Cleaning the Hull in the Water

[comino]

Just arrived back in Malta where the boat has been left in the water all winter. The hull is very slimy but, unlike Gibraltar last year, there doesn't appear to be any weed hanging off. I'm tempted, therefore, to get a diver to do a scrub and change the anodes, rather than haul her out. It's not cheap to get boats lifted in this neck of the woods. So, I guess my question is – are there any reasons I've overlooked as to why this isn't a good idea. Thanks.

 

[ip485]

I cant think of any. I have "dived" with and without tanks and cleaned the bottom many times. Not that you are doing it yourself but if you were I find a very light tide running is no bad thing as it takes away the cloud of anti fouling.

I havent tried replacing the anodes underwater - I would guess you need reasonably visibility and give the socket wrench a good rinse after use!

 

[grafozz]

I jump in with a pan scourer , it removes slime very well .
and to delay the anode replacement , and during the winter anyway ,
just buy a large bolt on anode ,wire it to the boat earth and hang it over the side .
it prolongs the life of the saildrive anodes .

 

[tri39]

To be honest if you're in a marina in harbour I'd just do what you can with a long handled brush from a dinghy!!
AF should not be ingested!! It's not far to Tunisia for a cheaper haul out.

 

[Annabell]

There is no need for a haul out. I cleaned my hull and changed anodes many times using tanks.

 

[geem]

There is no need for a haul out. I cleaned my hull and changed anodes many times using tanks.

We are taking dive gear with us when we head off. Bottom is Copper coated so we don't need to lift. Anodes can be changed in the water.

 

[TQA]

I clean my own hull using snorkel gear from the surface without having to dive.

8 in scraper for barnacles and coral. Brush or green pad for slime and weed. Both mounted on an 8 ft pole. As others say best to do it somewhere there is a slight current. You may also find yourself very popular with small fish having a free lunch.

44 ft hull 1/2 hr per side.

Shower immediately after paying close attention to creases and important little places.

 

[Tony Cross]

You might want to check with the marina whether you can do that. Some don't like you cleaning underwater hulls in the marina and many will insist you have to use their divers. Of course, if you bugger off for the day and anchor somewhere then why not?

 

[colind3782]

I'm thinking of getting a Brizo Hullmate for that job. I know there have been threads in the past about them but I wonder if everyone still thinks they're VFM?

 

[OldBawley]

For years I have been cleaning our hull snorkelling.

Getting older, the job becomes more difficult and furthermore one of a few thing that keeps on growing is my nose. The problem is grown so big that no dive mask fits any more. That way a bit of water always comes in the mask.
Two years ago we applied Coppercoat.
No more growth, but the hull accumulates “Slime” After winter, that slime ( Mud ) is about 2 to 3 mm thick. It can be easy brushed of even under water.
To limit the time I have to put my nose in the water ( and water in my nose ) I would like to build a hull trimmer. If I could put my hands on a thrown away grass trimmer I could mount a round brush on it and my 12V electrical drilling machine on the other side.
There is a repair shop for machines like that in the village, but the owner is Greek and refuses to sell me anything except a new one.

 

[Steve C Cronin]

The Gouvia diver did ours a couple of years ago on our berth. Cost €50 but this was offset as he also found my dropped RayBans!

 

[Tranona]

I jump in with a pan scourer , it removes slime very well .
and to delay the anode replacement , and during the winter anyway ,
just buy a large bolt on anode ,wire it to the boat earth and hang it over the side .
it prolongs the life of the saildrive anodes .

Not a good idea. Connecting to the "boat earth" - whatever that is - will do nothing. If the anode is to a saildrive then it needs to be connected direct to the saildrive housing as this is normally isolated electrically from the engine. If the hanging anode is to supplement or replace a hull anode then it needs to be connected to the same bonding circuit as the existing anode.