Bottom Cleaning

[nereussailor]

A friend is bringing his dive equipment down on Wednesday to do a little bottom cleaning on my boat. For those of you that have done this before, what is the preferred method and tools for doing this right.

Dave

[dinodino]

My preferred equipment is about $90 in cash and a phone to call the diver.

[BarryL]

Hello,

I use a scrub brush, like a stiff brush for washing the decks. My boat has soft ablative paint, so I don't need to scrub too hard. My boat also gets hauled in the winter and launched in the spring, so the bottom never gets that bad. I usually clean it once in July and then again in Sept and that is good enough. If there are barnacles, you will need a knife or something like that to scrape them off.

Barry

[nereussailor]

There's definitely barnacles. I also use an ablative bottom paint. It's Interlux's Micron CSC.

Dave

[zeehag]

you try a plastic scraper first---putty knife--whatever--be careful as you can gouge the fiberglass hull if you get caught by the corner unless it is plastic. if ther barnacles are small--this will work. if they are larger, get a stainless or other metal scraper--the kind called putty spatulas or whatwever--they spread putty and get into cracks and can be 4-6 in wide.....lol if you plan on using it many times, round the sharp edges and scrape like picking up pancakes along the waterline of your boat. if it works, go for it--just be careful of your gelcoat. btw--the waterline work can be done from inside a dink...lol..dont forget to hang onto something from the boat-like a line!!i tie a line the length of my formosa for this --40 ft...hang on while scraping the waterline=---tide has flow and movement----might get lost....has been done..actually good for hanging on while current tries to exhaust you, if there is a current......goood luck.....should take you about 30 min to an hour just for the waterline...on your first boat....

[braidmike]

I have a 12VDC hookah setup to clean the bottom on my boat. I've been doing my own for about 3 years, 8 weeks in the colder season and 4 weeks when the water is warm seems to be about right here in Southern Cal. I painted the bottom with Vivid (a hard paint) 2 1/2 years ago, and it is holding up well. It's getting a bit thin at the waterline, but will last till spring. I use a soft cloth bag over my glove, with a 3M (softest I could find) green pad sewn on one side. Since painting with Vivid, I have not had any hard growth, but before... I would use a plastic scraper. I see the divers in the marina with stainless 'chore girl' scrubs. I think they may be getting a kickback from the bottom paint guys at the boatyard! Oh yeah: Even the cheapskates in the marina think I'm nuts, but I get some sort of satisfaction KNOWING what the bottom looks like.

[GaryHLucas]

Since bottom paint is designed to kill living things, I've often wondered what exposing your whole body to it does? Does anyone know?

Gary H. Lucas

[braidmike]

Originally Posted by GaryHLucas

Since bottom paint is designed to kill living things, I've often wondered what exposing your whole body to it does? Does anyone know?

Gary H. Lucas

Not sure about the small amount when cleaning the bottom, but I will NEVER again sand 40 years of built up paint from a bottom! I'm sure I took afew years off the ticker doing that

[GaryHLucas]

I demonstrated my bottom paint scraper to the guy on the hard next to me. He commented that it sure was nice that you didn't get any paint on you using it, because he spent two weeks in the hospital the last time he sanded the bottom!

Gary H. Lucas

[agrainofsand]

Yep if it kills marine growth it can kill you