No scrubbers

Sybarite

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Just back from Brittany. I suggested to the 'Capitainerie' that they dredge the scrubbing area so that it was accessible over a wider range of tides. They said that they had intended to but that planning permission was blocked because of pending European legislation that is going to forbid scrubbing and antifouling between tides!
Boats will have to be hauled out but only in those places that are equiped to handle toxic waste.

You can imagine (if this is correct) what this will cost....

Has anybody else heard about this? What about the toxic waste you paint on your boat when you put it back in the water?

John


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vyv_cox

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Holland is perhaps further down this road than most other countries. All pressure washing ashore is done in specific drained areas where the wash-off can be collected. Extra money is charged for the disposal of the wash-off. All copper-based antifoulings are banned. I've never seen any scrubbing posts or grids, although they may exist somewhere. Tidal range is not great anyway, so there may be limited use for them.

Having said that, haul-out and scrub is considerably cheaper here than it was in North Wales six years ago, where all the wash-off ran straight into the sea.

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upstream

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I think its only a matter of time before the HSE suss out that boat yards have the potentail to pollute the waterways and waste water systems. Many industries, airports, garages,restraunts etc allready have rules and regulations on how waste product run off has to be controled and managed. The fact that I can presently scrape and rinse the remains of my bottom down the drain is inherently wrong. This will evolve in expensive drainage filtration systems having to be contructed in many boating facilities if this practice is to continue. Higher ownership costs will be on the agenda.

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longjohnsilver

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Can well believe it, but how do they intend to police it. Even more reason to don my diving kit and scrub whilst at sea, very tempted not to antifoul at all. One scrub a month during the summer should keep her clean.

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vyv_cox

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My first boat had never been antifouled, something like 10 years old. Although a fairly extreme fin keeler she was kept at Fleetwood alongside a jetty, where she dried on every tide. A monthly quick scrub was sufficient to keep the fouling at bay.

Antifouling has been "environmentally purified" to such an extent now that it is almost a total waste of time and money to put the stuff on. Keeping the boat in fresh water means there is very little fouling anyway, just black slime. Two seasons ago we decided to go to hard scrubbable and now I spend a couple of days per season going around with a scrubbing brush from the dinghy to take most of it off. Once we return full time to the sea I shall dry occasionally on the legs, well away from the environmental police.

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