Not Another Electronic Antifouling Thread !

[Johnny Cruiser]

Not another electronic antifouling thread!
Have read the 10 open/closed threads and over 430 posts already here but have a few? and comments regarding possible application of same to our new boat.
Depending on your point of view on the issue to me after reading the posts it appears that it is either
A) Snake oil
B) Slicker than sliced bread
C) Somewhere in between
Realize there are many brands but am dealing with specifically an UK manufactured brand Ultrasonic Antifouling Ltd. At closing last Friday on our new boat I became the owner of 3 dual units and solar array power supplies via a Chattel receipt from the prev owner & bank. (boat was repo from original owner) Meet the owner of one of their testimonials whose Megayacht gave a testimonial. (It limped into the boatyard where we had been pulled out and where being surveyed at. They had hit a submerged container about 55 miles NW of Isola di Pantelloria between Tunis & Sicily. It impacted them 10’5” below the waterline and for 5 ft down your could see the paint dinged and scraped. It made a pretzel of the port shaft and prop. Made us appreciate our steel hull also!)
He installed slightly different then the manufacturer’s instructions as he felt since he was over 35’ beam he installed his units 6.6 meters/20’ apart versus their recommended 10 meters/30’ to compensate for his increased volume area. Needless to say he loves them but my problem is I don’t have enough units to cover my length. Can cover 2/3rds which would be the back to cover the props but is that a fair test if I do not cover the entire boat? Units are still brand new in their boxes and under warranty but he paid 6,671 Euros incl VAT for what he purchased and do not want to outlay any money foolishly if they are not functional. Draws 0.7amps X 3=2.1amps. Didn’t seem to be any middle ground in the posts.
Would be zero labor for install as have 6 crew-my 3 full time hires and 3 p/t for the crossing only so have 3 full 2 man shifts, 4on/8off for the trip to the Caymans via Florida (2 stops for security install and lightning protection upgrade.) Just had bottom painted and waxed so is very clean & shiny. Had barefoot chartered a 14 month old Outremer 49 & a 3 yr old Lagoon 46 in the last 2 months in the Caribbean and this boat which had been in the Med for 7 years only had a small amount of crap on it compared to the Caribbean boats where the water is avg 24 degrees F warmer. Boat will be based in Caymans making 3 biz trips a year to Florida. Enough background here is my ?
1) How can I fairly test if these things work if I do not cover the entire underwater area or is that a good test to see if stuff grows on the one side of the boat and not the other?
2) Seems like a pretty large amp draw and as yet do not have any solar panels or wind devices though am planning on a wind generator atop the main mast and 2 wind turbines (smaller blades) atop the other mast. Will also put some solar panels on the flybridge but has none currently.
3) Not many new testimonials found on any site but the Megayacht owner called 2 of his friends for me and they also told me how great they worked on their Megayachts. But why would they say anything else? Then again only the 3 Wise Men came to Bethlehem for a visit.
4) Is there any more factual evidence Pro or Con? (Not opinions) there is a HUGE difference.
5) What would you do if you were me?
Thanking you in advance for your comments Pro or Con.
John & Carol

[atoll]

since the vessel is newly antifouled,any test is going to be skewed by this,untill the anti fouling starts to loose its effectiveness.

i suggest fitting the units as reccomended by the manufacturer on the aft 2/3 of the vessel,then assess in 12 months time,by which time there should be a noticable difference in fouling.

then decide on whether to invest the other $4000 for the rest of the units to protect the whole vessel.

power consuption on a 140 ft vessel is irrelevant,since you will be more than likely running gensets 24/7 to keep up with "house" demands when not on the dock.

as they say "nothing ventured nothing gained" worth giving them a try as i assume the mfg wont take them back!
cheers atoll

[sailorboy1]

please post your results with the system in a few years

[Johnny Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

please post your results with the system in a few years

Don,
Just saw this but have added your request to the ship's electronic log book for "Things To Be Done" for 1 & 2 yrs from install date.
FYI
Johnny

[bobconnie]

I really look forward to the results of your test ! This tho expensive, is something we could all use in the future!! I would think that if they do work well that others will bring out stuff that will be a little cheaper !at least it has worked that way on all other boat electronics LOL

[atoll]

with only ineffective,expensive anti foulings available for alumilium boats these day i would welcome any feedback!

[gelana]

I'm another skeptic that took the plunge into trying something new. I was tired of hiring a diver every month to clean my hull. I'm located down in South Florida. I found a local company, Barnacle Zapper, that sells ultrasonic antifouling systems for boats. The main reason I decided to give them a try was that they were the only ones that would give me a money back guarantee if I wasn't happy with the results. I needed this to help convince my wife on spending another $1500 on the boat. They mounted two transducers to the inside of my hull and hooked up the control unit to a 12vdc power source. It's been 12 months and I still have not seen any growth on the hull. I dive a couple of times a month so I'm able to see the bottom on the way up. As far as I'm concerned I've already covered my initial expense. The biggest gain has been in not having to hire a diver once a month to clean the hull. BTW my boat is a 36ft. Seahawk with twin diesels.

[muskoka]

I bought a Sonihull at the Southampton Boat Show after looking at the competition. They offered a double transducer unit with shore/12V (or 24V) box for less than the competition. The technology is all pretty much identical so we wanted dual power and a dual transducer system, for which IMHO Sonihull offered the best alternatives.

NRG Marine | Sonihull Ultrasonic Antifouling System

Anyway, our boats are moored in Hong Kong (sub-tropical) and the barnies grow like wildfire in summer. A number of the neighbouring boats have used the ultrasonic system over the past 2-3 years and it does seem to work. Specifically, I've been tracking my friends boats: 50' sail, 54' power and 40' sail.

They're convinced that the system is keeping the barnacles at bay. They haven't managed to completely eliminate bottom cleaning but they've reduced the frequency. The main benefit, is the growth is greatly reduced so even with less frequent cleaning the performance is still good.

My cat, with no ultrasonic, is a reef right now (only about 1+ month since the diver went down). I'm pulling her on Friday and installing the ultrasonics. I'll let everyone know how it goes!

Cheers

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by gelana

I'm another skeptic that took the plunge into trying something new. I was tired of hiring a diver every month to clean my hull. I'm located down in South Florida. I found a local company, Barnacle Zapper, that sells ultrasonic antifouling systems for boats. The main reason I decided to give them a try was that they were the only ones that would give me a money back guarantee if I wasn't happy with the results. I needed this to help convince my wife on spending another $1500 on the boat. They mounted two transducers to the inside of my hull and hooked up the control unit to a 12vdc power source. It's been 12 months and I still have not seen any growth on the hull. I dive a couple of times a month so I'm able to see the bottom on the way up. As far as I'm concerned I've already covered my initial expense. The biggest gain has been in not having to hire a diver once a month to clean the hull. BTW my boat is a 36ft. Seahawk with twin diesels.

Let's see... joined today, have posted twice, both posts reviving long dead threads about ultrasonic anti fouling systems with rave reviews for one particular product that just happens to be sold close to where you keep your boat.

Hmm... been working for Barnacle Zapper long?

[gelana]

FST: Your point is well taken. The company asked if the system worked if I would go on a couple of sites and talk about it. BTW in Florida it's against the law (EPA) to dive a boat at a marina and scrap the bottom. So the options are very limited as to what can be done to help prevent growth. I did what I thought was an acceptable option. If it didn't work it would have been my dime not yours. I've done the same thing with my fishing equipment over the years. If a new lure looks like it will work I try it. Some have had great results while others haven't. I prefer to have grattitude not attitude....

[sailorboy1]

Most of us (except for Fastbottom) ARE interested in hearing whether these systems work.

Since it was written that Barnacle Zapper had a money back guarantee I went to the site to look at it. Near as I can tell the guarantee is 90-day, which is worthless as far as providing any peace of ind to me as to work it has to provide much more than a 90-day window to judge.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by gelana

BTW in Florida it's against the law (EPA) to dive a boat at a marina and scrap the bottom.

Wow. 100% patently untrue. Posting erroneous information like this (whether intentionally or out of ignorance) does little to help your credibility.

[engine1218]

Originally Posted by Don L

... as far as providing any peace of ind to me as to work it has to provide much more than a 90-day window to judge.

Remember, Don's an admitted idiot and lair. (couldn't resist)

[Celestialsailor]

I'm hopeful that technology will advance to a point where we find an alternative to bottom paint. For the sake of the environment, cost of cleaning and yard costs. Already the copper has been reduced in most paints. So the writing is on the wall. Illegal to clean bottoms in Fl.? I doubt that very much.

[gelana]

If I'm incorrect I'll stand down. I was given a document by a marina dock master that showed the EPA guidelines to the cleaning of a hull. I was going to have someone come and clean the boat and they said that they are not allowed to do it. I will contact them to see if I can get the document. I will scan and post it. It was from their website. I didn't believe it either. The marina was in Boynton Beach, FL.