Mysterious marks appearing on yacht hulls.

[celandine]

Many of the yachts that I lift out for winter storage have mysterious marks below the water line. These consist of numerous parallel lines, always 3 to 5 ins long that look as though someone has repeatedly wiped the hull with two fingers pressed together. They appear all over the hull in a random pattern, and range in number from a few to hundreds. There is no damage, the marks being made only by the removal of slime and weed. All the boats which show this have come from swinging moorings on the Medway Estuary.
Has anyone else seen these, and does anyone know what causes them? My guess is that they are made by grey mullet feeding on the algae.

Mick.

 

[ccscott49]

Almost certainly Mullet, I have the same marks in the med and have seen them making them, when inspecting my anchor with diving gear on.

 

[Ohdrat]

Re: Grey Mullet

mmmm think this could be the way forward.. picture a lock system .. salt water.. Grey mullet tank.. boats sail in and clean the boat.. boat sails out.. next boat in...

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Grey Mullet

You're going to need a bunch of mullet, they don't work very fast!! But great idea!

 

[FlyingSpud]

Re: Grey Mullet

Or we could all have our own Mullet, with a lead round its neck and the other end tied to the pulpit.
Then we could have rows about whether your Bavarian Mullet are worse than my classic Mullet

 

[billmacfarlane]

Any good to eat ?

I've caught a few from my boat in Chi but as I was told they're not good to eat I threw them back . Anyone ever ate one ?

 

[whisper]

Re: Any good to eat ?

Regrettably not, they taste of antifouling and weed!

 

[petery]

Re: Any good to eat ?

You were lucky to catch one. The same old fish swims past my boat most days and just looks up and seems to laugh at me.

They love feeding around sewage pipe outlets.

 

[AndrewB]

Nature\'s Antifouling.

Grey mullet in Dover harbour kept my yacht so clean that I have not needed to antifoul for three years. They avoid freshly antifouled yachts, so ironically the guys who antifoul regularly actually get more fouling that I do.

Being vegitarian, they aren't easy to catch on a line. Edible, but not as good as red mullet.

 

[chippie]

Re: Any good to eat ?

Here in NZ they are sold smoked, and are quite good eating but a bit oily if cooked fresh. Its unusual to catch them on a hook as most are netted.

 

[VMALLOWS]

Re: Any good to eat ?

Lots in Emsworth Marina, but you won't catch me eating one!

 

[Ohdrat]

Re: Bav Mullet/Classic Mullet

"....rows about whether your Bavarian Mullet are worse than my classic Mullet.." who says my mullet are Bav Mullet.. lol

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Any good to eat ?

They are good eating! BUT! don't eat the ones in the marinas, the ones you catch beachcasting away from marinas, moorings are fine! The oines in the marinas etc. are really yuck! I wouldn't go near one!