Keel & Centreboard fouling?

[Mike McKeon]

I have almost completed the building of a "cousin" of Sopranino and Trekka that has the same hull concepts but is 'flatter floored' and is shallow draft, this is accomplished by having an aerofoil shaped fin with 1000 lbs of lead in it and a 1/2" sheet steel hinged centre plate. I am having second thoughts about the centreplate now as I imagine there could be problems with fouling by marine growth, barnacles etc. I have tried to cover my options by making the keel from sheet steel with 'captive nuts' in the top of the keel and the bolts will be inserted from inside the hull through to pick up these nuts - I can then 'drop' the keel off in the yard to get at the C/P and slot to clean them.
My question is: does any body out there have experience with a C/P yacht on a mooring and how much should I be worrying about fouling?
I am also now considering having a new keel designed to suit the yacht that is a conventional fixed one - can anybody suggest a designer in Australia who might be able to do this, one firm wanted far too much money and as I am now on a pension I am quite happy to pay a fair price but not 'over the top'.

[MikeJohns]

Mike
Fouling can be a huge problem with centre boards. The only solution I know is regualer slipping and anti fouling with all that that entails.

Having said that if the unit is sufficiently robust with a powerful enough lifting device and sufficient clearance for much of the case then you can knock much of the growth off when lifting and lowering the keel. The problem comes from tight fit designs and the shell casing the whole assemble to bind up or down. Some folks tip a little bleach regularly into the case from above and this seems to help.

We can design a new keel work permitting, I would need a decent proposal sketch to give you an idea of price. My email is mike_johns_eng@yahoo.com
We are based in Hobart.

Cheers
Mike

[bhnautika]

Some of the copper based coatings might help keep the growth down.