Excess?

[Rick D]

OK, so I have a pile up of projects before the new season, so I paid my boat washer to wax my boat. I'm in SoCal, so the boat stays in the water year round. Anyhow, one of the marina staff comes by and tells my guy two things: first, he must have any employees give a copy of their green card or passport. OK, but how about a little notice? Second, he got dust in the water while wiping off the cutter from the hull. Dust in the water is not permitted. DUST? I am at the mouth of the friggin' L.A. river! Any idea what flows down here though 60 miles of urban run off? So, a suggested 'solution' is to tape off plastic around the boat to the dock and then dispose of it at the end of the day. Forget the fact that half the day would be spent installing and removing the catch basin ($$$), it makes moving the boat around really difficult. I know that one eco group suggested (in another SoCal location) that the boats could be hauled and tented for waxing. But of course!
I'm must getting old, really old; I'm having trouble getting my head around it.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Yes, it is getting crazy.

 

[woodster]

does the marina offer this service?....if so my guess is they don't have good rates or selling skills.....or they are just a bunch of old biddies with nothing to do but dream up this to make life mrisable......in our county we have a code enforcement staff large enough to cover every code known to man kind ..... and not enough sense to pour piss out of a boot with the directions on the heel.....

regards

woody

 

[RichH]

Be satisfied to know this this kind of 'extremism' will get worse, a lot worse; especially, if there is any enhanced profit motive or potential for the marina, etc.

Did you discuss the excess shedding of human skin cells to create this 'eco-barrier' around your boat? Exfoliated skin cells are subject to 'putrification' ... a known toxicant !

Too bad there isn't a 'competitive' marina situation where you keep your boat.

 

[Steve Dion]

The friggin' US govenment does not ask for these identification items but the harbor does? Maybe you should ask him if his brother in law waxes boats.

Dust in the water? Was he serious? You may tell him that the dust is bio-degradable.

 

[finding41]

I would tell him to keep his dust off your boat! It must have landed there while your boat was docked. It would have blown off while sailing. Meaning your boat was slipped clean as a whistle.

 

[navigator97]

Rick said he "had trouble getting his head around it". It sounds like the marina folks have trouble getting their head out of it!!

 

[Ron20324]

Anchor out and wax there.

 

[hewebb]

A few years ago the airport where I kept the plane issued a new rule that you could no longer wash your plane at your hangar or anywhere on the airport except the new wash rack. Reason - we would get oil on the ground. Did I mention that 90% of the airport was asphalt. I had large hangar with a floor drain and just washed it inside and so did some of my friends. I bet the marina has a favorite vendor to clean & wax boats.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Dust in the water? Was he serious? You may tell him that the dust is bio-degradable.

The dust is from compounding his hull. So it's not biodegradable, not that being biodegradable is or should be the standard. Compound consists of kerosene, petroleum distillates, acid, naphthalene and benzene. Add to that gel coat and that is what you are putting in the river. And then you need to consider the physical properties of the dust and what negative effects that will have on benthic organisms like clams, mussels, etc. and microscopic organisms like copepods. Didn't you guys ever learn about the food chain/web in school?

So the responses generally come down to that you should not be inconvenienced because this is the way it's been for years and other people are putting worse into the river. So who cares if future sailors have to sail in a cesspool as long as you're not inconvenienced by having to control your own waste.

Come on guys! We have to do better than that!

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

A few years ago the airport where I kept the plane issued a new rule that you could no longer wash your plane at your hangar or anywhere on the airport except the new wash rack. Reason - we would get oil on the ground. Did I mention that 90% of the airport was asphalt. I had large hangar with a floor drain and just washed it inside and so did some of my friends. I bet the marina has a favorite vendor to clean & wax boats.

And where would the oil go once on the asphalt? And where did the floor drain go?

 

[tommays]

Dont feel to bad i have to get a permit to walk a bunch of places

As my son said so well there a bunch of zealots who never learned to share and cant see past there own narrow view point

 

[kloudie1]

Most likely the marina guy was miffed because you didn't let him know the work was going to happen.(how many times have you seen other boats with the catch basins on 'em??) The hydrocarbon mostly flashes off and the small amount of wax and gel coat is inert. Most marinas have these same provisions and it has more to do with insurance requirements and the affect on the other boats nearby. The marina I am in doesn't allow power sanding on the outside of the boat.. but you can do it inside... The dust thing was probably one of the things that he was using to express his anger that you'd not notified him..
The pollution thing is insignificant .. most of what goes into the water would be diatomaceous earth.. dirt.... It is a dilution thing.. basically you don't want a fish from the lake to pee in your drinking glass.. but you are OK if he pees in the lake that you drink water from.. If everyone waxed their boats on the same day, there would be a short term problem.. but that is not what is happening.
I am not an advocate of mindless pollution but I am an advocate of reasonable-ness.. and decisions based on facts..

 

[Buck420]

The dust is from compounding his hull. So it's not biodegradable, not that being biodegradable is or should be the standard. Compound consists of kerosene, petroleum distillates, acid, naphthalene and benzene. Add to that gel coat and that is what you are putting in the river. And then you need to consider the physical properties of the dust and what negative effects that will have on benthic organisms like clams, mussels, etc. and microscopic organisms like copepods. Didn't you guys ever learn about the food chain/web in school?

So the responses generally come down to that you should not be inconvenienced because this is the way it's been for years and other people are putting worse into the river. So who cares if future sailors have to sail in a cesspool as long as you're not inconvenienced by having to control your own waste.

Come on guys! We have to do better than that!

JK ... Just curious ..
Do you keep your Catalina 310 is a slip there in Hingham?
Do you ever wash it while it's in the slip?
If so, how do YOU deal with the pollution run off (you describe above) that results from taking care of your own boat?
I'm sure we'd all like to be made aware of how to be better stewards of our environment.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

JK ... Just curious ..
Do you keep your Catalina 310 is a slip there in Hingham?
Do you ever wash it while it's in the slip?
If so, how do YOU deal with the pollution run off (you describe above) that results from taking care of your own boat?
I'm sure we'd all like to be made aware of how to be better stewards of our environment.

I don't compound my boat in the water so I don't have the issue above. If I need to compound I haul the boat.

When I wash my deck and hull I use Starbrite Sea Safe products.

I only hand wax while in the water with microfiber cloths. It's a lot easier to manage the wax dust generated when working by hand in small areas.

Not rocket science.

 

[tommays]

You sound a lot like the women who climbs Mount Marcy everyday to lecture hikers about causing damage to the rocks (7000 ft vertical round trip)

And i swear on the proverbial stack of bibles its the freaking truth

On long Island various zealots have used what you see going on to shut down most every legal land based racetrack ,shooting range ,endless list

 

[Bob J.]

I'm must getting old, really old; I'm having trouble getting my head around it.

Welcome to the new world.
My favorite saying w/ our brainwashed kids is GPS (Go Pound Sand)

Stuff like this just drives me bonkers because in the big picture of things, it doesn't matter one iotta. It's kind of like this ..:bang:

 

[berner73]

"a suggested 'solution' is to tape off plastic around the boat to the dock and then dispose of it at the end of the day."

Wow, what's worse for the environment? A couple of grams of wax in the ocean or 200 yards of plastic siting in a landfill for the next million years? I'm all for reasonable sterwardship of our environment, but people have to think these policies through.

 

[Rich Stidger]

I just can't resist pointing out that California is the most liberal wacked-out state in the union. The citizens of CA have voted for this type of nonsense for years so they must want it. Unfortunately other states like mine and neighboring - MA, CT, RI - appear to be admirers of CA so I can expect the same policies in my neck of the woods in the near future.

My RI marina has told me that the day is coming where I won't be allowed to prep and paint my boat bottom. So I will be looking for a new home or putting up a For Sale sign on that day.

Welcome to the new world order. Be careful what you vote for. I hope this doesn't push this thread into the War Room.

 

[Buck420]

I don't compound my boat in the water so I don't have the issue above. If I need to compound I haul the boat.

When I wash my deck and hull I use Starbrite Sea Safe products.

I only hand wax while in the water with microfiber cloths. It's a lot easier to manage the wax dust generated when working by hand in small areas.

Not rocket science.

Thanks JK ...

Starbrite Sea Safe products sound like a good idea.
But, I was just wondering ...

How do you keep the dust (and dirt and grime ... maybe from Logan Airport??...) that you wash off with the hose, (after scrubbing with the Starbrite), from getting into the water ... or do you hand wash as well as wax?