Shes got a dirty bottom!

[jon hansen]

the DNR uses weed killer around all the many boat ramps to keep them clear. bass tournaments are big now on the great lakes. killing little fish for fun and money fills the motels and restaurants. they sell allot of sparkley boats with tons of gear.

 

[dlochner]

By this logic the EPA should be all over yards power washing boats at the end of the season

Actually, I think the state level environmental protection agencies are charged with enforcing the law. At my marina, all power washing is done in a contained area. It doesn't catch all of the contaminates, but does catch a large portion. Ablative paints are the big issue as they wash off. Other hard paints are as much of an issue as power washing doesn't wash as much paint off the bottom.

 

[Tally Ho]

They Are. And they make sure the yard captures the effluent in a separate basin for proper disposal.

Not at my marina...boat comes out to the boat ramp, where the power wash the bottom...and everything that comes off the boat runs down the ramp and back into the lake.

Greg

 

[Ward H]

Our yard has a special power wash basin designed to capture any washed off bio material and return it to the bay. Never noticed any sign of washed off paint on the basin floor. But then, maybe they power wash the floor at the end of the day.

 

[dlochner]

A few references:

Home | Green Marine

Green Marine is the leading environmental certification program for the North American maritime industry.

green-marine.org

Clean Boating Programs | Florida Department of Environmental Protection

floridadep.gov

Great Lakes Clean Marina |

www.michiganseagrant.org

in.gov/idem/lakemichigan/2534.htm

 

[jon hansen]

i wish we did better on the lakes

 

[FDL S2]

Wet scotchbrite pad works very well for me, the dried algae comes off very easy and anything that comes off the boat is trapped in the pad. After I do this I wipe it with a cloth damp with acetone which will bring the bronze color back to the vc-17. No sanding needed.

 

[DougM]

i wish we did better on the lakes

Seeing some designated powerwash spot in a yard near me would be a surprise.
Mostly, power washing is done the minute the boat is hauled out with the boat still hanging in the slings.

I can understand that a significant amount of an ablative would wash off, but I wonder about VC17.
It basically keeps the slime away and on the lakes we don’t have a barnacle problem (zebra mussels maybe).
When my boat is power washed, it doesn’t seem like any of the bottom paint disappears.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Considering the EPA's budget has shrunk down to virtually nothing I guess it's no surprise that they're not enforcing smaller infractions such as botttom paint. I'm glad to hear that there are marinas out there that have a designated containment area. Unfortunately I havent seen any in the Southern Lake Michigan area