fouling in a mud berth

[solent clown]

One of our boats has been moored on the Itchen (solent) since August in drying berth on soft mud.
There is no evidence of fouling whatsoever so far, just the beginnings of a bit of green at the waterline.

I appreciate that summer is likely to be the more "productive" time for the wee beasties, but should I have expected some growth/fouling by now?

Just to add, it is sailed at least once a week normally, and the longest it has stayed still has been under 3 weeks just once

 

[Malabarista]

Hi i found the same thing with BC which was stationary ( mostly) for a year in a mud berth which when lifted had very little to no fouling at all! I had put it down to Coppercoat but maybe it was the mud after all.

 

[Bru]

We get no weed at all but the bottom of the boat below the mud line does get covered in tiny little barnacles

 

[Daverw]

We’re on a tidal mud berth and the hull get scrubbed twice every day, nothing keeps on the hull and very little anti fouling gets used.

 

[Yellow Ballad]

Yup, just a hose and brush to wash off the tiny barnacles when the boat comes out.

 

[seumask]

Is it possible that the effect of the river water diluting the salty sea also reduces the fouling. Are the structures around such as pontoon posts etc. fouled above the Mud in your mooring area?

 

[Bobc]

From reading the headline, my initial response was to tell you that it's not ok to take a dump over the side ;-)

Then I read the post content, and...

Most of the worst fouling (barnies) do their damage later spring/early summer. I seem to remember when we had a boat at Kemps on the mud that it didn't get too much on it.

 

[[70521]]

The growth can't cope with no oxygen for several hours a day!

 

[solent clown]

From reading the headline, my initial response was to tell you that it's not ok to take a dump over the side ;-)

Then I read the post content, and...

Most of the worst fouling (barnies) do their damage later spring/early summer. I seem to remember when we had a boat at Kemps on the mud that it didn't get too much on it.

We are opposite Kemps!

 

[solent clown]

Is it possible that the effect of the river water diluting the salty sea also reduces the fouling. Are the structures around such as pontoon posts etc. fouled above the Mud in your mooring area?

Very little fouling.
This boat has no antifouling on it at all, Just red oxide paint. We didn't bother as this was the boat that was holed hauling it onto the trailer and sunk. I just patched it and chucked it back in the water to test it - and since then we have just kept using it.
Looking around the yard, frankly nothing seems to be fouled, just black with mud when it is hauled out.
This boat is so light, and the stubby skeg keel so fat I can see just about every inch of the hull when it dries out. Only thing that seems obvious is the abrasion of the mud has worn the paint at the aft end of the keel.
I suppose spring will be the tester.

 

[oldharry]

Interesting this: my boat floats in soupy mud at lw, and fouling is extreme. I have tried almost all the antifoulings, and none of them work for more than a couple of months, particularly on the underside of the boat where it sits in the mud. Barnacles are rife, as well as a range of other nameless marine life. For years i have had to scrub every 2 - 3 months as fouling gets so bad it drops the speed by up to 25%. Ive never seen anything like it anywhere else, and it is so bad I am seriously considering moving elsewhere. Sad, as its only a 1.5 miles from my front door. anywhere else means getting the car out! I'm in Prinstead Creek in Chichester Harbour.

 

[solent clown]

Interesting this: my boat floats in soupy mud at lw, and fouling is extreme. I have tried almost all the antifoulings, and none of them work for more than a couple of months, particularly on the underside of the boat where it sits in the mud. Barnacles are rife, as well as a range of other nameless marine life. For years i have had to scrub every 2 - 3 months as fouling gets so bad it drops the speed by up to 25%. Ive never seen anything like it anywhere else, and it is so bad I am seriously considering moving elsewhere. Sad, as its only a 1.5 miles from my front door. anywhere else means getting the car out! I'm in Prinstead Creek in Chichester Harbour.

Chichester is famously bad for fouling, this same boat we bought from a mooring in Chichester, when we got it out of the water it had an all over beard 6 inches to a foot long, and about a billion barnacles.
I guess we are just fortunate being so far upriver and on a berth that dries. This is one of the compromises I suppose, mud berth = prisoner of the tide times, but seems cleaner!

 

[Stemar]

an all over beard 6 inches to a foot long, and about a billion barnacles.

Sounds like Jissel! We're on a drying mooring in Portsmouth Harbour, off Quay Lane and I've given up on antifoul because it's a waste of money. I get a but of weed around the waterline, but a nationally significant population of barnacles plus a hoard of those things that look like second hand condoms.

I just scrub off 2-3 times a season, which is cheap using the club scrubbing grid and isn't too bad to do using a garage crawler between the keels