"Frogwatch" wrote in message
ps.com...
On Sep 29, 11:21 am, Frogwatch wrote:
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.

Could not reach the dang strainer from being in the water beside the
boat.
Tomorrow, I remove the water intake hose and put it into a bucket of
water which my son will keep filled while I motor out to the anchorage
where the water is clear enough for me to dive and clear the
strainer. My God, what a PITA.


It's your own frickin' fault for having a sailboat with an engine
inside. Smart people who love to sail and who don't like all the PITA
inboards cause use sensible outboard motors that have no such problems.
No prop scraping and painting, no dripping packing glands, no zincs for
the propeller shaft, no huge expense for filters and such and the mess
of all that smelly crap in your bilge, no accommodation that reeks of
diesel fuel, no heat build up inside the boat on a hot day and it goes
on and on. You don't have a sailboat. What you have is a motorboat with
sails. Stupid thing to own.

Wilbur Hubbard

Wilbur Hubbard