Lanolin

[carlton]

.........applied to outdrives, props and trim-tabs.

Very easy to apply ( - Mrs. carlton did it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif - )It's a bit messy, but should provide better results than that £20 per tin Trilux rubbish. I'll report back next year when she's next lifted. (The boat - not Mrs. carlton).

 

[Gludy]

It will work fine and just as good as the £20 per tin stuff
A few of us on the forum use it all the time.

 

[carlton]

Thanks Gludy - that will provide comfort to my very "sticky" SWMBO ! Although "just as good" denotes it'll be [--word removed--] !!!

After one or two months the drives appeared as though they'd never been antifouled with Trilux - hence the change to lanolin.

 

[Powersalt]

hey can you use this on shafts, rudders and props. Mine foul up very quickly

 

[carlton]

Yes you can. You can see my SS props covered in it in the pic above.

 

[Gludy]

Yes- I have used it for years on all those bits - it works on the lot.
Appl;y with a gas torch to make it runny - its a messy job but worth it.
Cost about £7 per pot from any chemist.

 

[carlton]

[ QUOTE ]
Apply with a gas torch to make it runny

[/ QUOTE ]

- or you can do it the way I/SWMBO did, using two coats.

Mix a bit of lanolin with white spirit - slap it on with a brush. It dissolves easily and soon dries. Then, take a metal canister, stand it in a pan of boiling water, chuck in some lanolin (it looks like pink coloured lard, for want of a better description), stir it as it melts, and slap it on again for the second coat. It solidifies almost as soon as it contacts the drive/tab/prop/whatever, but you can't put too much on. It is very easy to apply, and - unlike the proprietary brands, should work well.

I understand it's been used with great success for hundreds of years in some far-flung Johnny-foreigner place, so I have high hopes...................we'll see.

 

[nonitoo]

How often do you have to reapply it during the season.

Tom

 

[Gludy]

Over the last seven years I have applied it once a year but once reapplied it when the boat came out twice in one year.

 

[DavidJ]

Last year I applied it while the props were under water (with the stern drive raised and me hanging over the bathing platform) The props (SS) need a good clean with green scouring pad then it sticks on well albeit a bit messy.
Great result!

 

[carlton]

David - does this mean that your props are still free of any growth whatsoever - and, when you say "last year", exactly how long ago would that have been ? (i.e., 12 months ago/18 months ago, etc.)

 

[AdeOlly]

It's good stuff. I've used it this season and I've only had a bit of patchy light weed growth on the outdrives which falls away easily. I didn't try it on the props as I ran out of the stuff, and they fouled badly between outings.

I'll try and get a piccy with the underwater camera next time I'm down.

 

[whisper]

There must be a knack in the application as I've tried it twice and it was useless.
GOD I hate being such a FAILURE!!! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[DavidJ]

[ QUOTE ]
David - does this mean that your props are still free of any growth whatsoever - and, when you say "last year", exactly how long ago would that have been ? (i.e., 12 months ago/18 months ago, etc.)

[/ QUOTE ]
OK! a bit more explanation me thinks.
I visit my boat in the Med every couple of months in the summer. During that time barnacles grow on the SS props which, when I come to take it out, is like 80% of my horsepower has been taken away. So the applicaction of lanoline was to eliminate the barnacle build up while the boat is sitting doing nothing, which it has succeeded in doing very effectively. I would have thought though that as soon as the props start to whirl that most of it would come off so I have no expectation that it's a just once a season activity. My expectation is that I will have to give the props a "dollop" every time I leave it to come back home.

 

[raven]

Coincidentally, we were discussing this a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine mentioned that he uses lanolin for a wide range of boat-based applications. However he used something called "Wool Fat" that he obtains from a chemist. It is apparently 100% lanolin and performs better than lanolin based greases.

 

[DavidJ]

[ QUOTE ]
something called "Wool Fat" that he obtains from a chemist. It is apparently 100% lanolin and performs better than lanolin based greases.

[/ QUOTE ]
...this is what I use, I think the other stuff is harder and in consequence may have better clinging on properties. Incidently I get mine through an internet company and only get blank looks from the chemist when I ask...do you know which chemist group your friend uses?

 

[kindredspirit]

I heat it in a saucepan and give the sterngear and props a good plastering fast before it hardens again.

Last year the lanolined sterngear was perfect when the boat was lifted out in the autumn. Boat hasn't been lifted this year yet but I noticed some weed growth when I was moored in a different location for a couple of months. So maybe, the success of lanolin will vary from place to place.

 

[Gludy]

Lanolin is Wool Fat - sounds as if some may be using the wrong thing - it very thick and almost impossoble to spread at normal temperatures - you should only use 100% wool fat

 

[carlton]

This is what I used;

You can get it here (and other places, I'm sure);

http://www.prop-protector.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=99

 

[Skyva_2]

Propshield does contain lanolin, I used it on a Gori prop last March and am hoping it works. I'll find out when the boat is lifted. The red colour identifies it. But it's £35.00 a tin compared to about £7.00 for pure lanolin from a pharmacist.

I tried pure lanolin on a previous boat and it worked up to a point. Mind, it keeps your hands very soft....