fouling and weed growth worse than ever on the Crouch?

Burnham Bob

Burnham Bob

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Been away for a couple of weeks but on the first outing the boat was really sluggish. We're on a swinging morring and talking to another forumite this morning he reckons his boat has fouled up faster than usual. Anyone else noticed it? Maybe it;s the hot weather but having been in for part of April, May and now all June it still seems a bit early to need a scrub.
 
Not taken too many out yet this season, still putting them in.

However the four or five boats we have lifted in the last couple of weeks all had a waterline grass skirt and mainly slime on the bottom.
A cat which had been copper coated was the worse and my guess is the fishing boat that has been in since last October was best which had seajet.
I hear on the grape vine that International Cruiser Uno is doing well this year although this could be because the price is pretty good.

I'm going to try Jotun Mare Nostrum this year on mine. The Seajet is just too dear for my liking these days.
 
You lucky people in the marina benefit from everyone else's antifoul - the hole marina is toxic and barnacles cough when they go past the yellow buoy outside! Fouling is always worse on the river on a swinging mooring but this year does seem worse than ever
 
Burnham Bob said:
You lucky people in the marina benefit from everyone else's antifoul - the hole marina is toxic and barnacles cough when they go past the yellow buoy outside! Fouling is always worse on the river on a swinging mooring but this year does seem worse than ever
Click to expand...

Hoiked the RIB out yesterday for the first time in weeks and has it ever got a thriving colony of barnacles on the bottom of the tubes. Not much weed though
 
Went over the side to check the prop - the odd barnacle but not too bad. However the rudder and the bottom of the boat were thick with a slimy but solid mat of weed. It came off easily enough but was so thick that a scrub is the only solution. Apparently lots of people are complaining about the weed this year.
Luckily SWMBO wasn't with me as when I came out I was covered with a moving army of wriggling tiny shrimp like creatures!
 
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Beached and scrubbed off today. Coating of small barnacles all over underside GRP and inside keels. A line of weed half way down each keel.
Blackwater half tide mooring.
Barnacle food was Seajet hard.

Unc
 
Burnham Bob said:
Went over the side to check the prop - the odd barnacle but not too bad. However the rudder and the bottom of the boat were thick with a slimy but solid mat of weed. It came off easily enough but was so thick that a scrub is the only solution. Apparently lots of people are complaining about the weed this year.
Luckily SWMBO wasn't with me as when I came out I was covered with a moving army of wriggling tiny shrimp like creatures!
Click to expand...

Could you see the prop, or were you using BSL?

The underwater visibility in Brightlingsea appears to approx 1.5mm. I have dive kit and am contemplating a drop over the side at slack water to have a nose around, but I suspect that it may need to be outside of Brightlingsea harbour if I am to see anything at all.

In relation to the weed, ours seems to be blooming earlier than usual too. I have tried to work our reasons over the years but none of my correlations seem to really stand the test of time.
 
Burnham Bob said:
You lucky people in the marina benefit from everyone else's antifoul - the hole marina is toxic and barnacles cough when they go past the yellow buoy outside! Fouling is always worse on the river on a swinging mooring but this year does seem worse than ever
Click to expand...

I think that as well as the toxicity caused by the number of boats anti foul in Burnham Yacht Harbour stopping fouling , the amount of fresh water draining into into the marina from land drains alters the salinity which helps to stop growth.

I have just been lifted out after 12 months afloat, apart from the prop there was just slime. No weed or barnacles. When on a swinging mooring on the river, I had to scrub at least once and often twice in a season.

I have used FLAG performance extra (not to be confused with the standard flag antifouling) with good results even when i was on a swinging mooring .
 
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At Mersea we have divers available who perform a number of scrubs per season for about the same price as a lift. Gladys was done last week and the report was AF (Seajet Shogun) doing its job, with slime dropping off, one or two barnacles on prop removed (silicon based Prop SHield, not Lanolin Prop Shield). As has been said here before there can be considerable differences in a single location, so at Mersea, differencees between Salcott, Thorn and Mersea Fleets
 
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