I bought a HookaMax for that same purpose. 75' hose.

Ive not yet used it....hoping to scrape as needed before the hull becomes a real problem/project.

 

That sounds like an incredibly dangerous setup. There is a very good reason that noncommercial hookas do not use hoses longer than 30 feet. Unless you are a certified diver I would recommend that you do not use that 75' setup until you have your diving certification. But hey, it is your life!

 

Search the forum for "hookah". There have been numerous, long threads about what is needed.

 

Work from the surface using snorkel gear. Put your scraper or scrub pad on an eight foot pole. This will enable you to access the whole boat without diving. I can clean my 44 ft boat in an hour even when I have major barnacle encrustations. I use an eight inch wide scraper.

 

That is a good idea - how do you attach the scraper to the pole, though?

 

Not sure how they were attaching it, but I would use black electrical tape with a decent amount of turns on it. We use it all the time at work (in field and around aircraft). If you stretch it when you apply it the tape tries to shrink and hangs on incredibly strong.

 

... a simple DC compressor and hose?

You'll want a diving compressor. Standard compressors put stuff in the air that you don't want to breathe.

 

You could also look at, www.minidive.com, or SCORKL. DO NOT use these deeper than 10-15 feet unless you are scuba trained and understand the physics.

 

Hey,

A friend and I split the cost of a Hoohak and we will share it. I have used it once and I think it will work very very well.

I used to just use a mask and snorkel, but that was getting tough to do. With the hookah I can do a much better job of cleaning the bottom of the 6' keel. The setup we bought has 100' of hose. It seems long, but with a 36' boat I don't need to worry about running out of hose. I'm never down more than 6-8', the hose is to be able to comfortably reach the bow and stern. My hookah has a small tank and DC compressor. I connect it to the boat battery and it easily lasts an hour, which is more than I need.

Barry

 

Hey,

A friend and I split the cost of a Hoohak and we will share it.

I'm in Amsterdam and hadn't thought of that.

 

We use the Sea Breathe deck snorkel. I think it is the most expensive 12 volt DC hooka rig on the market, but when my life is on the line, I'm not one to go the cheap route.
It has quality fittings and is extremely well made. Ours is around 8 years old and operates like new. We use it frequently to clean the bottom after the antifouling fails to antifoul anymore.
Breathing air underwater is one of the most dangerous things a human being can do. The slightest contamination of that air or a few air or nitrogen bubbles in your blood can do an amazing amount of damage to your body, and if not fatal, it can be a lifelong infirmity.

 

My marina has a long pole with an 18 inch brush/scraper and a small fender zip tied under it. So you just shove it under the water and the buoyancy from the fender keeps it pressed tight to the hull, you only have to use force to get it down. The pole itself is a long piece of 1.5 inch pvc and various fittings and such at the end for the other bits.

 

If only it was that easy to clean the bottom of a boat! rotflmao
Never mind the running gear.

 

Even the forums biggest idiot knows the difference between 75 feet down and 75 feet un-down.



.

 

Even the forums biggest idiot knows the difference between 75 feet down and 75 feet un-down.

Human nature being what it is, do you honestly think if someone has the ability (and no depth gauge) to go down beyond 30 feet, that sooner or later they won't? What if they dropped something in 45 feet of water? Wouldn't most uneducated (diving related) chance it?
That is why the reputable hooka manufacturers only sell 30' hoses with their rigs.

 

Hey Mark, So, who is the biggest idiot on Sailnet? Just wondered if you had anybody in mind. Kevin

 

I read that as self-reference. :grin

Mark

 

I'm with RegU on this one. I think the HookahMax is a good compromise for cleaning the bottom and clearing any wraps that you might have on the prop. I tried the pole method that was mentioned earlier to clean the bottom but when I took the boat out into some really clear water and dove on it, I could see what a poor job I was doing with just a brush on a stick. My sailing mentor was an old school dive instructor and only used cylinders for surface air as opposed to a compressor or hookah system. I think the hookah is fine for shallow diving but personally I would not dive more than 10' deep with one. I also think it might be a good idea to get certified for scuba even though it's not required for hookah. There are some little tidbits that you will be taught in the class that may save your life. Like not holding your breath while breathing compressed air! I know there were a couple of hookah related fatalities last lobster season in the Keys, probably in not more than 15-20' feet of water. Not sure what the details were but it definitely shows that while hookah is relatively safe there are definitely things that can go wrong.

 

Hey...I appreciate all the responses. Gives me some things to look at. I should have added...I am a certified diver although have not done it for a few years. Having 37' hull don't need tons of hose. Money is less an issue than size for storing..(39' boat again). Power secondary and can run inverter or DC. Probably quality and size of unit prioritizes above all else. btw, that Huka site sure seems heavy on marketing versus specs.

 

I have a 30 foot hose with a primary and 2nd stage regulator attached. Quick and easy way to clean the bottom with existing gear/ tanks...

 

So people seem to feel the hookah systems good for bottom cleaning?


Always “interesting” how a forum thing can turn into a silly must win battle

 

So people seem to feel the hookah systems good for bottom cleaning?

Always "interesting" how a forum thing can turn into a silly must win battle

Enough compressed gas here to clean the QE2..

 

OP is a certified scuba diver but hasn't dived in a long while?

I was going to suggest just renting a tank and scuba gear, and forget the hookah stuff. That way you have a Buoyancy Compensator, ditchable weights in case of emergency, a compass just in case. You can be neutrally buoyant at whichever depth you're working.

I'm ignorant of hookahs, so maybe I'm missing something that's great about them. But I've cleaned a boat bottom in scuba gear, it worked out fine. And if perchance you drop something you need to retrieve, you can drop down and look for it.

And getting back into diving has advantages too, you're a mobile underwater creature, without a tether, and can enjoy the underwater world away from the marina silt and ablative paint clouds.

If OP has health problems which contradict diving, then I take back all I just said.

 

I was going to suggest just renting a tank and scuba gear, and forget the hookah stuff. .

I've carried tanks and even compressors on sailboats and IMO they are more trouble than they are worth, especially for bottom cleaning. Tanks are hard to store, ding varnish and chip glass and need to be inspected periodically and certified, while compressors require quite a bit of maintenance and attention. If you don't have a compressor, then finding clean air can be a problem far from civilization. Renting tanks and transporting them back to the boat is just plain a PITA in many places (it's not like we have a car and taxis can be expensive). If you misplace your certification card, have fun trying to get your tanks filled!
Our electric hookah rig comes in a plastic box about the size of a 6 piece toaster. Obviously, the hoses take up a bit of space but take up no more space than a BC w/ regulator. We can achieve neutral buoyancy just fine with a couple of weights, which are considerably cheaper than a BC.
On a sunny day, we make more power than the hookah rig consumes, so it is basically free to operate, but even on a cloudy day, the 15 or so amps it consumes is not a problem to a 500+ amp battery bank. Mostly, we clean the bottom in around 15' of water on a sand bottom, so dropping things isn't much of a problem, and more often than not we have a fishy posse to encourage the removal of the growth on the bottom.
Like the OP, I no longer consider SCUBA diving to be something I am physically fit to do, so the hookah rig is the perfect compromise all the way around. I've done my time below 3 atmospheres, had a ball and now it is time to put my PADI divemaster's certification to rest.

 

I agree that if one isn't going to free-dive the boat for bottom cleaning, then a hookah is better than a tank. Get a long hose - it will make the job so much easier and less frustrating.

If one does use a tank, I don't see any need for a BC, compass, etc for bottom cleaning (if you need a compass, then you can afford to pay someone else to clean your bottom).

If one already has the tanks and compressor, then tanks are better than adding a hookah to the mix.

Renting a tank doesn't make much sense to me because one isn't sure when the bottom needs cleaning, and may not be in an area that rents tanks when the bottom does need cleaning. Depending on tank rental prices, one might be 50% into just hiring a guy to clean the bottom.

Mark

 

Hey,

Here is the rig I bought:
https://hookamax.com/products?olsPage=t/12v-dc-battery-hookah-diving-systems

Hookamax E2005C-12V 1X100
$999.95$899.95

No relationship, just a satisfied owner, etc.

I split it with a friend. So, for under $500 I can clean the bottom whenever I want. Last year I paid a diver $100 / cleaning and I had the bottom done 4 times. So this thing will pay for itself is about 1 year.

Barry

 

I have been considering one of these for some time now, and would like your recommendations as to which single diver system YOU would buy and why;
Hookamax A2016C-12V 1X50 - Aluminum tank & 50 foot hose - $1100
SeaBreathe 130-DA - Anodized unit in an aluminum case w/ 30 foot hose - $1500
Brownie Sea Lion 2 diver X package (b/c they don't offer a single diver package) - $5500
Air Line 12V-E160 - 60 foot hose - $1500

 

dadio917, this will answer some of your hookah questions. This is a non-monetized You Tube channel so there is no agenda here.

 

I’ve been back and forth on getting one for years. Issues remain
Storage. They come in a hard box. They take up room. Where to put it.
Electrical v gas. Electrical seems just fine for boat work but a PIA for recreational diving. Most of our snorkeling is- anchor, deploy dinghy, take dinghy to site then dive. So once again size matters. The device, two or three people, lunch, boots if we’re going hiking, lunch, water etc.
Which one (brand) to buy.
We’ve taken to moving after a week or so if anchored in the same harbor. Scrub chain best we can and running it through windlass seems to keep it pretty clean. We run fresh water on it and when we have access to a dock hose flush out the chain locker.
With a diver costing ~&100 and a dive every 4-6 weeks still holding off on the hookah. Also usually end up with a short haul every 6 months for thruster zincs or other maintenance anyway. Sometimes those zincs are a ***** to change. What I want is to see things I can’t with the snorkel. Oh well.....

 

I started to look at getting one even though on paper it would take a few years of getting a diver to clean the bottom to pay for itself. But getting a diver requires that I'm somewhere where I can get a diver and there's costs and time involved in waiting for one to get around to an unimportant transient boat they likely wouldn't see again.

 

Wondering if anyone out there has tried building a hookah system around this compressor...
https://pacbrake.com/product-lines/hp625-air-compressors/

Operates on 12 volts. Produces more than 2 cfm at 90 psi. Rated for 100% duty cycle. Used as the OEM compressors for a number of cars and trucks that have air-suspension and air-brake systems. Seems like it should be more than adequate, while costing a lot less than a Thomas and only needing 12 volts (though, obviously, at pretty high amps).

 

there's self build system plans online

 

I figured the cost equal to 1 anchor and 120ish ft of chain.

You may find building your own system fun and with some cost savings. I didnt....but building several..yes.

 

I have the airline 12v w/60' hose for a 42' boat. I paid $1,500 for the unit and an additional $100 for the aluminum deck plate with the vibration isolators. The plate has two handles which makes moving the unit much easier. I store mine in a lazerette and pull it out into the cockpit for cleaning. The 60' hose is probably a little overkill but that's the length that came with the unit. I think a 50' would be ideal.
I'm located in the Stono River in Charleston, lots of growth here so having a diver clean every 3 weeks during the warm water months was expensive, and I really like laying my eyes on the hull of my boat.
I have zero scuba experience, never taken any course but have done plenty of snorkeling. Some here on sailnet would call me an idiot for risking my life, I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent and safety conscious person. I've done a fair amount of research on diving safety and am familiar with the dangers of diving deep. I feel quite safe diving to a depth of 6 feet, my boat draws 5'-4". I have no desire to go any deeper I purchased this rig for the sole purpose of maintaining the bottom of my boat.