Bronze propeller - is there ANYTHING that'll stop crustacean growth?

Modulation

Modulation

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Tried lanolin - not impressed. Tried Pellerclean (not sure of the name - anyway it's the Seajet product) - lasted almost a season - but not quite. Tried not applying anything - just polishing the thing so thoroughly that I could have used it as a shaving mirror - worst result of all.
Has anyone found something that actually works? For a full season?
 
I tried everything too and the only solution is a regular immersion in the dubious harbour water to scrape the critters off. Last year I had to do it four times with an infestation of tube worm. This year they seem to be less invasive but the regular conical barnacles have replaced them.

It's all this global warming, you see .... ;)
 
brendanbergin said:
Tried lanolin - not impressed. Tried Pellerclean (not sure of the name - anyway it's the Seajet product) - lasted almost a season - but not quite. Tried not applying anything - just polishing the thing so thoroughly that I could have used it as a shaving mirror - worst result of all.
Has anyone found something that actually works? For a full season?
Click to expand...

Not really. However, best I've found is a coat of zinc primer then two coats of the same Seajet Shogun antifouling as goes on the hull. Last week could still get 7.6 knots under power (35 ft boat 27 hp Yanmar) compared to 7.9 on launch day at end of March, so the hull and prop must still be fairly clean. You don't need much fouling on a prop to drop your speed quite a lot more than that, and even a bit of slime on the hull can take off a quarter of a knot.
 
Whilst I was touching up some damage to the rudder last winter I had some Coppercoat left ove. Being a fully qualified Yorkshireman I didnt want to waste even the smallest bit so I coated the bronze boss of my folding prop. When I dried out for the mid season scrub, the boat was a bit weedy and slow but no crustaceans on the hull or prop boss but loads on the uncoated prop blades. It was the animals on the prop blades that made the boat slow.

Next time I am out of the water I will coat the blades too and see what happens.
 
brendanbergin said:
Has anyone found something that actually works? For a full season?
Click to expand...

This photo shows our prop, as hauled and before pressure washing, after four months in the water in Greece. In previous years the prop has been heavily coated in tube worm shell after this length of time. The antifouling is Italian, I don't know its name at present but will find out. It needed a primer, but I already had a full tin of Hammerite non-ferrous primer, so I used that. Interesting that there is no fouling on either the black antifoul or the primer. The rope cutter and shaft (and anode, of course) were left untreated for comparison.

IMG_2766.jpg
 
This is only a thought, so no .45 calibre please (lead based and very painfull).... Lead is fatal for most species, so why not red lead your prop? I have no idea how long it will last, and no, it is not illegal. You can buy it, above board and legally.

PM me if you can't find 'Traditional Boats' in Suffolk. I have no connection other than being a very happy customer. Peeps sometime forget that the Royal Navy solved many maritime prob's centuries ago.

No idea whether this will work for you or not. Well I'm pretty sure it will work, but not certain at all for how long. If you try it, post the result.
 
I've found the International Trilux works on the blades at least. Cans are expensive but last a few years.
 
stuhaynes said:
This is only a thought, so no .45 calibre please (lead based and very painfull).... Lead is fatal for most species, so why not red lead your prop? I have no idea how long it will last, and no, it is not illegal. You can buy it, above board and legally.

.
Click to expand...

Pal of mine once bought some cheap red antifoul from a bloke in a pub near Plymouth dockyard. He had the worst ever case of fouling he had seen. Turned out that the paint was red lead.
 
berthed in fethiye marina turkey and seems the worst place in the world for bottom fouling, combination of warm water and freshwater with plenty of nutrients in it if you know what i mean.

tried every sort of antifouling all only good for a few months but an italian one called marlin seems the best,

coppercoat , no good.! tried an ultrasonic ,expensive but no good.

tried mixing in chilepowder, antibiotics...no good

the only thing i can think of is to add some plutonium to the antifouling but cant seem to get hold of any.

one thing that does help is if you tie a black plastic bag to the prop, tried all the prop stuff too and no good.
 
I've used Trilux 33 for the past 4 seasons, a small can lasts me two seasons, I finish up having to scrape it all off the engine and prop and re-prime every year, but it does las the season
 
I seem to recall that Stove Black was very good. Not tried it myself but its one of those things that has stuck in my mind. Zebrite was the stuff, graphite and wax mixture, not available anymore but there are modern equivalents. Black grate polish for example.
http://www.stovax.com/accessories/accessories/care__maintenance_products.aspx
The idea is you start by polishing the prop to a smooth finish and then apply.
 
Stolen from the web.
Searching for the magic potion to keep barnacles off
When barnacles and weed grow on a submerged propeller, its efficiency is greatly reduced. Consequently, boaters experiment with all kinds of paints and potions to keep their propellers free of marine growth.The problem is formidable because no matter what type of coating you put on a propeller, it’s likely to be worn off quickly when the screw starts turning in the water. At high revolutions, a propeller experiences considerable stresses, so much so that its surface can become pitted. Nonetheless, boaters keep searching for the answer.Ironically, most propellers are made of bronze, which contains a large percentage of copper, the basic ingredient in antifouling paint. In theory, then, the propeller itself is biocidal—and it would be in practice, if it were left to itself. Unfortunately, to prevent its gradual erosion through galvanic corrosion, the propeller is almost always furnished with a sacrificial zinc. Although the zinc certainly does a good job of protecting the propeller, it also negates the biocidal properties of the copper. So you are faced with a choice: leave the zinc off the propeller, and the screw will get eaten away slowly, but it will stay clean of barnacles; or protect the propeller with a zinc block and prepare to play host to mollusks and weed.Many owners cannot resist coating the propeller with something before launching the boat for a season afloat. Some swear by Rutland Liquid Stove & Grill Polish; others use axle grease, paraffin wax, beeswax, or anhydrous lanolin. All are effective for a period, but all eventually wear off. Some racing boats kept in warm waters cover their folding propellers with black plastic bags between outings to keep the barnacles off. A crew member is designated to dive overboard to put the bag on after the boat is moored, and (perhaps more importantly) to take the bag off before the boat tries to go anywhere under power.Meanwhile, the rest of us keep hoping that someone, some day, will happen upon the magic formula for a biocidal coating that will stick to a propeller through thick and thin.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/propeller-fouling#ixzz25M6nLcp0
 
Udder cream was suggested to me by a Dutchman, he said it is quite widely used in his area with good results - (any agricultural sundries supply-er)

Interesting article 'Fishermantwo' I have a nice shiny bronze prop, no zinc so hopefully that will reduce the problem also... I have sprayed it with ACF-50 to protect it from the elements whilst on the hard (OK it gives it a nice shine!). ACF-50 can be pretty hard to get off when dried so I am going to leave it on and put udder cream over the top & see what happens.
 
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