Barnacles--HELP!

[Joe Myerson]

I guess I deserve this for leaving Creme Brulee unattended on her mooring for three weeks, but I finally took her out on Saturday (a beautiful day, with kind of light winds).

As I was motoring through the channel, I noticed that the boat hardly moved. I had to throttle up to 2200 rpm to make about 3 knots. I suspected that barnacles must have grown on the prop.

The next morning I donned my mask and snorkel and discovered that my three-blade prop had turned into a grapefruit-sized sphere of barnacles! I'm still not sure how I was able to motor at all.

I tried using a plastic scraper, but it did nothing. Next came a screwdriver--which barely budged the encrusted crustaceans.

Finally I got out a heavy-duty diver's knife (you know the kind that can double as an abalone iron if that's still legal anywhere). It worked--barely.

The knife is left over from my teenage years, when I used to snorkel and scuba dive. But now I'm over 60, and holding my breath to work underwater is a lot harder than it used to be--and probably riskier.

Has anybody found a good way to discourage barnacle growth on a propeller?

I've tried anhydrous lanolin (pretty useless) and regular bottom paint (it wore off, but there were fewer barnacles than with the lanolin). This year I didn't put anything on the prop. I scraped it once with the plastic scraper, but then I was unable to get to the boat for a while. This is the worst infestation I've ever seen.

Perhaps the only answer is NEVER to let the boat sit so long on the mooring. Now, all I have to do is convince the Admiral of that one.

--Joe

[Warren Kaplan]

We have had many discussions on this and Petit's Barnacle Barrier has its champions and it detractors.

I know I brought a can to my yard a few years ago (Oyster Bay gets mucho fouling) and had the yard spray it on my prop. They also took the liberty of spraying it on 4 or 5 more boats before launch. At the end of the season the yard manager said there was definitely less fouling on the Barnacle Barrier coated boats. Now he uses it on ALL boats in the yard as standard bottom prep before spring launch.

Acturally nothing works better than having the boat moving everyday. Commercial work boats that are in use daily don't get fouling.

Check the archives under Petit Barnacle Barrier and you can read previous threads on this perpetual pain in the ass!

[Neil Gordon]

Are you locking your prop while sailing? Letting it spin will twirl the little critters right off, which, ultimatly, will result in an increase in speed.

[GLutzow]

I have been swinging on a mooring in Florida for many years now and can say with assurance that the accumulation of barnacles has gotten worse of late and I have yet to find an efficient barrier. I sail every week and yet still dive on my prop to scrap the barnacles off before sailing. I also have my hull cleaned every month.

The best tool that I have found is a common ordinary putty knif that has an edge. Be sure to wear some type of heavy glove before proceding.

[Russell]

I have tried most of the products out there, most a waste of money ultimately. What I do is go over the side every couple weeks with a stainless steel paint scraper, and do the fun job (or when I am in some countries, I pay someone to do it). If I am using the boat at least weekly, the growth isnt horrid, but when I sit for a month at a time (like I am now in Culebra) it gets insanely bad.

[Warren Kaplan]

By the way, the barnacle barrier is just for the prop. Since Oyster Bay fouls the bottoms a lot, I, and many boat owners on Oyster Bay moorings, use a diving service on a regular schedule.

I have a diver go down every 3 weeks during the season (starting around June 30th when the water finally warms up) to clean up the entire bottom and of course the prop. The difference in performance some years is quite noticable right after he gets done in years were the fouling in bad and accumulation is rapid.

In my "expensive" area of the North Shore of Long Island it costs me $58 a pop for my 27 footer when I contract it for the season.

At least for me its money very well spent!!

[Joe Myerson]

A few weeks ago (probably three, since I haven't been on the boat much), I was talking to one of my neighbors who lives aboard a wooden boat. He was careening his Crocker yawl at low tide, an operation he does about every three weeks.

I asked him if the barnacles seemed worse this year than previous years and he said yes. His theory (his brother is a marine biologist, but I'm not sure if they had discussed this): since the water is warming up earlier every year, the barnacles start growing earlier in the spring; hence they get established earlier.

In addition, my mooring is in a small, nearly enclosed salt pond that gets warmed by the sun.

Any rate, I think I'll have to see if I can find a diver.

Thanks, all, for your suggestions. Especially Neil--I know your suggestion about free-wheeling my prop is based on extensive experience and research.

--Joe

[Kemah]

I have an outboard that is in the water all the time (in a motor well). After buying a new motor, I painted the lower housing and the prop with Interlux Primocon followed by black Trilux 33 (meticulously following the on-line directions for both). I 've had the boat in the water for about two months, using the motor about twice a week. So far, the prop has stayed clean, maybe a trace of slime (harbor in MA with tidal change). According to the Interlux website, Trilux 33 can be used on various underwater metals.