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

botheras said:
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
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The only bit I don't understand is "...scrape it off the engine." What's it doing on the engine please, or have you got a stern drive or leg?
 
wotayottie said:
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.
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I'm fairly sure that 'red lead' paint has not contained any lead for decades. Withdrawn on safety grounds. But I'm not sure that lead is poisonous to marine organisms anyway. Mankind had access to lead before it had copper but there seems to be no history of its use as an antifouling.
 
botheras said:
that's the sort of response you get when I'm working 12 hr nights... I meant shaft and prop...
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I wasn't trying to be smart and I genuinely wondered if you had a stern drive of some sort of leg. I am following this thread as I have exactly the same problem with fouling. I polished the prop until it was like a mirror and it's now covered in barnacles. I've never painted it with A/F but I think might try the spray Trilux if I can't get anything better.
 
Can't offer you a solution only an observation. I keep my boat in Chi Marina where, I'm guessing due to the brackish water, the tube worm is a real pain. For the last 6 years I've had a Kiwi prop. The boats around me have had problems with their props but not once has it bothered me. For the few not in the know, the Kiwi has a stainless hub and plastic blades. For the first couple of years I didn't even anti foul it, but after that I used International Trilux on it. This year I changed props to a Flexofold and bingo!!!! She went in the water March and by mid August the prop resembled a marine conservation zone. I pulled into Cowes motoring at a maximum of 3 knots. The divers who sorted it out said they had never seen anything like it and it was lucky I could motor at all. So there you have it. Maybe the little darlings don't like plastic or s/s or maybe I've just been lucky. I don' know.
 
billmacfarlane said:
Can't offer you a solution only an observation. I keep my boat in Chi Marina where, I'm guessing due to the brackish water, the tube worm is a real pain. For the last 6 years I've had a Kiwi prop. The boats around me have had problems with their props but not once has it bothered me. For the few not in the know, the Kiwi has a stainless hub and plastic blades. For the first couple of years I didn't even anti foul it, but after that I used International Trilux on it.
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I think you were lucky, or maybe regular use is the key. I have a friend in Chi whose boat has a kiwi prop and he tried to leave his pontoon a week or two ago after a few weeks of non-activity and found the boat barely controlable, and 2kts flat out. On getting lifted, his prop was a mass of coral worm.
 
Only thing that seems to work is regular use of the engine.

So, if the boat is moored in a tidal stream, would leaving the gearbox in neutral and letting the prop spin help? Presumably barnacles attach as larvae of some sort and are vulnerable at this stage.

Not suggesting actually doing this as it would wear the gearbox.
 
Fresh Water?

Hi

If you can moor your boat in a river for a few days the fresh water should get rid of a lot of fouling. Mine had a beard that seemed like a mile long, left it in the canals and when I lifted her she'd lost all the marine growth. Didn't even need to scrape...:D

Cheers
 
john_morris_uk said:
I wasn't trying to be smart and I genuinely wondered if you had a stern drive of some sort of leg. I am following this thread as I have exactly the same problem with fouling. I polished the prop until it was like a mirror and it's now covered in barnacles. I've never painted it with A/F but I think might try the spray Trilux if I can't get anything better.
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I just use brush on, because I'm too mean...
 
prop shield

Used prop shield for the last 4 years - always keep the prop clear for 12-18 months. I would recommend it if you can stand the price!
 
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