Ultrasonic antifouling for under £300 ?

[Greg2]

An interesting read - our boat has some kind of ultrasonic anti-fouling system installed by the previous owner but I have never looked at it or switched it on, primarily due to concerns about battery drain in the context of my perception that they are not effective. Fouling has got worse the last year and we now have 600ah of AGM batteries or to so perhaps I should dust off the manual and see if it still works
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[rowlock]

Has anyone considered that transmissions into the water made from vessels is a cause of some aggrieved mammals who have decided to take the matter into their own hands. Ultra sound antifoul devices clicking away are annoying for humans onboard so might they not be devastating to creatures with highly tuned listening as therir only means of communication and navigation. As yachts are bit size and as pointed out above commercials will do what is economic and dam the consequences it maybe the community should look to get their house in order and consider the broader picture.

 

[Neeves]

Has anyone considered that transmissions into the water made from vessels is a cause of some aggrieved mammals who have decided to take the matter into their own hands. Ultra sound antifoul devices clicking away are annoying for humans onboard so might they not be devastating to creatures with highly tuned listening as therir only means of communication and navigation. As yachts are bit size and as pointed out above commercials will do what is economic and dam the consequences it maybe the community should look to get their house in order and consider the broader picture.

The broader picture is:

Without some form of AF our hulls will foul. Not everyone has the time to hand clean the hull - so they will send the fouled hull to a boat yard who will use a power hose to clean, using water and using electricity to lift. There will not be sufficient facilities to do this for all the private vessel - so we need more boatyards, or more energy to allow cleaning more quickly etc etc - not considering commercial vessels.

Someone can provide a better script on similar lines - but we need an answer, even if for our own selfish enjoyments - fouled hulls will destroy the leisure marine industry.

Jonathan

 

[Charlie Boy]

I installed a Jaycar kit on a 32’ Sadler some years ago. The boat has always been on a swinging mooring and the idea was that it would reduce fouling (obvs) while not being a huge drain on the batteries and solar panels.
If it did work then it wasn’t absolutely apparent, there may have been a reduction but some years are worse than others anyway as we all know. The transducer was in the engine space (still is) so any effect was largely confined to the stern. If it was to be remotely effective I’d have needed two units with one at the front.
It was an interesting exercise to make and fit and Jaycar were really good at support but based on experience I wouldn’t bother again. I haven’t even turned it on for years.

 

[Charlie Boy]

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[billskip]

The broader picture is:

Without some form of AF our hulls will foul. Not everyone has the time to hand clean the hull - so they will send the fouled hull to a boat yard who will use a power hose to clean, using water and using electricity to lift. There will not be sufficient facilities to do this for all the private vessel - so we need more boatyards, or more energy to allow cleaning more quickly etc etc - not considering commercial vessels.

Someone can provide a better script on similar lines - but we need an answer, even if for our own selfish enjoyments - fouled hulls will destroy the leisure marine industry.

Jonathan

Is that really the broader picture...have you any clue as to the actual % of boats that get lifted and antifouled out of the 100's of thousands of boats in the water ....I've seen boats on the Thames with growth causing its own wake...

 

[Charlie Boy]

Has anyone considered that transmissions into the water made from vessels is a cause of some aggrieved mammals who have decided to take the matter into their own hands. Ultra sound antifoul devices clicking away are annoying for humans onboard so might they not be devastating to creatures with highly tuned listening as therir only means of communication and navigation. As yachts are bit size and as pointed out above commercials will do what is economic and dam the consequences it maybe the community should look to get their house in order and consider the broader picture.

Like depth sounders, you mean?

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I have a friend who bought and built a kit from Jaycar. It apparently did not do much in our high fouling environment. he sold it to another friend. I did have occasion to repair it for him. Bad electrolytic capacitor blew fuse. He installed it but also found it did nothing useful. Certainly not compared to the difficulty of supplying the current on a small boat. Advice to the OP ... get a mask and snorkel perhaps a wet suit and scrub..... Like I do ol'will

How did they remove the transponder after epoxying it to the hull, if they didn’t epoxy it then its efficiency was greatly reduced

 

[Norman_E]

I started the original thread on building the Jaycar kit, and wrote the article that appeared in PBO in August 2011. We should remember that these were reasonably cheap kits, and not as powerful as the units used commercially. What they did achieve for me was to allow me to haul out the yacht every two years to clean the hull and apply a coat of antifouling, instead of every year. That was a considerable cost saving, but ultimately I bit the bullet and had Coppercoat applied. It failed to work, and the boat was hauled after a year to re-apply it, after which it worked. I kept the ultrasonics switched on, but understand that after I sold the yacht they have been switched off.

 

[Neeves]

Is that really the broader picture...have you any clue as to the actual % of boats that get lifted and antifouled out of the 100's of thousands of boats in the water ....I've seen boats on the Thames with growth causing its own wake...

Vessels with extreme growth are called mooring minders here. If the owner wanted to move them they would need a tow, as the prop will be so fouled as to be useless. If moved a bit earlier, before the prop becomes useless, the fuel consumption will be horrendous - causing different problems.

However I am somewhat supportive of the idea of floating reefs, sponsored by one private individual, to provide safe haven as a nursery for marine creatures.

Jonathan

 

[Metalicmike]

I installed a Jaycar kit on a 32’ Sadler some years ago. The boat has always been on a swinging mooring and the idea was that it would reduce fouling (obvs) while not being a huge drain on the batteries and solar panels.
If it did work then it wasn’t absolutely apparent, there may have been a reduction but some years are worse than others anyway as we all know. The transducer was in the engine space (still is) so any effect was largely confined to the stern. If it was to be remotely effective I’d have needed two units with one at the front.
It was an interesting exercise to make and fit and Jaycar were really good at support but based on experience I wouldn’t bother again. I haven’t even turned it on for years.

The kit was revised in 2017 so it will be interesting to see how effective it is now.

 

[chris-s]

The 80m super yacht that my son works on, as an engineer, has an ultrasonic system, when asked about it he replies that ‘it seems to do the job’. Probably cost a bit more then £300 tho!

 

[Metalicmike]

The 80m super yacht that my son works on, as an engineer, has an ultrasonic system, when asked about it he replies that ‘it seems to do the job’. Probably cost a bit more then £300 tho!

There is hope yet, obviously there are a lot of differing views on this subject. I have spent most of my life in production, the biggest part being driving efficiency from computing to mechanisation focusing on minimizing down time due to poor design and therefore love a challenge.

 

[Metalicmike]

Has anyone considered that transmissions into the water made from vessels is a cause of some aggrieved mammals who have decided to take the matter into their own hands. Ultra sound antifoul devices clicking away are annoying for humans onboard so might they not be devastating to creatures with highly tuned listening as therir only means of communication and navigation. As yachts are bit size and as pointed out above commercials will do what is economic and dam the consequences it maybe the community should look to get their house in order and consider the broader picture.

My friend Glen doesn't have a problem so I don't expect that I will.