Fouling .

[oldgit]

Returned from a trip up to the Thames a day or two ago.
Usually give it a 5 min WOT blast when nearly home.
Max 3000 RPM and 18 knots.
Only on drying blocks in May with new A/F. First run out 3400 and 25 knots.

Boat has been used with around 100 hours since January , quite a few in freshwater.
Back on the blocks for a jetwash again over the weekend.

Worst year for fouling can recall and hopefully still some decent weather to keep on boating .

 

[PaulRainbow]

Returned from a trip up to the Thames a day or two ago.
Usually give it a 5 min WOT blast when nearly home.
Max 3000 RPM and 18 knots.
Only on drying blocks in May with new A/F. First run out 3400 and 25 knots.

Boat has been used with around 100 hours since January , quite a few in freshwater.
Back on the blocks for a jetwash again over the weekend.

Worst year for fouling can recall and hopefully still some decent weather to keep on boating .

Similar results here in Ipswich

 

[rafiki_]

A bit of sunshine encourages white worm casts on the props and stern gear. Kills the efficiency on my Azi.

 

[oldgit]

A considerable number of boats anti-fouled early spring have had to come out again for a jet wash but few short months later.
One boat skipper who decided to add copious amounts of copper powder to the mix found it a complete waste of time/money and considerable effort.
Another who had the underwater sections wrapped with some magic vinyl coating ? , faired no better but alleged the fouling was easier to wash off.
Appears to be mainly weed and slime this time round with barnycules on props and shafts.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Went out for the weekend and 14kts was the best we could do. Although we had been out in April it was obvious we needed a lift and scrub. The very nice people at Suffolk Yacht Harbour did us a Summer special for just £250 (45ft boat), our home marina wanted £400 and that's after a 30% discount for berth holders !!

Never seen so much fouling, not even when she was lifted when we bought her, after being afloat for 2 years.





So many Barnacles in the bow thruster tunnel and on the props it was barely working.

 

[Scubadoo]

Went out for the weekend and 14kts was the best we could do. Although we had been out in April it was obvious we needed a lift and scrub. The very nice people at Suffolk Yacht Harbour did us a Summer special for just £250 (45ft boat), our home marina wanted £400 and that's after a 30% discount for berth holders !!

Never seen so much fouling, not even when she was lifted when we bought her, after being afloat for 2 years.


So many Barnacles in the bow thruster tunnel and on the props it was barely working.

Out of interest, what antifouling did you use and did you change brands this year.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Out of interest, what antifouling did you use and did you change brands this year.

Hempel, same as last year. Guys who did the scrub said they were seeing lots of abnormal fouling this year.

 

[ducked]

 

[oldgit]

Wild guess but 20 or so boats on our blocks earlier this year and about every flavour of A/F been used from really expensive to budget , both hard and soft.... Double coat to " lick and promise" to do it properly next time.
And just in case you thought Vynile or Coppercoat might have fared better....Nope.

Far more likely to have noticed fouling this year were boats which had actually been used.
Do recall a thin line of fine weed present at the waterline on the sunny side of the boat within a few weeks .
Slime on the bottom and barnycules on the stern gear seems to be the norm.

Location tidal pontoons and brackish water, a couple of knots of tide at HWS.
Curiously after a couple of years of prolific oyster growth on piles/pontoons and the bridge starlings at Rochester etc ....now virtually all disappeared.
On blocks HW 07.17. BST Sunday.
£50 a go including use of jetwash and about 8 hours access before your feet get wet.
Picture taken in March 2025.

 

[Hurricane]

No, this is the solution

 

[oldgit]

Going to need a blimming big tooth brush and suspect the bottle on your chandlery shelf might just have a somewhat more substantial price tag ?

 

[Hurricane]

Actually - back to the point.
You guys in the UK don't really know what fouling is.

These pics were taken on the 24th March 2009 during my first lift soon after we arrived in Spain.
The delivery to Spain was late September 2008 so about 6 months later.



There's a stern thruster in there somewhere.


Since then, we have learned how to deal with it but, the UK fouling isn't anything like as significant.
This is how we deal with it - free lift and pressure wash

 

[oldgit]

Blimming heck ..........
05.00............. Just off down to the boat.

 

[ari]

Returned from a trip up to the Thames a day or two ago.
Usually give it a 5 min WOT blast when nearly home.
Max 3000 RPM and 18 knots.
Only on drying blocks in May with new A/F. First run out 3400 and 25 knots.

Back on the blocks for a jetwash again over the weekend.

Is it shaft drive? That's your problem. Five shaft drive boats in our club, down from 45 knots to 4.5 knots within 24 hours. Three are now permanently ashore being used as houseboats and two are for sale but no takers, unsurprisingly.

 

[oldgit]

Is it shaft drive? That's your problem. Five shaft drive boats in our club, down from 45 knots to 4.5 knots within 24 hours. Three are now permanently ashore being used as houseboats and two are for sale but no takers, unsurprisingly.

More Club News.
Waiting for the call to help bring back a F 44 from Eastbourne next week , skipper has just sold his Turbo 36 to another club member who has just sold his cute little Quicksilver .
All shafts of course.

 

[ari]

More Club News.
Waiting for the call to help bring back a F 44 from Eastbourne next week , skipper has just sold his Turbo 36 to another club member who has just sold his cute little Quicksilver .
All shafts of course.

You're right, some people just never learn! Oh well.

 

[Bitter-End]

Actually - back to the point.
You guys in the UK don't really know what fouling is.

These pics were taken on the 24th March 2009 during my first lift soon after we arrived in Spain.
The delivery to Spain was late September 2008 so about 6 months later.

View attachment 197860

There's a stern thruster in there somewhere.
View attachment 197861

Since then, we have learned how to deal with it but, the UK fouling isn't anything like as significant.
This is how we deal with it - free lift and pressure wash

That's 2-3 months of fouling where Live in SE Asia.
Luckily the boat is practically in my back yard where I can keep the worst off when I'm around.
Problem is I'm away for longer periods regularly, so have the yard take care of it every 6 months at least.
No idea what (hard) AF they use, it's nasty stuff, but clearly not up to the task.