Applying Protection to Prop - Under water!!

[alan]

I have yet to find any anti-fouling product that will stick to the prop for very long when the boat is in use; so this is not a "what type of anti-foul shall I use on the prop" thread.

I had my boat and prop anti-fouled toward the end of May this year, I have had to scrape my prop of fouling regularly since the beginning of July when I started my holidays. As I live in Italy it is not a big deal to do a bit of snorkelling and scrape the prop - at least untill end of October!

The other week I scraped the prop and then went down with some Lanolin on my fingers to try and apply some to keep the critters at bay for a bit. Useless ...... the Lanolin emulsified and disappeared before I could get any on the prop itself!!!

I wonder if anyone has found a product that can be applied under water (sprayed, applied by hand .. )which would extend the time between scrapes??

Thanks in advance,
Alan.

 

[RichardS]

A product that can be sprayed under water? I reckon I'd be a rich man if I could work out a way to pull that one off.

And I don't think there's any chance of finding a product that can be applied by hand underwater either unfortunately.

I can take my props off underwater and could antifoul them before replacing but it's a lot easier with saildrives as there's no taper.

I should add that Trilux33 with Primocon primer on a sanded surface seems to work for me in the Med.

Richard

 

[vas]

considering the effort needed to clean, sand, smooth, coarse, whatever the props, then apply primer, wait for umpteen hours, apply another coat, wait, apply X coats of a/f and after three to four days hard work you get the bleeding thing to disappear in the first hour of motoring,
I VERY MUCH DOUBT IT!

I'm lucky to have a 15yo son who thinks it's cool to struggle for an hour to clean a prop (in 27-28C water though...) so I'll just keep on taking advantage of him

cheers

V.

 

[Topcat47]

Bilge/lifting keepers, dry out on a beach and do it between tides. Fin/long keelers need a drying grid or harbour wall. No problem!

 

[RichardS]

Bilge/lifting keepers, dry out on a beach and do it between tides. Fin/long keelers need a drying grid or harbour wall. No problem!

A bit of a problem if you're in the Med ....... like the OP.

Richard

 

[Topcat47]

Good point, although I have seen a Centaur beached in Turkey. It didn't occur to me to ask how it was done.

 

[KAL]

considering the effort needed to clean, sand, smooth, coarse, whatever the props, then apply primer, wait for umpteen hours, apply another coat, wait, apply X coats of a/f and after three to four days hard work you get the bleeding thing to disappear in the first hour of motoring,
I VERY MUCH DOUBT IT

V.

Totally agree. I spent days prepping and coating our prop with primer, then multiple (5) coats of velox. I've never seen fouling like I saw when she was hauled after a year. The primer was pretty much intact, but the Velox had come away, mostly. I had high hopes, but nada. Ah well, back to the udder ointment then...

 

[macd]

Perhaps Vyv Cox hasn't noticed this thread yet, but he has often recommended Hammerite Special Metals Primer followed by (IIRC) Velox or similar. If he doesn't pop along, no doubt a search would find it.

In the Med, where diving is easy if you're able-bodied enough, I don't find it a particular problem. A going-over with a plastic scraper quickly gets rid of any growth on the prop. It really does help if the prop blades have a high polish: this isn't just bling for dazzling folk on the hard.

 

[Neeves]

Vyv had mentioned that the Hammerite formulation had changed to a water based product since he first used it - and I have not seen an update. But, or and, he was very positive of Velox. We have had around 12 months from Velox and Prop Gold (similar to Prop Speed) but Velox wins on balance as if you do not have too much damage then you only need to reapply Velox and not need to grind down, apply primer etc - simply apply new Velox. Our summer water temperatures are about 26, so maybe a tad cooler than the Med?

But this, obviously, cannot be applied underwater and I'm not sure if it can be done between tides. So I'm sorry not to have answered the question.

Hopefully Vyv will provide another update.

Jonathan

 

[cmedsailor]

As I live in Italy it is not a big deal to do a bit of snorkelling and scrape the prop - at least untill end of October!

Alan.

I also live in the Med and I agree with this. In the past I used antifoul paints for the prop. It keeps the prop clean for a few months but then it's very very difficult to scrape it. I don't use it any more (the last 4-5 years). I just scrape the propeller and make it shining as much as possible when I lift the boat out of the water and then scrape it with a water paper as often as possible when the boat is in the water. It's easy in other words to keep it quite clean when there's no paint on it. It's just a few minutes job.
And, anyway, a shining propeller is always more efficient than a painted one.

 

[Ammonite]

I have yet to find any anti-fouling product that will stick to the prop for very long when the boat is in use; so this is not a "what type of anti-foul shall I use on the prop" thread.

I had my boat and prop anti-fouled toward the end of May this year, I have had to scrape my prop of fouling regularly since the beginning of July when I started my holidays. As I live in Italy it is not a big deal to do a bit of snorkelling and scrape the prop - at least untill end of October!

The other week I scraped the prop and then went down with some Lanolin on my fingers to try and apply some to keep the critters at bay for a bit. Useless ...... the Lanolin emulsified and disappeared before I could get any on the prop itself!!!

I wonder if anyone has found a product that can be applied under water (sprayed, applied by hand .. )which would extend the time between scrapes??

Thanks in advance,
Alan.

Lanolene can be reapplied underwater. No idea if it's any good

 

[PotatoNavigator]

There's a leak fixing grease called Stay Afloat that might be worth trying. I had to use some recently and I got the impression you would be able to apply it under water.

 

[RichardS]

Lanolene can be reapplied underwater. No idea if it's any good

Doesn't the OP say that he tried that but it "emulsified and disappeared"?

Richard

 

[Neeves]

I read it to mean that Lanolin emulsified (the OP) and Lanolene did not (Chaktoura) and assumed they were different products. Having unsuccessfully tried Lanolin, areas coated preferentially fouled, I'd need some pretty impressive results to try anything with a vaguely similar name.

Jonathan

 

[RichardS]

I read it to mean that Lanolin emulsified (the OP) and Lanolene did not (Chaktoura) and assumed they were different products. Having unsuccessfully tried Lanolin, areas coated preferentially fouled, I'd need some pretty impressive results to try anything with a vaguely similar name.

Jonathan

Same stuff I believe, one is just a commercial name for the other.

Richard

 

[Thedreamoneday]

Scrapped mine today (Greece) only small growth after 3/4 months after mirror polish and lanolin.

I've haven't any lanolin left so I think I'm going to rub some marine Greece on the prop and see how long that lasts. I'm not expecting miracles but maybe an extra two weeks or so before next scrape??

 

[alan]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I will give Marine Blue Grease a go tomorrow and see if I can get some of that to adhere. By the way I also tried some surfboard wax, but that also does not seem to like being applied underwater!

Thanks to all,
Alan.

 

[Tim O]

Just how do you get this "mirror finish" on your props?

 

[oldbilbo]

Just how do you get this "mirror finish" on your props?

Perspiration and elbow grease....!

 

[oldbilbo]

I applied some silicone grease to the prop on Sarabande's boat, at the top of the Hamble, early this year as we had nothing else and the yard crew were fretting to move her waterwards....

Apart from the delivery trip, she's spent most of the intervening period swinging gently to the stream halfway up the River Tamar. It'll be interesting to see how the prop ( silicone grease ) and the hull ( conventional antifoul paint ) fare.

Especially so as I have a well-burnished 'T. Norris' bronze prop sitting on the shelf above my desk, awaiting refitting....