UV-B light blinds barnacle larvae in 60 minutes, then no attaching

That explains why the song Barnacle Bill is such a happy tune.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle_Bill_(song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8YVWE7M2B0

 

I was going to bring up the fact that barnacles are quite tasty though this seems to be an awkward time to do it.

 

How hungry must one be to call this 'tasty'?

 

About as hungry as one must be to enjoy an oyster, clam, mussel etc.

 

Quite right Milehog, I was only kidding.

Where I come from people eat a lot of such seafood. Live oysters I had only once and decided that was definitely not my thing because they contract when you bite them, but clams and mussels I do like. Looking at a glass of pickled mussels with all their different colors and dangling body parts I can also understand why other people shiver at the thought of eating them.

 

I'd love to see more of your part of the world and be able to enjoy the local food and wine.
My one brief glimpse was from a cruise ship with just one day in Split.
The day we were in Split (April 2011) there was boat show by the harbor with some very intriguing, small, traditional looking displacement (I think) power cruisers. I've tried finding information about them on the web but no luck. I figure if they can handle the local conditions there they should do fine here.
My priority was, of course, to see Diocletian's Palace. Possibly the only opportunity I will ever have to see Roman ruins. My wife actually had to grab my sleve to get me headed in the direction of the palace.
Sorry for the thread drift and rambling on. Back to the interesting thread.

 

So we've established small animals use their primitive eye to single out a dark object above them (our boat's hull), turn upside down and glue their *** to any hard surface using a cement gland.

Frankly I think it is impossible to generate a level of UV/B under water that is sufficient to blind them permanently, but that may not be necessary.
Blinding them temporarily or fooling them to believe the object isn't dark might be enough.

A flash tube or strobe light under the hull could be the solution, but the implementation is a bit difficult because there is quite a but of electronics involved that all must be encapsulated in clear resin to keep the water away from the high voltage needed to trigger the flash tube. But I think it is worth a try!

 

Generation of U.V - B

What kind of light generates this U.V. - B?
Could one perhaps use a light pipe? Optical fibre and have the light on board?

 

That might work on a stationary boat. How would you keep the fibers in place when the boat is moving?

 

When the boat is moving?

Who cares when the boat is moving?
Can't see anything attaching then.

 

A flash tube makes UV/A, UV/B and visible light, just like the sun does. Optical fiber is not an option, you would need a bundle the size of a milk bottle to get the light where you want it and radiate it in all directions.

 

I was more interested in keep the fibers from being damaged from water pressure than barnacle butts attaching.

How big is a milk bottle in Croatia?

 

Gee....sail a twenty day leg then observe the goose barnacles growing on your boot top.

 

it seems using light on a hull would be better for marine life in general if you can reduce/eliminate the use of toxic antifouling paint. It would not harm anything else to keep them off the hull only, those critters that attach to the hull are going to either get poisoned or killed at the next haul out, so if you blind them before they attach there is loss to the eco system anyway, and nothing toxic put in the water (or on land for that matter).

Is there a way to have fixtures built-in the hull to illuminate only the hull with UV-B light? or perhaps some light arrays that are hung over the side when not sailing?

Interesting idea, the power required I am sure is much less cost that the chemicals and cost of cleaning off several times a year.

 

The flora would love the light though.