Diver Wanted - Port Solent

[Playtime]

Can anyone recommend a diver near to Port Solent?

I have a distinct lack of thrust that is almost certainly due to a badly fouled prop.

 

[lw395]

RS Divers in Old Portsmouth
023 93 190 409

Andark Burseldon?

 

[PlankWalker]

Have you thought about popping across the harbor to Hardway and leaning on their piles for a tide.
It will cost you £10, bring a stripping knife and scotch pad.

Plank

 

[GrahamM376]

PlankWalker's suggestion is best. Because of safety regs., professional divers are expensive whereas an amateur padi or bsac friend will clean your prop for a pint or three in the pub.

 

[lw395]

Presumably if the OP was able to proceed to Hardway, he wouldn't be wanting a diver?
Other possibilities might be a tow to Wicor or Portchester.
Or of course a quick lift at Port Solent.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

A few problems, as said a pro and his standby will cost more than a lift, even if you could get a local amateur to do it and many would be willing your marina will almost certainly prohibit it H&S and insist on a pro and the paperwork. If it's only lack of thrust a slow journey to the piles is the answer unless you either suspect or can see a rope if so then a lift is probably the best answer or if you are brave and fit enough a mask and snorkel.

 

[Playtime]

Thanks for the responses so far.

Regarding using RS Divers, they have provided an email quote of £150 for a photographic inspection. As said, they are a professional outfit and have to obey the rules etc. with corresponding costs to cover.

A lift and hold at Port Solent will be just over £200 taking account of bertholder's rates and the special October discount.

I have used Hardway for antifouling a previous boat. However, I have been warned that the previous version of my boat (a Hanse) has a tendency to be bow heavy and had to abort a SeaLift attempt at Haslar. This makes me nervous to use the piles.

I am still hoping for a friendly non-commercial diver to appear and would be happy to slip him a few brown notes (and a pint) as a thank you. If Port Solent H&S is likely to be a problem I could move the boat (slowly!) to a more amenable location somewhere in the harbour.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Well £150 for basically an inspection is quite cheap for a pro but it's just that an inspection no work even if it's just a quick scrape with a knife to remove some weed and barnacles the lift out offers better value. If you are worried about being nose heavy fill your water tanks and fuel tank assuming they are aft of the keel and move everything you can, anchor and chain obviously to the stern.

 

[longjohnsilver]

£150 to take a photo!! As a favour I've cleaned hulls for a fraction of that price. I'd recommend you find a friendly local diver and move the boat to somewhere he can work. I did my props a few weeks ago, 10 mins work each. Easy job.

 

[lw395]

Any chance of getting an underwater camera on a stick to see what the problem is?
I would be concerned if the fouling was rope which might jam solid and rip the p-bracket off for instance...
If it's just weed, then the hull will want a pressure wash too?

I expect RS would do the work when they inspected if feasible, but they won't know what the problem is until they look...
If the boat is bow heavy, drying on a slipway might work well?

 

[girlofwight]

FWIW I've paid £150+vat=£180 in Cowes for both a prop inspection last season, and this season a mid year hull clean, 42'

So your quite looks reasonable for a professional, and to me it's money well spent for an easy life.

 

[Aeolus]

Have you thought of using the sealift in Haslar - even with limited thrust you should be able to get there with a favourable tide. Not sure how pricy it would be but might be worth a phone cail.

 

[Playtime]

Have you thought of using the sealift in Haslar

Yes but as stated in #7 there is a problem using Sealift with a Hanse yacht. Apparently they are stern heavy (I incorrectly suggested bow heavy in #7) and Sealift do not recommend it.

In the absence of a friendly diver it will have to be a lift and hold in Port Solent.

 

[sgr143]

I cleaned mine up a couple of weeks ago with a paint scraper using a facemask and snorkel (and wetsuit) . In about 15 minutes I'd removed all of the weed (there was lots- the prop itself was barely visible when I started) and most of the harder growth. I could have spent longer at it and done a fuller job, but I wanted to go sailing that day! I deemed it good enough to last till the end of the season, or until I felt like another little swim.

Top tips: wear thick gloves: barnacles are bloody sharp if your hand slips... And have an assistant on board to take the prop in and out of gear as needed: trying to scrape a freely spinning prop is an exercise in frustration.

Steve

 

[Playtime]

I cleaned mine up a couple of weeks ago with a paint scraper using a facemask and snorkel (and wetsuit) .
Steve

Maybe you could show me next time you're down this way. I can't put my head underwater as I have a perforated eardrum.

 

[Yngmar]

The water is still warm - anchor out on a calm day and hop in!

I did on a flat calm August day. My diving equipment consists of a mask, gloves and foam earplugs (to keep floating crud and baby crabs out of orifices - might even keep your leaky eardrum dry).

Or head over to Brighton. Bring anchor and calm seas.

 

[sgr143]

I did on a flat calm August day[/URL].

Like it! Especially Mr. Red Squidgy on the log. I realise now that maybe I shouldn't have given my diving kit away when I retired from that particular caper... My breath holding is not what it was.

Steve

 

[Skylark]

Suggest that you go to the British Sub Aqua Club website and find the contact details for the nearest branch. Give the person a call and explain your predicament. One of the reasons I started sailing about 20 years ago was that, as a BSAC diver, I was asked to clear some monofilament nylon from around a prop.

Recreational divers tend to be very friendly and helpful.

 

[Playtime]

Couldn't get hold of a recreational diver so finally had the boat lifted at Port Solent. The yard had some trouble securing the aft strop in the right place, not too surprising when the full horror of the 'attachments' was revealed - see photos below! No wonder we were having thrust problems.
There were 5 home made lobster pots attached to the keel each filled with concrete and weighing upwards of 20 kgs on long polypropylene lines that had wrapped themselves around the bulbed keel. The longest line was nearly 10 metres, which explains why the thrust problem was most noticeable in shallower water - we were dragging them along the seabed.
We must have picked up the pots when we were anchored between Fishbourne and Osborne Bay a few weeks ago for the grand kids to have a swim. There was nothing visible on the surface and we subsequently found no floating buoy attached - the polypropylene was line was probably floating just below the surface. Subsequent manoeurvring wrapped it around the keel above the bulb so there was no chance of freeing itself. We subsequently towed this lot around the Solent for at least 10 miles before deciding we really had a problem!
Apart from the original pick-up I think we were extremely lucky not to end up anchored to the seabed or fouling the prop.

 

[Just_sayin']

Looking even more on the bright side, your antifoul seems to be working