Porthandbuoy
Well-Known Member
Sorry I've no pics to back this up, but I thought you might be interested.
Back in early April I had Mariposa lifted and held in the slings while I scrubbed and antifouled her (she'd been in commission all winter). When it came to the prop I used wet'n'dry and polished it up a bit. Then I applied several coats of Owaltrol, that allegedly magical oil used for helping paint flow, preserving wood, stopping rust, etc. It dried on the prop forming what looked like a fairly soft flexible film.
On hauling Mariposa out today, 6 months after launch, she had a fine crop of mussels, barnacles and other assorted crustacea clinging to her bottom which took a scraper to shift. The prop, by contrast, had one or two small barnacles and a bit of slime which came of easily with a brush.
Could it simply be because the prop is bronze? No, I don't think so. Three seacocks and the cutlass bearing housing are bronze and they were thick with a thriving marine ecosystem.
Could it be high rpm throwing the mussels and barnacles off? Hardly. Flat out my 4 1/2 hp Stuart Turner is spinning at 1500 revs. Besides, I've only put about 2 or 3 hours on the motor all season.
So there you have it. For a relatively weed and shell free prop apply several coats of Owaltrol.
Oh, I almost forgot. The antifouling I used was Flag, black, from Screwfix; never again.
Back in early April I had Mariposa lifted and held in the slings while I scrubbed and antifouled her (she'd been in commission all winter). When it came to the prop I used wet'n'dry and polished it up a bit. Then I applied several coats of Owaltrol, that allegedly magical oil used for helping paint flow, preserving wood, stopping rust, etc. It dried on the prop forming what looked like a fairly soft flexible film.
On hauling Mariposa out today, 6 months after launch, she had a fine crop of mussels, barnacles and other assorted crustacea clinging to her bottom which took a scraper to shift. The prop, by contrast, had one or two small barnacles and a bit of slime which came of easily with a brush.
Could it simply be because the prop is bronze? No, I don't think so. Three seacocks and the cutlass bearing housing are bronze and they were thick with a thriving marine ecosystem.
Could it be high rpm throwing the mussels and barnacles off? Hardly. Flat out my 4 1/2 hp Stuart Turner is spinning at 1500 revs. Besides, I've only put about 2 or 3 hours on the motor all season.
So there you have it. For a relatively weed and shell free prop apply several coats of Owaltrol.
Oh, I almost forgot. The antifouling I used was Flag, black, from Screwfix; never again.
