"Alan Gomes" wrote in message
...
Wilbur Hubbard wrote:

"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

What size outboards do you have on your Swan 68 and Allied 32 footer?

--AG

That's different. They are YACHTS! A man of means may own yachts
because one can afford to pay the hoi polloi to do the painting and
scraping and to maintain things in an immaculate manner so there is no
reek of diesel. Top-of-the-line parts and systems ensure no drips and
smells. As the owner of ocean-going yachts one never has to bother with
these untidy chores. What's his face, Frogcatch, has a small boat which
would be suitable for an outboard. It's simply ludicrous to have an
installed diesel in any sailboat under 30 feet.

Wilbur Hubbard