The Jaycar kit. What does it do.

[pcatterall]

I had read various PBO and other articles about 'ultrasonic anti fouling' so was interested to read about a kit being produced.
However the (now) 15 pages of techi stuff seem focussed on electronicy wizardry most of which I can't follow!
It seems that building such a kit ( or several for larger boats) could be an economic way to obtain an antifouling system.
Can anyone provide any new info on the efficency of this type of system.
Also the cost of 'shop bought systems' and the cost of the Jaycar kits.
It would seem, that once some of the many techy questions posed and answered on the thread are understood, a competant skilled person could build a kit fairly quickly.
I know how much enjoyment some of these wiz 'kids' get from this activity so possibly one of them will be able to make up four kits for me!!?
On a serious note would someone make up the kits for a reasonable price and how would this then compare to the 'shop' systems?

 

[Seajet]

'What does it do ?'

The square root of zero, I suspect. Can I interest you in some anti-gravity paint while you're at it ?

 

[rafiki_]

I think either MBM or MBY is doing an article on this, comparing the performance of antifoul v ultrasonics over a year. Not sure when due out though.

 

[VicMallows]

Well, SNOOKS appears to favour the theory. Personally I'll stick with Seajet for the foreseeable future.

Vic

 

[daveyw]

See here
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258391&highlight=ultrasonic

 

[Fr J Hackett]

For an outlay of less than £170 and 4Hrs work including fitting it is well worth the punt if you never have to antifoul again and if it doesn't work well £170 poorer and a little wiser.

 

[rotrax]

I think either MBM or MBY is doing an article on this, comparing the performance of antifoul v ultrasonics over a year. Not sure when due out though.

Hi, I am a month away from one year in the water with Ultra Sonic antifouling. Our pride and joy will be put on the club scrubbing piles sometime in April,dependent on a suitable tide. So far, from the pontoon it looks good. What is there rubs off with a light pass of the brush. Watch this space for a report. Remember,true knowlege is the product of direct experience!

 

[VicMallows]

Watch this space for a report. Remember,true knowlege is the product of direct experience!

Always interesting.....but where is the control? ... and did you scrub off all the existing antifoul paint first? I seem to have read quite a few reports which say something along the lines "you should start with a well antifouled hull".

Vic

 

[pcatterall]

Daveyw; thanks for the link but that is thread which seems to concentrate on building the kit rather than how good it is!!
I thought that PBO did an article ( or was that a dream) where it was tested on a small yacht or dinghy? I thought the results were positive provided the boat was used enough for the movement to wash off lightly attached growth?

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The kit is new to the UK and so is only just being put in to use, there seem to be some favourable reports from Australia but jou are going to have to wait a year or so for reports on it's effectiveness. There are however at least two commercial units that have been in use on Europe based boats for a year at least. There is a good report on here of one that got me interested the down side is that it's £1000 plus and that's to big a punt for me. So you pays your money and takes you chance and choice.

 

[pcatterall]

I'm sure those 'techy guys' busy building their kits will have done their homework on the effectivness of the system ( cost effectivness as well) I hoped they would pounce on this thread and tell all. After all they have had 15 ( and counting) pages on their thread about building the system!!
My boat is just being newly epoxied and it seems a good time to ask before I start appliying primer and antifoul.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I'm sure those 'techy guys' busy building their kits will have done their homework on the effectivness of the system ( cost effectivness as well) I hoped they would pounce on this thread and tell all. After all they have had 15 ( and counting) pages on their thread about building the system!!
My boat is just being newly epoxied and it seems a good time to ask before I start appliying primer and antifoul.

Looking back at your first post, why would you want 4 kits, do you have a 14 metre plus cat. My boat is a long keel 34 footer and I have chosen to use two kits simply because of the keel configuration.

If you have a clean hull after re- epoxying why not antifoul once and build the kit or kits and fit them and join the great experiment and see what your hull looks like in 6 and 12 months. If you are feeling brave you could antfoul one side and leave the other untouched and see just how effective it is. OR just wait 12 months or so and look in the forum for reports on how good or bad it has been, I am afraid their are no quick easy and definite answers yet.

As to difficulty if you have never used a soldering iron go and buy one a bit of peg bord fro maplins or RS on line practice for a couple of hours then go for it. It is not difficult!

 

[pcatterall]

Looking back at your first post, why would you want 4 kits, do you have a 14 metre plus cat. My boat is a long keel 34 footer and I have chosen to use two kits simply because of the keel configuration.

Ahh!! something I thought I had read!! I couldn't find any definative info on how many kits are needed but from your info assume that it is 2.
I am tempted to give it a go and might be very brave and just leave a few foot square patches without antifoul.
I will be extra brave and trawl through all that 'techy' thread to see exactly what is involved. I guess I will get some background info from searching the product name.
Thanks for all the info

 

[Norman_E]

'What does it do ?'

The square root of zero, I suspect. Can I interest you in some anti-gravity paint while you're at it ?

Whilst every new technology has its naysayers the only real way to find out is to try it, which is what a group of us are going to do. My own take on it is that if it is effective enough to cut anti-fouling to a once in two years, rather than an annual job it will be well worth it, and anything better is a bonus. I will apply a single coat of anti fouling this year, then the boat will stay in water for two years, saving me about €1,500 on marina charges, if it works. If it struggles then I will pay a diver to go down and do a bit of scrubbing and scraping in the second year, as well as most likely replacing the propeller anode.

 

[pcatterall]

Totally agree Norman. I have done a bit of 'net trawling' and seen some good ( and some less convincing) testamonials.
Still no idea of the kit price though? The power consumption is significant though, it seems essential to factor in sufficient reliable charging ( solar and wind in uk) just for the system alone.
My boat is usually out of the water over winter in any case so my saving would just be cost of antifoul and labour, others could make much larger savings if they can overwinter on a cheap mooring every other year.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Totally agree Norman. I have done a bit of 'net trawling' and seen some good ( and some less convincing) testamonials.
Still no idea of the kit price though? The power consumption is significant though, it seems essential to factor in sufficient reliable charging ( solar and wind in uk) just for the system alone.
My boat is usually out of the water over winter in any case so my saving would just be cost of antifoul and labour, others could make much larger savings if they can overwinter on a cheap mooring every other year.

The cost is £164 plus vat + parcelfarces £8 for collecting the vat, thats for two units. Power consumption is estimated at 200mA with a peak draw of 3A so about 10A per day. After much deliberation I have fitted a 50 watt solar panel and have a wind turbine so I should be OK. Anyone with access to shore power can either fit a seperate power supply for the units or simply leave the batteries on charge permanantly, something I did not fancy doing.

 

[pappaecho]

Your post struck a chord with me. I read the first couple of pages of the technical debate, and came to the conclusion that this technology is work in progress.... Your posting has not produced gush of evidence from fans, which makes me wonder what all the fuss is about.

Some years go a car based burglar alarm was sold which played Des o Connor records to deter thieves. It was very effective.
As we speak I am adapting it for marine use, and hope that Des's output will deter marine beasties, as well as marine thieves. It will use less current than this other kit, and if successful we will provide an Ipod connector so that other "artists" can be tested on the unsuspecting marine life. No barnacle will be harmed in the testing.

 

[wizard]

Totally agree Norman. I have done a bit of 'net trawling' and seen some good ( and some less convincing) testamonials.
Still no idea of the kit price though? The power consumption is significant though, it seems essential to factor in sufficient reliable charging ( solar and wind in uk) just for the system alone.
My boat is usually out of the water over winter in any case so my saving would just be cost of antifoul and labour, others could make much larger savings if they can overwinter on a cheap mooring every other year.

Jaycar have just put the price of the single kit up to £85.75 kit code KC5498 which is £20 more than I paid but that is to cover their cost of postage.

If when you get the kits and you read the instructions and still not happy about doing it then PM me and in the true spirit of the forum I will make them up for you for a drink.

For a total outlay of <£100 it is definately worth trying - as I would struggle and choke at laying out £850 for the maunufactured ones

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Your post struck a chord with me. I read the first couple of pages of the technical debate, and came to the conclusion that this technology is work in progress.... Your posting has not produced gush of evidence from fans, which makes me wonder what all the fuss is about.

Some years go a car based burglar alarm was sold which played Des o Connor records to deter thieves. It was very effective.
As we speak I am adapting it for marine use, and hope that Des's output will deter marine beasties, as well as marine thieves. It will use less current than this other kit, and if successful we will provide an Ipod connector so that other "artists" can be tested on the unsuspecting marine life. No barnacle will be harmed in the testing.

It's a bit like MMGW there are believers and denyers with no definite proof yet but unlike MMGW it's not going to either cost the earth or destroy the economy to do something about it

 

[pcatterall]

Power consumption is estimated at 200mA with a peak draw of 3A so about 10A per day.
The above from PeteHB interested me. I would have thought that the device would just work on a fixed output?
I guess that at the prices now mentioned there is every reason to give it a try. Power is would certainly be an issue if you really had to relly on it working 24/7
Many thanks to Wizard!! what dedication! I would be happy to try the soldering but worry that I may damage some componant then not know which one.
Thanks again guys; interesting stuff!!