Removing barnacles from dinghy & steps - how??

Richard10002

Richard10002

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Anchored in Syracusa for nearly 3 weeks, I watched a couple on another yacht religiously haul their dinghy out of the water after every trip ashore - and just thought they were very conscientious.

Now I know better!!

Lifted the S/S swimming ladder, (which I leave down as it makes it easier to get on and off the dinghy), and it's covered in barnacles.

Lifted the dinghy on deck for tomorrows trip to Malta and it's hull is covered in barnacles.

The boat looks like a right old tramp!

Any tips for getting them off

Cheers

Richard
 
[ QUOTE ]
Any tips for getting them off


[/ QUOTE ] Dutch hoe or a wall paper scraper. Round the corners off if possible
 
I'd go along with that! The yard which lifts me out at the end of each season uses an industrial high pressure water jet thing for the weed which gets the barnacles Colgate-clean but doesn't get them off! They use a garden spade but you still have to get the little white discs off with a chisel.
 
Anyone have any decent plans for constructing a floating pontoon to store the dinghy out of the water? You'd think there would be a commercial offering, but I can't find one.
 
Re: Removing barnacles from dinghy & steps - how??

Do the local hardware/supermarkets sell aquafuerte or sal fumante ( these are spanish names but will have an equivalent I'm sure.) Once you've scraped off the lumps, the above liquid used carefully should dissolve the remaining calcium. then hose off swiftly to stop it gobbling the dinghy- unless its a good old Avon which seems to just last and last.
 
Re: Removing barnacles from dinghy & steps - how??

Just Google 'boat lift pontoon' there are many varieties for personal use from simple plastic floating ones to power operated elevator types for larger boats up to several tons.
 
Richard,
I'm afraid it's either a Karcher at 100 atm or scrape scrape scrape, carefully so it doesn't become scratch, scratch, scratch.

Strong bleach, industrial grade, also does the trick -- it kills them and softens them up to make the scraping job easier.

Plomong
 
My worry is harm caused by chemicals to the inflatable material. Notwithstanding that, Cillit Bang is worth a try.
 
Brute force is the way to get the barnacles off but be careful of your fingers cos they can get cut.
Then use an acid to remove the shell remains. Start with lemon juice vinegar oxalic acid then to stronger acids. Obviously no problem with the ladder but the under side of an inflatable is a worry. olewill
 
I learnt that lesson the hard way too, and now always haul the dinghy.

I have various tools for barnacle removing, but my favourites are windscreen scrapers and good quality plastic kitchen spatulas.

I leave the bottom part of the disc on the first time. By the time I need to do it again (usually only annually) they have softened up enough to make it easier to remove.
 
[ QUOTE ]
My worry is harm caused by chemicals to the inflatable material. Notwithstanding that, Cillit Bang is worth a try.

[/ QUOTE ]

Does Marine growth on Hypolon have a long term effect of making the dinghy slightly porous? I had heard that this could be a problem.

No real alternative but to lift out at night - do cruisers do this?
 
I don't know, but when I read the manual for my RIB there were loads of caveats and don'ts. I guess that pouring HCl over the thing would have gone into the latter category /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I think that if you use any chemical, try not to make it too concentrated and don't leave it in contact for long. That has to be good commonsense.

As for Hypolon, you could email the mfr and ask from 'the horse's mouth'.
 
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