to die.

I declined a wash once because I hauled the boat for a quick maintenance job and within 24 hours my boat became a toxic presence in the yard - never again.

[malaka93]

Awesome, thanks for the feedback guys! Confirmed what I thought - probably best to have it cleaned before it’s shipped. I can only imagine how hard it’d be to get all of the gunk off on the other side once it’s dried on.

I also definitely did have the thought of what it’d look like with it’s wooly bum compared to the rest of the yachts onboard, so that’s a push to do it if anything!

[fstbttms]

I've never seen a boatyard that didn't pressure wash a hull upon the boat being hauled. And I also suspect that no trucking outfit or shipper would let you put a dirty hull on the trailer or ship. As far as cleaning the or not hull goes, I doubt that you will be given a choice.