Weed

[Aquaboy]

Seems to be lots of stringy brown stuff about this year, my rudder has gone heavy several times. Most noticeable up the Stour.

 

[cherod]

Blocked one of my engine inlets

 

[oldgit]

fair bit on the Merdway as well.

 

[Tomahawk]

It's biodiversity

 

[tillergirl]

On Monday I was setting up my computer kit and nav kit in preparation for the next day (I can never remember all the settings ? ) and I left the Fishfinder on while we sat on the mooring. In 15ft of water under the boat and on the FF a huge, no, a HUGE thing of 'summat' passed by on the flood. The 'summat' - weed? - eased along the bottom but extended above the 5ft line! And if the length = the height, it was 10ft long. Couple of fish on the top of the 'summat' according to the FF. Did NOT like the look of that. Shame I hadn't got the recording on. The OP's weed was around a little in the Estuary.

 

[LittleSister]

We've had an unusually sunny spring and early summer (we'll pay for that later!), and there has been relatively little boat movement and oils/chemicals getting into the water. That would seem to be conducive to a bumper crop of weeds. We also had a spring tide a few days back to dislodge some of it.

 

[pvb]

More arguments for the global-warming tree-huggers to try to use.

 

[johnalison]

More arguments for the global-warming tree-huggers to try to use.

There will be records of water temperatures, so the relevance of GW is either true or not, so there is little point in speculating, though when I let go of the tree and scratched my head the same thought came to me. In the Ijselmeer, or rather Markermeer, the heavy weed growth of recent years has been attributed to fertiliser concentrations, I believe. I suppose this could be possible locally too but I don't know much about farming.

 

[PeterWright]

I am not a farmer, but I understand that modern arable farming uses a high tech approach to application of fertilisers that goes something like this.

The relative fertility of the land is measured in a spatial sense using aerial photographs, this is then calibrated by taking a few soil samples. From these two measurements the absolute fertility and amount of fertiliser required for each small area of the farm can be calculated. This data is loaded into the high tech fertiliser spreader which also drives the tractor (on Autopilot using GPS) to apply exactly the required amount of fertiliser in each part of each field. The attraction for the farmer is reduced use of fertiliser leading to reduced cost while still getting the optimum crop - or that's what the sellers of the high tech kit claim. They also claim that the reduced use of fertiliser is ecologically helpful.

As I say, I'm not a farmer so I have no idea whether it really works.

Peter.

 

[pvb]

I am not a farmer, but I understand that modern arable farming uses a high tech approach to application of fertilisers that goes something like this.

The relative fertility of the land is measured in a spatial sense using aerial photographs, this is then calibrated by taking a few soil samples. From these two measurements the absolute fertility and amount of fertiliser required for each small area of the farm can be calculated. This data is loaded into the high tech fertiliser spreader which also drives the tractor (on Autopilot using GPS) to apply exactly the required amount of fertiliser in each part of each field. The attraction for the farmer is reduced use of fertiliser leading to reduced cost while still getting the optimum crop - or that's what the sellers of the high tech kit claim. They also claim that the reduced use of fertiliser is ecologically helpful.

As I say, I'm not a farmer so I have no idea whether it really works.

It will work, but how many farmers have the appropriate kit?

 

[PeterWright]

It will work, but how many farmers have the appropriate kit?

More than you or I would think. Arable farming is a highly automated business these days, employing very few per acre.

Peter

 

[AntarcticPilot]

It will work, but how many farmers have the appropriate kit?

From conversations with farmers I know, I think that only the very biggest own their own specialized machinery these days - they sub-contract for the various seasonal jobs. The labour force on most middling sized farms is the farmer and no-one else.

 

[Still Grinning]

Ahh, the dreaded knotweed....

It seems my boat has a knotweed magnet... Each time I motor anywhere I usually have to snorkel under and clear the prop. This has only been a problem last year, and what little of this year I have experienced onboard. Before that never had an issue with prop fouling at all. Often get a clump around the rudders too, but can usually pull that off without getting in the water.

Last year the Salcott channel was very bad at Mersea, this year it seems to be the Ray Channel is considerably worse than Salcott. I'm moored in the Ray channel..... Last year I picked up a few times (once very badly) not very far from the Thirslet Spit buoy, so a problem up the Blackwater also.

Went for a walk yesterday along West Mersea beach, and was shocked at how much of the knotweed was washed up, which I have never seen before, so clearly a big increasing problem.

Let's just blame C-19, that's responsible for everything else!!

 

[Still Grinning]

Out of interest.... Am I the only one who picks up so much Knotweed? How do the Mersea YC Launches avoid it, or do they have a better cutter than me?

Suggestions / Ideas?

 

[Mel]

I was on the Orwell last Wednesday just beyond Levington and motoring. I suddenly noted I had stopped moving forwards as I passed over a clump of weed. Never happened to me before and my engine was overloaded passing black smoke when I tried to raise revs.
Several bursts in reverse seemed to clear it and I was on my way.
I was surprised that weed could do that !

 

[Aquaboy]

The Orwell is full of big clumps of green stuff, seems to grow on the mudflats. No real roots and depending on wind direct it gets washed into heaps which then go up and down the river with the tide. In light airs I almost stop if I catch a load.

 

[johnalison]

Is this new? I can't remember having trouble up and down these rivers over the years.

Weed is one good reason for having a decent speed log. It doesn't matter so much locally, or when the fouling is obvious, but when crossing the North Sea or Channel under power I have a number of times noticed the boat speed fall from, say, 6.5kn to 6.1 or 2, without any obvious vibration or change in engine speed. A burst of astern always seems to clear it and I have always assumed the cause was weed or something small. It is hard to spot the difference with SOG alone as the effect may be attributed to the tide. The loss of nearly half a knot over such a passage can be quite significant.

 

[tidclacy]

On Monday I was setting up my computer kit and nav kit in preparation for the next day (I can never remember all the settings ? ) and I left the Fishfinder on while we sat on the mooring. In 15ft of water under the boat and on the FF a huge, no, a HUGE thing of 'summat' passed by on the flood. The 'summat' - weed? - eased along the bottom but extended above the 5ft line! And if the length = the height, it was 10ft long. Couple of fish on the top of the 'summat' according to the FF. Did NOT like the look of that. Shame I hadn't got the recording on. The OP's weed was around a little in the Estuary.

A seal a Whale??

 

[Leighb]

It is down to the hot weather we had earlier on. The green weed grows on the mudflats very rapidly in warm weather, and then gets washed off by combination of wind and tide. There is some every year in the Orwell every year but not usually a problem. Two years ago we went to the Thames during a very hot spell, on our return we were amazed to see what seemed like acres of green islands in Harwich harbour and up the Orwell. We heard at the club that a number of yachtsmen had been in trouble with fouled props and blocked cooling intakes. This year is not as bad though.

 

[Habebty]

I got something jammed up the raw water intake going down the wallet last week. No amount of rodding down the strainer pipe would shift it...
I can confirm the dinghy pump blast of air down the pipe does work though!