Barnacle Prevention

The new thread has now been merged with the previous Barnacle Prevention thread. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

barnacles no more

I have just installed an ultrasonic barnacle prevention system. Seems to work just fine. It has been on for several months and no growth on the running gear or bottom.
None on the Knot meter paddle etc

 

Can you supply more details, like hull material, location and number of transducers?
Some say it is a waste of money, others pertain it is 100% effective.

 

http://louise-harris.suite101.com/new-technology-removes-invasive-species-a113255

works in a 750 foot radius and dissolves the barnacles glue so the growth just falls off the hulls.
that is impressive sounding considering how it works and over such a large area.
So take a fouled ship use this and barnacles are gone.

 

do you have also some teflon or other antifouling ? what wattage are we talking about ?
Interesting, less toxic for the fish ie perhaps us when swing around or eating them.
Right now i am designing in the direction of abstinence, you guessed it right, get the boat out of the water when you can ... i liked the idea of the hull "condom" limiting the toxic exchange with the environment, ultrasonic is a good combo one can stop it when the boat is out and simply wrap the intergrated boatlift posts . This is for shallows and little tides areas. We have 15 ft tides in the areas we like to be for now, but in the shallows in Bahamas it makes sence. Good news.
Mike

 

The hull material is fiberglass and steel. I have a 29 ft boat and have installed two 2 sending units and one power unit. The amp draw is less than 1 amp per hour.
Very easy installation epoxy a nut to the hull, let dry then screw in the sending unit. connect the power unit and done. Running the wires took the longest time.

Mike

 

how much did the setup cost you?

Do you even need bottom paint anymore if this really works?

 

You need bottom paint but can go to a harder paint to save the environment which is what I did. A less ablative paint. The big benefit is the running gear. It is now over 6 months in the water and again I have told my diver not to come. All I have done is brush some scum off the sunny side of the boat with a pad.
The set up was about $875.00 with 2 sending units. I am working on getting a better price for my sailing club which might bring it down to about $790 or 800. Installation was a breeze. Keep in mind my boat in in warm FL waters and I get used to get growth on the running gear in 30 days or less. After 65 days the boat would hardly move.

Mike

 

Hi Mike,
Do you use Teflon base anti-fouling ? this is what is use for my cat , this is in freshwater set up. I like the idea of this system, i guess a whole marina would benefit from this large area effectiveness especially if crisscrossing occurs between many crafts using the same system (i dont know if there are other similar system) , i am planning a 60 ft cat with an aft raft extension of 30 ft on which i will sit my beach cats for daily sailing fun, and at the aft end of the raft, i am planning a floating trampoline beach and jacuzzi. (my wife is simply scared of algeas and fishes even in freshwaters ... ) I was planning to use teflon for algeas, and roll out the beach on the raft every night. That very beach and raft will serve for my kites and windsurfs landings. So this is good news, i will add this system to my kart list. I have been in Delray a few times, i had friends living there in winter and we were planning to leave our beach cats on the beach, you probably know where.
My friend sold his place, he prefered to buy a place in Ocean city NJ for more summer fun at the beach.
We will likely spend time in Ft Lauderdale and the keys, had friends at Sunny Isle marina lots of barnacles there ... The FL West Coast all the way up the panhandle and also the Bahamas will be our playground, shallow waters is great for surfkiting, but near the shores, bugs are a problems, special screens used in developping countries are considered.
For long stays (more than 3 or 4 days) i will consider using a hull "condom" skin, that will prevent if the unit stops and algeas.
Thanks for the insitu infos. I hear that warmer water helps to prevent tigeroysters to stick to ships, they noticed that on ships near warmer water discharge in the great lakes. I guess if one would solar heat the water within the hull skin, i could be another way, now we are cookin ...
Mike

 

would that be good marketing practice if the marinas would install those units ? it would be very cheap for each craft , would save the docks and can certify no shutoff 31.
would even the local gvts subsidise those ? it would reduce the need for toxic ablatives.
750 ft radius area is tremendous ! really that much ?
I met one of my architect school teacher in Dominican Republic airport many years ago, and he was on a mission to save the coral reefs. The concept was to use electricity for favoring growth of the coral reef. Hummm !

 

Hi, Mike, I am very familiar with the Delray Beach and the cat's that are on the beach. One end has the cat's and the other kite Surfing. I suspect that the teflon bottom will help but when you beach it will wear off. The system I installed also prevents some Algeas but you will always get some grass growth where the sun hit boat and the water. The idea is to minimize as much as possible to you can enjoy the water toys and not be a slave to them.

 

Hi Mike,
This is getting more and more interesting, i am designing my interiors with this in mind:
Everything has to have more than one use onboard. This means for example, that all spare rudders, daggerboards, water pillows , anything that can be in the water , can be pretreated with teflon for algeas, and be used for shelving, deck furniture frames, bed frames, and more.The double bottom hull allows for a spare imerged skin, stored in the main hull , simply pull it out aft, unscrew the damaged skin and screw the new skin (all screwing is from inside) and then pump out the water between the subfloor and the skin. The damaged skin can hence be repaired onboard ready to be used for another secondary use. There are few secondary uses possible for that skin.
The Teflon that i use is quick to apply and quick to dry, acetone like stincky so needs well ventilated area when applied.
I had heard of such system before from friends but it didn't seem to catch on.
I still have in mind to incorporate a lift into the structure so that the cat is out of the water for some time, probably about 50% of the time. Hence, the pillars will be treated as well i am wondering if the effect of the system can be felt on the pillars if the hulls are out of the water. Otherwise ablative and "pillar condom" might have to be kept as the eco solution. Lift out will be used in fresh and salt waters. I like the lift system also for limiting chain drag on fragile beds, i also envision a new anchoring system. The chains and anchors will have a secondary use when the cat is cruising. We can expect a cleaner chain now ...

 

Sound like a big project. You can put the system on the pillars and it may get to the boat and treat the pillars. Treating docks has been an alternative use of the units. I hate to say it but it sounds like it is easier to clean the boat and if you keep it out of the water 50% of the time there would be minimal Algeas growing on the bottom.

Mike

 

A 60 ft catamaran, more like a america cup catamaran with sides habitats, twin masts.
Not for crossing oceans but it could do it. The pillar system is the same system we have on our heavy wood docks, 26 years old already ... but the pillars are steel on the docks but on the cat it will be carbon/eglass fiber and nanno metal. Lighter and stronger.
Over a year period, it will be about 50% but a 30% can be inwater at once, in a marina in Ft Lauderdale for example when i go to France . For the algea, i can add a product between the "condom" and the hull . The "condom" is opaque too, so not much will happen in that area. The hulls are 24 inches at the widest and 6'9" at the highest x 60 ft, but in a long term dock slip rental, the cat folds into 32 ft long and 16 ft wide (vs 37 ft wide and 60 ft long) . It is made of 2 central hulls 30 ft long and 4 end hulls 15 ft long.
The ends stay inwater even at folding , they can fold outward for mooring or anchoring ie to get the stuff out, or inward at the marina (for docking) and upward for inspections and quick repairs. At upward mode, the other 2 hulls on the same side will sink a little.

 

Reading the multihull mag , just seen the advertisement for Harsonic , i cant compare with the hullmaster yet. Has to be external on wooden boats, i guess even on composite too.
The best way to get work done is waking up in the middle of the night ... hummm below
0 c (32 f) tonite, time to go back to bed. Nope, the lake is not frozen yet, not much kiting before xmass we need 5 inches of solid blue ice, we are chickens, some go at 3 inches with wetsuites and couple floats. How can we help them ? The hovercraft can do the job but it will crack the ice on its path.
good night