Wow, Rafiki has lost 10 kn in 6 weeks due to fouling!

Sea temperatures have been high this year, for much of June and July the Solent was >20C, down to ~18C at the moment. I took the photo below last weekend after return from a non-boating holiday, exactly four weeks after previous trip out when props were clean.

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just had a diver do my whole boat inc props shafts rudders and full bum scrub cost me £70 but well worth it back up to 28.5 knts now and cheaper than a lift and wash, props and shafts were very bad with that hard white worm which is particularly bad in Weymouth so I am told
 
lanerboy said:
just had a diver do my whole boat inc props shafts rudders and full bum scrub cost me £70 but well worth it back up to 28.5 knts now and cheaper than a lift and wash, props and shafts were very bad with that hard white worm which is particularly bad in Weymouth so I am told
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Shawn, can you send your diver this way please. The main culprit on Rafiki is the same white worm on the props/rudder.
 
My props were lightly fouled with worm and barnacle, so I cleaned them while in Girolata last week. At cruising rpm (about 2900) I gained 3 kts on the way back to Antibes. Worth doing.
 
As a slightly oblique observation, perhaps the additional fouling has come about from the windy/lousy weather so far this year meaning that boats have not been used as much as usual so far?

The weather has meant that SD has only been out to play 3 times this year.... normally by now we've racked up a whole load of hours.
Hence more growth... will have to get out the scuba kit and scrubbing brush
 
Lack of use does make a huge difference, I always wondered about this talk of a drop off in speed during the summer, until we had a baby during the summer and didn't get out every weekend, didn't take long to lose 5 knots.

I guess light fouling gets washed off once you're up to speed but once it gets a hold it's there until you scrub it, and gives a base for more fouling to grow.
 
Wow, this thread has been resurrected after nearly a year!

The main fouling was on the stern gear, white worm casts. This came off with the pressure washer. The hull fouling was quite light. Rafiki is back up to speed this summer, and the news on the Portishead Street last year was that the fouling was exceptional.

I ill try and post some pics when I get home.
 
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That amount of fouling on both hull and tabs/rudders/etc is amazing, what antifoul do you use? Is there a better one you could use?

I dont get anywhere near that amount , my boat is in mallorca and tends to sit for 5-6 weeks between visits/use and still looks clean.
 
julians said:
That amount of fouling on both hull and tabs/rudders/etc is amazing, what antifoul do you use? Is there a better one you could use?

I dont get anywhere near that amount , my boat is in mallorca and tends to sit for 5-6 weeks between visits/use and still looks clean.
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I use Hempel on the hull, and the Force 4 TK on the sterngear. Hull ok really, sterngear not.
 
Hull ok really, sterngear not.
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That all looks badly fouled to me, like I say I dont get anywhere near that amount of fouling in mallorca.

I havent a clue what antifoul is used on mine, but it seems to work pretty well compared to that, or maybe the water where the boat sits doesnt have much living stuff in it
 
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