On Sep 29, 10:11 am, wrote:
On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:19:59 -0500, Frank Boettcher
wrote:



On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:02:34 -0600, "Lloyd Bonafide"
wrote:

"Frogwatch" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok, its Fall now and we have gone from a toasty 99 degrees to a balmy
92 so I thought it would be a good day to lay on the dock and scrape
barnacles offa my 28' S2 cuz I havent gotten around to sailing her 40
miles away to be painted. At 51 yrs of age, I find that 92 degrees in
blazing sun is kinda warm too. It just about killed me. GOD, I used
to do this with ease.
Still, I did manage to do some good. I use a long handled edger,
sorta like a hoe without the bend to the blade. It is heavy enough to
have enough momentum to do the job with one push. In this warmer than
bath water the barnacles grow to eating size very fast. Hours later,
I am STILL guzzling cold water to replace what I lost laying on that
dock.

A very high pressure (3000 psi) power washer will work underwater if the
nozzle is held up close. A bit easier than scraping.

I always had the yard pressure wash as soon as the boat was lifted
with a very high pressure washer. It got the slime, grass and some of
the small barnacles but couldn't touch those water line barnacles. I
had to use one of those tools that are used to remove floor tile, then
grind down the base of the barnacle which remained.

Those upper gulf barnacles are tough.

Between haulouts, I would just take it out to one of the islands, get
in the lee almost aground, and stand in the water to scrape them off.
Then put on a tank and clean off the grass and slime. Little cooler
than laying on the dock.

Frank

Buy yourself a little spray bottle of barnacle remover at any chandelery. It's
basically an acid, so wear rubber gloves, goggles, and don't breathe it. Knock
off the barnacles with a scraper. Then spray and wait a few minutes. Dissolves
the barnacle remains pretty fast. Works great to clean alloy car wheels too.
Just make sure to test first in a small spot. Some wheels and finishes don't
like acid. All those wheel cleaners in the auto parts store are acids, too, but
not nearly as concentrated. Rinse well afterwards.

Today, I will have to go back in the water to clear th water intake of
barnacles. I tried running a wire down from inside but the strainer
on the outside hull is fully fouled.