JulianP
New member
Hi everybody, this is my first post here. After reading USAF posts over the past 18 months, I decided to write about my experience. I have a 22' Center Console boat which sits on a mooring in Sydney, Australia. It is in warm, shallow water near the beach, and barnacles were becoming the bane of my life. Standard antifouling paint lasted 6-8 months, and by 12 months I could not get the boat on the plane. Only regular scrubs from professional divers made yearly antifouling possible. Understandably, I jumped when Jaycar advertised its USAF kit for $249. I must have been one of the first people to buy and fit one.
Anyhow, this is my pictorial story:
This is ROMA II
I last antifouled it on February 2010. For those who are skeptical, here is the receipt:
On 6th January 2011, the professional diver gave me this report. As you can see, the hull had hard and heavy growth, and the antifouling was now gone from some areas. The guy called me and told me to get the boat antifouled, as it would be too hard to clean it again next time.
Here is the report:
Three days later I installed the Jaycar USAF at the rear, close to the transom. Here is a picture of the transducer:
The control box was placed nearby, close to the battery. I installed a 40W solar panel, as the boat was on a mooring.
On 2 November 2011, eleven months later (and 21 months after the last antifouling), I had the boat on the slip and I quickly took a few photos with my iPhone. The result was so good, I nearly cried. Previously it only took 12 months for the hull to be covered by barnacles, oysters, mussels, sponges, coral and a surrounding ecosystem of crabs, funny looking worms and so on.
This is the boat from the front:
Viewed from the rear, I found no hard growth. The soft growth was visible in a few places, and could easily be removed with a finger nail or brush:
Most of the soft growth was near the transom, particularly on the bung. I wonder whether being plastic, rather than fibreglass, it dampened the ultrasound waves:
Here is a close-up of the growth:
Overall, I am really, really happy with the result.
Now for the problems:
1. The USAF drains the battery, and the 40W solar panel is not enough to keep the battery adequately charged. The regulator cuts off the USAF before the voltage drops too far, so the battery is not ruined. When I want to go out on the boat, I turn off the USAF and wait 15 mins for the panel to put some juice back into the battery. The motor, a 90HP Evinrude Etec then starts well.
2. Does the USAF harm marine life? They say no, but when I installed it I dived under the hull to see if I could hear anything. When closer than 20cm, I heard an ear-splitting high-pitch sound, probably transmitted through the skull rather than ear drums. I moved away quickly but I suffered tinnitus (ringing in both ears) for the next 24hours. It was highly unpleasant, and I won't be doing it again. It was like the day after a rock concert, but worse.
In conclusion: I'm happy, and maybe a bit deaf, but I believe the USAF has already paid for itself.
JulianP
Anyhow, this is my pictorial story:
This is ROMA II
I last antifouled it on February 2010. For those who are skeptical, here is the receipt:
On 6th January 2011, the professional diver gave me this report. As you can see, the hull had hard and heavy growth, and the antifouling was now gone from some areas. The guy called me and told me to get the boat antifouled, as it would be too hard to clean it again next time.
Here is the report:
Three days later I installed the Jaycar USAF at the rear, close to the transom. Here is a picture of the transducer:
The control box was placed nearby, close to the battery. I installed a 40W solar panel, as the boat was on a mooring.
On 2 November 2011, eleven months later (and 21 months after the last antifouling), I had the boat on the slip and I quickly took a few photos with my iPhone. The result was so good, I nearly cried. Previously it only took 12 months for the hull to be covered by barnacles, oysters, mussels, sponges, coral and a surrounding ecosystem of crabs, funny looking worms and so on.
This is the boat from the front:
Viewed from the rear, I found no hard growth. The soft growth was visible in a few places, and could easily be removed with a finger nail or brush:
Most of the soft growth was near the transom, particularly on the bung. I wonder whether being plastic, rather than fibreglass, it dampened the ultrasound waves:
Here is a close-up of the growth:
Overall, I am really, really happy with the result.
Now for the problems:
1. The USAF drains the battery, and the 40W solar panel is not enough to keep the battery adequately charged. The regulator cuts off the USAF before the voltage drops too far, so the battery is not ruined. When I want to go out on the boat, I turn off the USAF and wait 15 mins for the panel to put some juice back into the battery. The motor, a 90HP Evinrude Etec then starts well.
2. Does the USAF harm marine life? They say no, but when I installed it I dived under the hull to see if I could hear anything. When closer than 20cm, I heard an ear-splitting high-pitch sound, probably transmitted through the skull rather than ear drums. I moved away quickly but I suffered tinnitus (ringing in both ears) for the next 24hours. It was highly unpleasant, and I won't be doing it again. It was like the day after a rock concert, but worse.
In conclusion: I'm happy, and maybe a bit deaf, but I believe the USAF has already paid for itself.
JulianP
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