jon_bailey
New member
I recently realised that the performance of my boat had dropped off despite keeping the leg and prop relatively clean and having scrubbed part of bottom when dried out in Ryde a few weeks ago. There was obviosuly some green stuff about so thought I'd try boatscrubber. Also thought that I would be a bit ana**y retentive and record performance:
Before BoatScrubber:
RPM Speed (kts)
3200 13
3600 18
4000 20
4600 (WOT) 24
After BoatScrubber
3200 13
3600 19
4000 22
4600 (WOT) 26
Cannot claim that results are that accurate but speed was measured with GPS under similar loading conditions.
Dave, who operates BoatScrubber at East Cowes, could not have tried any harder and I was there for 40 mins whilst he tried to remove as much green as he could. The swim platform ladder got in the way as did the leg, so obviously difficult to do the underwater part of the transom, not that this affects performance. It was also clear that Boatscrubber did not remove barnacles - they never claimed it did, and clearly there were areas of the hull that had a significant infestation - little bu**ers. Cost was £25 for a one-off scrub which I considered very reasoanble considering time and effort they put in.
BUT as can be seen from the above there was still a performance issue for a sportsboat. So the next weekend I recovered on the trailer and set about giving the bottom a proper clean. The barbacles were particularly prevalent where the hull had sunk into the Ryde mud - this also 'neatly'corresponded to the planing section of the hull. There were areas where the small barnacles (5-10mm dia) covered whole areas of the hull. Spent an evening removing them with a plastic scraper and then gave the complete hull a good powerwash with an industrial powerwasher.
Boat went back in this weekend and the following results were obtained on Monday:
RPM Speed (Kts)
3200 22
3600 25
4000 28
4800 (WOT) 35
Now we're cooking.
So (if you've made it this far) what conclusions did I come to:
1) Boatscrubber does not remove barnacles but if you just need to remove green stuff then it provides an economic alternative to a lift.
2) After examining my hull I am convinced that the Boatscrubber removed some of the antifouling on the 'sharp' edges, e.g. chines or hull transitions. I do not consider this to be significant or a particular problem.
3) Barnacle infestations, even when the leg is relatively clean, have a huge affect on performance. (No doubt all of the dry berthers are sniggering and rubbing their clean bottoms).
4) I am now at war with the humble barnacle but will save this for another thread.
Jon
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Before BoatScrubber:
RPM Speed (kts)
3200 13
3600 18
4000 20
4600 (WOT) 24
After BoatScrubber
3200 13
3600 19
4000 22
4600 (WOT) 26
Cannot claim that results are that accurate but speed was measured with GPS under similar loading conditions.
Dave, who operates BoatScrubber at East Cowes, could not have tried any harder and I was there for 40 mins whilst he tried to remove as much green as he could. The swim platform ladder got in the way as did the leg, so obviously difficult to do the underwater part of the transom, not that this affects performance. It was also clear that Boatscrubber did not remove barnacles - they never claimed it did, and clearly there were areas of the hull that had a significant infestation - little bu**ers. Cost was £25 for a one-off scrub which I considered very reasoanble considering time and effort they put in.
BUT as can be seen from the above there was still a performance issue for a sportsboat. So the next weekend I recovered on the trailer and set about giving the bottom a proper clean. The barbacles were particularly prevalent where the hull had sunk into the Ryde mud - this also 'neatly'corresponded to the planing section of the hull. There were areas where the small barnacles (5-10mm dia) covered whole areas of the hull. Spent an evening removing them with a plastic scraper and then gave the complete hull a good powerwash with an industrial powerwasher.
Boat went back in this weekend and the following results were obtained on Monday:
RPM Speed (Kts)
3200 22
3600 25
4000 28
4800 (WOT) 35
Now we're cooking.
So (if you've made it this far) what conclusions did I come to:
1) Boatscrubber does not remove barnacles but if you just need to remove green stuff then it provides an economic alternative to a lift.
2) After examining my hull I am convinced that the Boatscrubber removed some of the antifouling on the 'sharp' edges, e.g. chines or hull transitions. I do not consider this to be significant or a particular problem.
3) Barnacle infestations, even when the leg is relatively clean, have a huge affect on performance. (No doubt all of the dry berthers are sniggering and rubbing their clean bottoms).
4) I am now at war with the humble barnacle but will save this for another thread.
Jon
<hr width=100% size=1>££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://home.btconnect.com/bailey>BOAT FOR SALE</A>
