Hull cleaning whilst still in the water?

[Ianqv]

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend any devices or gadgets for giving a yacht hull a clean whilst still in the water.
I recently purchased a telescopic broom (on special offer from force4 for £14.99 at the moment) and it is fantastic!!
However, due to it's length I can only get a couple of feet down below the waterline. So it got me wondering if there are
any products out there which can get further down?

As always…. Many thanks in advance!

Ian

 

[awol]

A diver?

 

[Jamesuk]

I clean off the Dufour 30 every 2 weeks here in the med with a sponge.

 

[colingr]

Mask snorkel and fins and some safety lines if the current is running.

 

[bbg]

Try a boat floss:

This one is astroturf, with a bit of wood at each end to hold it flat and a rope to saw it back and forth. Best with two people. Start at the keel and work towards the ends.

HEALTH WARNING - this is very hard on antifoul, particularly soft antifoul. Might be best to do it just before lift out.
- you will need to remove your paddlewheel transducer
- won't reach everywhere

 

[Searush]

Simply dry out - against a wall or pole if keelboat, or on a sand bank if twin keels & then use a yard brush before the last foot or so of tide disappears. I do it before each summer holiday.

 

[ianat182]

Even simpler buy a length of white UPVC tubing 2.5 metres from B&Q or Wickes and tape your existing brush handle inside about 18". This will let you reach down to the bottom of the keel and will bend under the hull too, being buoyant helps. If too bendy put the broom handle inside further. I do mine from the dinghy and have the rowlock as a support when using it. Once a fortnight should keep the hull clean, but too much pressure will remove a soft anti-fouling.

ianat182

 

[sailorman]

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend any devices or gadgets for giving a yacht hull a clean whilst still in the water.
I recently purchased a telescopic broom (on special offer from force4 for £14.99 at the moment) and it is fantastic!!
However, due to it's length I can only get a couple of feet down below the waterline. So it got me wondering if there are
any products out there which can get further down?

As always…. Many thanks in advance!

Ian

Hull Maid is the item you want & will soon be marketed again

 

[ChrisJBSC]

A long brush...
A C-Pole (https://bystig.com/?lang=en)...
Hull Maid (that doesn't seem to be available)…
A piece of astro turf...

Apart from the using scrubbing posts or a lift out, is there anything else available for "normal" fibreglass boats?

Does CopperCoat reduce the need to scrub? Or just make it easier when you do?

 

[colind3782]

I use a Scrubbis and it keeps it under control. The replacement heads are a bit expensive at around £50, considering what they are.

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

I have a Brizo(Hull Mate?). Clears most of the slime and will go down to the foot of the keel. Very easy, though, to get it stuck between the prop shaft and the skeg so that area does not get “done”.

 

[BelleSerene]

Fred Drift perhaps, but I was sailing in Sydney Harbour over a couple of September weekends while there on business, and I was amazed at the cottage industry in diver boatscrubs. Fully clad divers do a boat on her moorings for AUD $50-100 for say 27’ to 45’ yachts. That’s about £25-50. The keen racers use the service once a month, and apparently the well heeled and ubercompetitive rent a diver before every race.

I wondered why we didn’t have the service on the same scale here. Perhaps the biggest reason is Elfin Safety as policed by harbour masters.

 

[upcountry2]

I have a Brizo(Hull Mate?). Clears most of the slime and will go down to the foot of the keel. Very easy, though, to get it stuck between the prop shaft and the skeg so that area does not get “done”.

I have one of these, very good they are too, boatlesss at the moment so prepared to let it go.
Little used, spare head unused, comes with storage bag etc.
PM me if interested....

 

[Yngmar]

Does CopperCoat reduce the need to scrub? Or just make it easier when you do?

Yes, both. You only get a slime layer, which scrubs off easily with a brush. Although after visiting the Aeolian islands, we had a sprinkling of small black barnacles around the centerline of the boat. I blame it on the funky volcanic waters there (hot springs, sulfuric acid outflows, floating pumice fields, etc). The barnies do however also seemed to struggle adhering to the Coppercoat, so popped right off with the plastic edge of the brush and then one brush stroke removed the leftover "cement".

It's quite fun scrubbing in the warm, clear waters of the Med. Often you attract a swarm of small fish around you. Also, a perfectly clean hull helps a lot with the light air sailing (or fuel efficient motoring).

 

[MikeCC]

Fred Drift perhaps, but I was sailing in Sydney Harbour over a couple of September weekends while there on business, and I was amazed at the cottage industry in diver boatscrubs. Fully clad divers do a boat on her moorings for AUD $50-100 for say 27’ to 45’ yachts. That’s about £25-50. The keen racers use the service once a month, and apparently the well heeled and ubercompetitive rent a diver before every race.

I wondered why we didn’t have the service on the same scale here. Perhaps the biggest reason is Elfin Safety as policed by harbour masters.

Diver scrub on the mooring in Exmouth is around £80 for 30-34ft.

 

[Astron]

Hull Maid is the item you want & will soon be marketed again

The Hull Maid now goes under the name of Brizo Hull Cleaner - Brizo was / is the brand name and is now available again. Forum rules say I should not post a link but if you do a Google search for Brizo hull cleaner it should come up, possibly the replacement heads page but you can click through on the menu. Essex based so not far away. If you do a more general internet search you should pick up lots of positive comments and there are a few you tube videos to explain how it works. Replacement heads can be bought through the home site or Ebay.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

A long brush...
A C-Pole (https://bystig.com/?lang=en)...
Hull Maid (that doesn't seem to be available)…
A piece of astro turf...

Apart from the using scrubbing posts or a lift out, is there anything else available for "normal" fibreglass boats?

Does CopperCoat reduce the need to scrub? Or just make it easier when you do?

This is my boat that was treated with Coppercoat in 2014, and this was taken immediately after she was lifted for the first time since then in March this year. She did have a passage through fresh water in 2016. As you can see, for 4 years without attention, that's pretty good!

 

[bluerm166]

Anyone with a fully lifting keel such as a Parker Seal,Jeanneau 2000, might consider making up a 'keel hauling' device as shown here.Composed of 50mm closed cell polystyrene sandwiched within 6mm. ply strengthening plates and faced with a pair of scrubbing pads.A short cord bridle and line each side allows it to be passed under the hull between two people and drawn progressively down the hull working side to side as it presses firmly upwards.
Seems to work on our boat for a mid season spruce up and useful where you have no pontoon to work from.Obviously can't deal with the tunnel/skeg area,but easier than trying to apply upward pressure while standing in the shallows.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/heQYDYf5h5YXeV1AA