Advice from all please.......

Sheppy

Sheppy

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As I’ve never had much luck with antifoul paints I’m seriously considering one of these. Believe me I’ve researched the pros and cons and am even considering making the latter to at least try out the concept first. But I guess my concern is that if they’re that good, why don’t more people use this kind of technology in the UK? They seem very common in the US and perhaps they’re on the verge of a marine revolution? After all Versadock make a solid unit but only for smaller boats.

http://www.airdock.com
http://www.armoredhull.com

I know I’m opening myself up for a barrage but somewhere in the foray of serious, sublime and witty comments, someone might say something useful :D
 
I've seen something similar used in the Exe and there's one in Dart marina. They obviously do the job but I'd Be concerned about long term reliability. What's the initial cost?
What I would do is snorkel down every few months and scrub, or dry her out and do the same, but I've always found cleaning in the water much easier and effective. I could do my last boat, 32', in about 45 minutes.
 
Some one I know uses this type of thing (can't remember the exact make) in a marina, no power required, it's the module that gets the growth not his boat. but I would think it is restricted to outboard and leg driven craft, you line it up power on to it as if going up the beach it shapes itself to the boat and trim the drive/s up out of the water.

http://www.jetdock.com/?gclid=CIGS_OGD_rICFaTJtAodVTYA1w

forgot to add, he's better off than me! I would guess it's not cheap.
 
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I had the first hydrohoist eurolift in the uk, made by this lot:

http://www.boatlift.com/

Fantastic piece of kit. Kept a searay, and then a regal on it. Never had to antifoul either of them, they never needed anodes, and I think between them only one set of bellows. I got it in 2000 or 2001, and sold it in 2005 when I got the Targa 37. The guy I sold it to sold it on again after a couple of years, and it is still in Brighton marina now, 11 years or so later, with a fast fisher on it I think. It's on pontoon 21.

My lift was #1 and a bit of a prototype, so later lifts got a bit more refined. However, it was generally very reliable, the only maintenance I remember having to do was replace one air valve which failed.

If I was going back to a day boat, I'd get another hydrohoist in a blink. Absolutely brilliant.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
I forgot to say this: the big problem with all of these boat lifts is persuading your marina to let you put one on your berth. I had a hell of a battle with Brighton about it, and this was before Premier acquired the marina. Things may have changed in these straightened times - but I'd certainly advise making sure that the marina will let you in with it before you go ahead and buy one.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Thanks guys,
Most of these lifts are way out of my price range but the Air Doc is only $3500. I could get my sister to ship one back later in the year as she's moving back here, that'll save me the obvious!

I'm quite keen on the Air Dock at the moment, but was concerned about punctures and reports that any type of lift can sink your boat if one side fails. The advantage of the Air Dock is that as long as you only raise your boat no more than four to five inches from the water, if one side fails, then your boat will be ok. The unit specified for my 2500kg boat has just three bags.

I like this - the rolls royce of lifts but way out of my price range.
http://www.sunstreamcorp.com/v-lift.htm

I'm quite lucky as I can put an Air Dock on my floating pontoon.
 
Thanks Daka, hadn’t seen that one. I'll have a closer look but it doesn't look like it'll work too well with stern drives.

I'd certainly be more tempted if she personally did the training :)
 
Sheppy said:
Thanks Daka, hadn’t seen that one. I'll have a closer look but it doesn't look like it'll work too well with stern drives.

I'd certainly be more tempted if she personally did the training :)
Click to expand...

Hmmm, she looks higher maintenance than the boat to me - I don't think I'd proceed beyond the trial - sorry 'training'... :rolleyes:

Just a few thoughts since we last spoke...

Knowing where you are John and with a mid-river pontoon/no power, I can see the boat lifts, bags and various other forms of 'water-nappy' you've considered as either expensive or fraught with problems! Considering the marginal engine power too, I think I'd look more seriously at LJS' suggestions - especially as he's only a few hundred yards away and presumably has a similar rate of growth. I know you wouldn't want to dive in to clean nor pay for 3-4 lifts/scrubs per season, but what about some sort of cleaning band or remote brush for a regular interim spruce up? Knowing how resourceful you are, I wonder if you could devise a rope or band-like sling to run under the hull? If one end was attached with a stretchy rope to pontoon etc and the section under the boat was a fairly long, soft-bristle (like a bottle brush etc) you could perhaps pull to & fro whilst walking down the boat? Given it's mostly slime build up that seems to be the issue, it might just keep it clean enough to be able to get on the plane! If it could spin like a car-wash, even better... :D

Given the costs of a re-power from 165HP to 220HP, a hydraulic platform that doesn't require mains power, a trailer and vehicle change or a 6-8 weekly lift & scrub, I'd be willing to do all I could to avoid a big spend! :o

Also, did you ever establish the costs of dry-stack up at Blackness? Did they have any capacity? I only ask as I might look at that for the Arrowbolt if trailing and getting in/out of driveway becomes a pain. I have of course got plenty of time to think about it, but good to plan ahead innit? :)

Edit: Have you seen this one? http://boatbunkers.com/
 
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Thanks Robin for your encouraging words on my abilities to solve these problems! Good idea though, as long as I don't have to get in the water.

I know I keep going over this again and again but ultimately I have to do something. I'm happy with the power to weight ratio if she was running with a clean hull but knowing how quickly the slim builds up in my given location, I do need to make a call soon.
I think like many with boats, I'm always looking at engines, specs, electronics etc and should the right thing come up, then I'd invest but I do think my priority at the moment is to resolve my fouling issue.

Yes, I did speak to Blackness and although I think I could live with the location I just feel they’re too expensive. Their service/facilities appear excellent and they’re certainly very helpful but their pricing is on a par with any marina cost on the Dart and I feel it should notably cheaper given the lack of flexibility and additional 'weekend surcharge'! Not only do they close at 20:45 in the summer but their slip is subject to drying out at very low tides too. I just don't think I could live with those sorts of restrictions unless it was financially incentivised. As you know I'm very limited as to when I take out my boat due to other circumstances and so have to take every opportunity, and if I'm restricted even further, well then I might as well sell her.

Thanks for the extra link though. These systems really seem to be coming out of the woodwork, I thought I'd found them all with endless searching but clearly not. I've emailed them and hopefully they'll answer overnight.

John
 
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