diverchet
Registered
A boater asked if I could clean his boat hull. I don't know if this allowed. I would like to here some comments on this. Is this water restricted? The boat is at Michigan City Indiana.
Hull cleaning
- Thread starter diverchet
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fstbttms
Contributor
No restrictions in Indiana that I am aware of, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. If the boat is in a marina, call the harbormaster and ask. Know that if the marina staff is aware of what you plan to do, they may require you to provide liability insurance and/or a business license or other documentation. If the boat is not in a marina but at a private dock, you can check with your state's equivalent of the Department of Boating & Waterways or Regional Water Quality Control Board or other governing body.
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Scuba.com
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Also, keep in mind the water you'll be in. For instance the hull cleaners I know here in S. California go out and get a full range of shots to innoculate for just about everything under the sun. It rivals the shots I had to endure while on flyng status in the military. The bacteria levels of the average Marina, even in the most clean, pristine waters are often rivaling your basic bio-hazard waste sites.
Not the kind of waters I'd want to spend a lot of time in.
Not the kind of waters I'd want to spend a lot of time in.
fstbttms
Contributor
No offense dude, but this is simply not true.
Willar
Contributor
Actually, it is quite true but depends on the marina. Many inland lake marinas have little to no water flowing through the marina and poor waste tank overflow control. I've been in marinas that I would NEVER swim or dive. A marina that has good water flow and/or good enforcement of waste tank pumping will have no bacteria risk. Our local marina actually pumps waste tanks for free (actually, it's included in the slip fee) and encourages frequent pump-out so that people will not allow their tanks to overflow.
To the original question, I have been told to NEVER scrub a hull when the boat is connected to the dock and land-based electric because of the very high risk of electrocution. I understand that stray electric current can knock out a diver. If you want to scrub the hull, make sure the boat is completely disconnected from the dock.
fstbttms
Contributor
Perhaps. But I submit that you are speculating and have no actual evidence proving your claim. And Scuba.com was not referring to inland lake marinas. In any event, as I have no experience cleaning boats in freshwater, I am not particularly qualified to offer an opinion on that particular subject. But I will say that we are not a third-world nation and have amongst the highest public health standards to be found anywhere. I find it unlikely that any body of water that was chronically polluted with fecal coliform would not be identified and cleaned up. Certainly contact with the water would be restricted by local public health authorities if such a situation existed.
This point, OTOH, is 100% correct and is especially true when working in freshwater. ALWAYS unplug any boat you are diving on from the shorepower.
fstbttms
Contributor
BTW- if anybody is interested in reading other related threads, there is a new "Commercial Divers" forum on ScubaBoard, where a lot of discussion about hull cleaning has taken place:
Commercial Divers - ScubaBoard
Commercial Divers - ScubaBoard
OP
diverchet
Registered
That's a good link. I really like the homemade tools. This was the first time I was asked to clean a hull. I'm glad I looked before I leaped for once. I wound working my real job this weekend. I'll talk to the harbor master and my doctor, disconnect the shore power and I'd like to put tape or something over the ignition switch because of the props. Maybe a dive flag or signage on the dock. Do you charge by the hour or foot?
fstbttms
Contributor
By the foot for most boats. I figure my time in the water is worth $100/hour minimum and my rate structure reflects that. $2.25/foot for sailboats, $3.00/foot for powerboats. If the boat is truly nasty, the rate goes up considerably. But understand that hull cleaning rates vary widely by region, so what we get here in the SF Bay Area may not be representative of your area.
Here is another link you may find helpful:
http://www.mcmarina.org/pdf/rules-regulations.pdf
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