Breathing underwater

[BurnitBlue]

I am considering a device for extended breathing underwater so I can scape the boat fouling off. One is called the skorkl which uses a hand pump to pre-charge a "bottle" for ten minutes use. No pump or fumes. Anyone here used one and do they work?

Thanks

 

[DownWest]

How long do you have to hand pump for the ten minutes?

 

[TQA]

Don't dive and clean. Put your scrubber or scraper on a long pole. I use an 8 inch wide scraper on an 8ft pole. This allows you to work from the surface using regular snorkel gear and clean the hull and prop without any diving.

I am an old fart and can clean my 44 ft mono in less than an hour. OK I am in the Caribbean and the water temp is 82f. which helps. In the UK ou are most likely going to want a wet suit.

TOP TIP you need to have a good shower afterwards and pay especial attention to all the important little places to clean out all the shrimp, crabs, little fish etc. that invaded looking for a new home.

 

[Concerto]

The current issue of Yachting Monthly has an article on diving under a boat, but does not mention the skorkl.

 

[rogerthebodger]

This gives a little more info

http://raspandrivet.com/scorkl/#high-pressure-pump

http://divemagazine.co.uk/kit/7709-compressed-air-snorkelling-deathtraps

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2637500

https://snorkelclub.blogspot.com/2017/06/is-that-shiny-new-gadget-really-worth.html

I scuba but I clean the hull of my boat with a brush and scraper on a pole from the jetty or the deck of my boat.

If I were for dive to clean I would use my scuba tank on deck with a long hookah pipe to my regulator

 

[duncan99210]

The skorkl is at best a case of misselling and at worst an invitation to disaster.
For starters, you won’t get anywhere near 10 minutes underwater from it; it claims a working pressure of up to 3000 psi or 200 bar, and the capacity (which isn’t discussed in the available sales talk) looks to be about 1/2 a litre, so it’ll contain 100 litres of air. When calculating gas consumption rates for extended dives, I use 20 litres per minute, so the best you could hope for at surface pressure is 5 minutes. Dive to 10 metres and you’ll halve that time....
I could go on but you can see where I’m headed. If you think that diving on the boat is the best way to clean the hull, then do get a modicum of training and a decent set of second hand gear. Contrary to many folks beliefs, the most dangerous part of the water is the near surface, as the rate of gas expansion is such that a lung injury in entirely possible by taking a breath at 3-4 metres and then surfacing without breathing out.

 

[prv]

it claims a working pressure of up to 3000 psi or 200 bar

And if that’s true then it’s going to take all day to pump it up by hand.

Pete

 

[duncan99210]

And if that’s true then it’s going to take all day to pump it up by hand.

Pete

You’re not wrong....

 

[BurnitBlue]

Well that is one question I am really glad I asked. I will forget the whole idea because I agree it requires training to avoid getting into a dangerous situation. I am also very pleased that I was reminded that a long pole with a brush is quite effective.

But that brings up a second question. A brush will not budge worm or barnacles. So a scraper (of sorts) is needed on the end of the pole. A quick think on this and I spotted the household floor squeezy thing. There are two in the broom cupboard as I write. One is a rubber faced scraper used in the bathroom to push water around (like a car windscreen wiper). The other has a plastic articulated flat thing to carry a sponge or cloth. Purpose made with a telescopic pole. When this is used the articulation allows the flat thing to be always parallel to the floor. Maybe I can find a robust example that I can modify to use sandpaper or wet 'n dry. Does that sound do-able or is there a simple solution that escapes me at the moment?

Thanks very much for the replies that saved me making an awful mistake.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

When I was younger I used to hold my breath and scrub the hull with no problem. I was able to haul myself, hand over hand, down the anchor chain to have a close look at the seabed. Not anymore. As I got older I was interested in getting a small cylinder that incorporated a regulator and a mouthpiece and which allowed 10 (?) minutes underwater. I found that even for that I would need to have a diving certificate in my country. I would imagine that it is the same situation in yours.
My solution now is to swim around the waterline and scrub or wipe the slime from the usual band that grows in that area. For the occasional barnacle, even those that are at a greater depth, I made sort of long capital 'T'. The short horizontal piece is used for scraping while the long 'handle' gets to reach down the keel. One advantage is that, being wooden, it floats and holds itself firmly against the hull. Treat the short 'head' as being disposable (because barnacles are VERY sharp); cheap and easy to replace when the edges become rounded.
You have only one life; don't do anything that you'll regret!

 

[sarabande]

A good and cheap material for scrubbing underwater is the coarse nylon used in rotary floor cleaning machines.

Drop in to your local Tool Hire shop and ask for their old pads. Every new hire should be equipped with a new pad, so th old ones are chucked in a bin.

 

[sailaboutvic]

We keep a power dive on board , not only is it great for cleaning the hull but it's got us out of a few problems over the years when our anchor got well and truly stuck a few times and another time when we got caught up on a pot .
There not cheap but well worth having .
Best to get some training before using one .

 

[prv]

The other has a plastic articulated flat thing to carry a sponge or cloth. Purpose made with a telescopic pole. When this is used the articulation allows the flat thing to be always parallel to the floor. Maybe I can find a robust example that I can modify to use sandpaper or wet 'n dry.

You’re describing a drywall sander . I’ve never tried using one underwater, but the abrasive mesh works well when dunked in a bucket to wet-sand antifoul so I imagine it would work ok. Might be helpful to put a bit of buoyancy on the head to push it up against the hull.

Pete

 

[LadyInBed]

Forget SCUBA, too much like hard work. Can't you dry out against a wall anywhere.

 

[BelleSerene]

A brush will not budge worm or barnacles. So a scraper (of sorts) is needed on the end of the pole. A quick think on this and I spotted the household floor squeezy thing. There are two in the broom cupboard as I write. One is a rubber faced scraper used in the bathroom to push water around (like a car windscreen wiper). The other has a plastic articulated flat thing to carry a sponge or cloth. Purpose made with a telescopic pole. When this is used the articulation allows the flat thing to be always parallel to the floor. Maybe I can find a robust example that I can modify to use sandpaper or wet 'n dry. Does that sound do-able or is there a simple solution that escapes me at the moment?

Doable, yes. Likely to succeed in removing this year’s shocking crop of barnacles, no.

How about saving your breath (!) and instead float your boat onto piles or a harbour wall at high tide? Take a large plastic paint scraper from the paint section of your DIY store - not a metal one as that’ll chip the gel coat if you’re not really careful - and at LW scrape them barnacles the hell off. When I did it a month ago they came off in sheets.

 

[William_H]

OP should firstly get the necessary gear to snorkel and clean the hull. Even for a big boat he should be able to clean the first metre of hull. Then try some hold your breath dives to get deeper. I have been doing my little boat 21ft for 32 years in water that is not cold so really bad weed growth. Using snorkel despite having SCUBA tanks at home. I figure 6 weeks from new A/F till first wipe over. After 4 months I am sanding off old A/F before winter storage. I find it helps enormously to be able to hang with one hand from the gunwhale. This gives a hold to combat the reaction to scrubbing. Much more difficult free swimming but doable. I can get down to scrub the bottom of the keel without difficulty. (now 72yo)
Just try it. If you need wet suit then you need lead weight belt to get to neutral buoyancy. I use a soft rag for new A/F, scouring pad for bad fouling and wet and dry sandpaper near end of season. Take a knife or chisel for barnacles. I have an old diving knife which I cut off the point to make a chisel shape. Just perfect for the little critters. Because I can do it on the mooring any nice day is an excuse to swim and clean. That way I do it bit by bit if it is really bad. ol'will

 

[BrianH]

Forget SCUBA, too much like hard work. Can't you dry out against a wall anywhere.

How about saving your breath (!) and instead float your boat onto piles or a harbour wall at high tide?

Med-based owners do not have this luxury, unfortunately, and there are few alternatives to lifting out for high-pressure cleaning and antifouling regularly. This is particularly necessary in my NE Italian, lagoon-based marina where elevated water temperatures encourage excessive marine growth.

A local scuba diver charges €50 to scrub off on the mooring and a lot of us use him to spread the period to two-yearly haul-outs but I still have to immerse myself in the dubious harbour water a few times a year to scrape the prolific clumps of tube-worm shells off the propeller or I would never have enough propulsion to leave the berth. Luckily, the three blades are just within reach, one top blade at a time by rotation, while head is still above the surface. I have to watch out for any passing boat though and wait for the wash to subside.

 

[BurnitBlue]

Yes the gadget I described is the same as a dry-wall scrubber. Will try to get some course nylon to fix to it. A dry-wall scrubber is probably more robust than the domestic thing in my broom cupboard. I am also going to search for some of that very hard plastic used in Sweden for cleaning winter windshields. I can use them for puffs "T" tool.

No tides in Med or Caribbean.

Thanks for all the suggestions. They are all viable so I will try them all.

 

[langstonelayabout]

Well that is one question I am really glad I asked. I will forget the whole idea because I agree it requires training to avoid getting into a dangerous situation. I am also very pleased that I was reminded that a long pole with a brush is quite effective.

Good move Batman! A friend used to have a hand pump to pump up his PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) air rifle. You can buy these pumps as an alternative to changing your PCP air rifle from a dive tank.

The reason why the pumps didn't catch on is because by the time you've filled the (small) tank with air, not only has the quarry got away but you're still huffing and puffing for breath and you can't hold your rifle steady enough to hit anything...

For scrubbing and diving I'd suggest you get properly trained, buy used kit and wear ear plugs to keep the nasties out.

 

[PCUK]

There was a portable device shown at Soton Boat show for years and visitors could try it in a tank. It needed someone on a hand pump but it used standard SCUBA valve as I recall. Apparently worked well.