Hull bottom cleaning

[akscubainst]

Up here we deal with barnacles, muscles and moss/algae.

I don't clean boat bottoms anymore but when I did I used and ice scraper for the barnacles, a hand brush and I took a big round floor buffer pad like a giant 3M pad and cut it to fit my hand. All of thes things went on lanyards around one hand and I had a suction cup from West Marine (see pic) on my other hand.

It holds good so you can scrub but you can also slide it around on the hull without having to remove it.

I could do a 30' boat including props, trim tabs, rudders, etc in about an hour.

Dave

 

[wreckdiver1715]

Thanks for all the responses on cleaning the hull. Inspection of the hull revealed the need to re-paint, so it looks like we will have to lift her on shore for this winter. During my search for a more efficient way to clean the hull at the dock I came across a handy item called the Cavi-jet at www.cavi-jet.com . Looks like I found what I was looking for.

Thanks again,

Tom

 

[Tasarsailor]

I scrub my parent's boat (42' sailboat in the Puget Sound) regularly and have developed a few techniques.

-Having the right brush in your hand is key. The type of brush can be different depending on what's stuck to the bottom. I found a short stiff bristled brush that works really well.
-I found that laying on my back and staying a little positive I get sufficient pressure for the general scrubbing.
-If you have big problems like lots of barnies and serious sea stuff stuck to the hull it is a ton of work and likely a candidate for pulling the boat. When you pull barnies off it generally takes the bottom paint with it.
-Cleaning the hull regularly and at the right time makes a difference. The "spat" that barnies spew to reproduce is over with in March or April and there's no point in until that's over.
-Also regular scrubbing is easier. The build up is small and I can usually do the job using less than 1500 psi.
-my father switched to a harder surface bottom paint and now with my regular hull scrubs (3 times a year) he is getting almost two additional years on the hull paint.
-I use a flexible stainless steel spatula to clean the barnies off the prop.
-take lots of breaks at the surface. It gets pretty exhausting and I found that just surfacing and putting fin on a ladder every 15 minutes or so I was a lot more productive and I used less gas.


I had the opportunity to try the underwater pressure washer trick last weekend and decided against it. I think a good brush can cover more ground. Plus where I dive on the hull the vis is almost non-existant. I didn't think I could operate the wand and still see where I've been. I would also be worried about taking the bottom paint off.

Good luck
Tony
Portland, OR

 

[Firediver]

Is all the work cleaning hulls a money maker??? I mean cleaning pleasure boats on a river, can the money be worth the amount of work involved??????

 

[Tasarsailor]

I scrub hulls as mostly a favor to friends and family. But many folks make spare change doing hull cleaning, inspection, equipment installation, zinc replacement, item recovery, etc... At the marinas I see many signs or business cards for folks that will do the above. I personally don't know of anyone that actually makes living off of just the above, but you can bet that there is someone out there. The only folks I know of personally do it in there spare time and use it as a means to spend more money on dive equipment.

I don't even consider requests to dive stuff that really should be done by a professional dive company with appropriate support. I am pretty clear to my friends and family about what I am willing to do underwater.

Good luck
Tony
Portland

 

[Firediver]

Just around here your only in the Saint John River, and in no more then 10ft of water around the Marina. Thanks for the input.... I will just leave it to the pros...

 

[Jleo1390]

you shouldnt have a prob with a 2k pressure washer, you might want to run a hogline from bow to stern, just to give you some leverage. youll see, with the 2 k you wont have to be too close with that thing. ive cut thru some relatively thick barnicles w/ it on steel piles. its def not as effective as a 5 or 10k haha but you wont need that for cleaning a fiberglass hull. but that should work fine, i would just be carefull of the paint...

 

[cdiver2]

I would not try to run a pressure washer UNDERWATER unless you had a solid object behind you to hold you in place (not really practical as you would have to move the boat as you would have to stay in that spot). If you don't the moment you press that trigger you will take off like you were rocket propelled.

There are a number of Co in the St Petersburg area that do hull cleaning, not a nice or well paid job.

 

[mike_s]

I wouldn't clean any hull in any marina also unless I knew for a fact that the marinas electrical system was 100% done correctly. Been too many divers and swimmer electrocuted in marinas where there was piss-poor-wiring or shore power cables that fell into the water.

 

[SCUBAITEACH]

I did this for several years ...i tied a line from stem to stern then i took short line and used a slip line that was tied to the pressure washer handle the other around the stem to stern line .my pressure washer was 4500 psi ...i had a 75' hose that would cover it all ...i put the pressure washer in the middle of the dock strapped to something (Piling of sorts)so i was covered for it not falling in .........it worked like a charm just remember to use a wide spray ...or you will have a hole in your boat.
good luck