[Rhodes22-list] Cleaning below the waterline

[Mary Lou Troy]

Mike, you are right about the need to be careful with an ablative but 
most years in the Chesapeake, cleaning below the waterline, or at 
least at the waterline is a necessity if you don't use your boat 
every week. That said, I don't think I would do it every week unless 
I was racing and in that case I wouldn't be using an ablative paint. 
If we aren't using the boat much, we get a heavy layer of growth that 
can be brushed off without scrubbing too hard and a few large 
barnacles that can be knocked off.  When we are diligent about such 
things we brush the waterline and about a foot below once or twice a 
season. For a relatively clean bottom we should do it a bit more 
often or sail more or both. I think sailing more is the better option 
but some times it's just not in the cards.

We used to use Woolsey's Neptune II waterbased ablative. It seemed to 
work really well on the Chesapeake and we would get at least two 
seasons out of it. Then (of course) they didn't make it anymore. Last 
time we used Petit Hydrocoat. I don't think it worked as well (less 
copper) but it was still satisfactory. We need to do some research. 
It's time for another bottom paint job and there seem to be more 
water based alternatives. We like the water based because it is a 
little easier on the person doing the application.

Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Rock Hall, MD


At 10:58 PM 1/7/2009, you wrote:
>Be very careful about periodic cleaning below the waterline if you use an
>ablative paint for protection from sea life such as barnacles.  Constant
>scrubbing can remove enough material that barnacles may get a foothold.  I
>use two coats of paint and have still had problems in the LI Sound.  We
>put-in in late April or early May and generally do not haul until late
>October.  We need all the hull protection that we can get.  I stick to
>cleaning above the waterline, unless it is just to knock off some mussels
>that are trying to hitch a ride.
>
>Mike
>s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
>        Nissequogue River, NY
>
>From: "Daniel Johnson" <djohnson0671 at gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 07,
>2009 6:36 PM
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] To Deploy & Board An Inflatable from a Rhode
>
>{clip}
>
>The inflatable proved to be a great help in keeping the hull clean.  Our
>boat is in a slip
>at Solomons in Maryland and during the summer we found it helpful to go
>around the boat about once a week with a brush and cleaning off the
>waterline from the inflatable - with the brush on an extension I can reach
>all the way to the keel.
>
>__________________________________________________
>To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go 
>to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
>__________________________________________________
>
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
>Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.10.4/1880 - Release Date: 
>1/7/2009 8:49 AM