Diving service woes

[Levin]

Fstbttms,

I'm afraid we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. For the record I did ask the yard, it was the first thing I did when it got pulled out. They told me it was pretty unusual although they did say it wasn't the worst they had ever seen... so I guess that's something. It was by far the worst I saw get pulled out that day (I was there waiting around most of the day so I saw quite a few get pulled before mine). I didn't see any other boats that had even a fraction of what I had, and if this stuff grows as fast as you and these other services claim I should have seen at least one with some of this stuff.

Perhaps I should have asked those other boat owners who they use

Take care,
-Levin

 

[woodster]

Perhaps I should have asked those other boat owners who they use

now that's a very good idea that's how you shop for bottom paint as well

 

[Rich Stidger]

Interesting solution Rich. How much can you see with this camera. I've only played with one and it was focused about an inch in front of the lens, almost no depth of field. I could not see something a couple of feet away so could not use it inside of a wall.
We did have a friend on our boat with an inexpensive GoPro clone last season. He stuck it under the water on his selfie stick while we were sailing and we could see the whole bottom of the boat in the playback, but the water was quite clear (Bahamas).
I would like to put something together myself and if your camera would work I'll go that way.
Bob

This USB camera shows a sharp focus down to about 1.5 inches. I have tried looking at really close things and the image becomes out of focus. However if I point it around my room, the picture is sharp. I don't know if the focus changes when underwater. I do remember that the near focus point was different for various USB cameras- so you need to check. If I get some time I will post a short test video.

 

[Rich Stidger]

It just occurred to me- while this thread is basically discussing the growth rates of fouling and the relative work quality of divers, has anyone shown this to the bottom paint manufacturer and asked for their input? I live in the northeast and get some moderate to heavy soft growth with no cleaning over the summer. I am not happy and I am always looking for a paint that will perform better. In my area it seems that growth mostly varies according to how much rainfall we get. I tend to think that more rain washes more nutrients into the water and inhibits boat usage at the same time. The couple years that I have had the bottom cleaned were very rainy. My yard concurs that some years are worse than others.

You would think that the government would allow an anti-fouling formula that actually works on the running gear so that excessive fuel and resulting increased pollution would not occur. Oh maybe not, that would imply the government is intelligent.

 

[fstbttms]

now that's a very good idea that's how you shop for bottom paint as well

This guy has already eliminanated 8 dive services from consideration. If I continue to post the replies from the San Diego hull cleaning community (all of them saying exactly the same thing), pretty soon he will be out of divers to hire, fire and publically slander.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Stu, I hate to burst your bubble, but in the Estuary, water temps top 70° (and in fact haven't yet dropped below 60°) and cleaning every other month is de rigueur.

Darn, where the heck IS my bubble, anyway? It's not on my boat parts list!!!

Is de riguer that rigging guy I fired last year because he forgot to use lock tite on the furling foil connector screws?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Levin, I went back and looked at your photos in your OP, and also at Mark's on page 2.

Question: was the growth on your hull and running gear ALL OVER and what is CLEAN the result of the power wash that was done and they simply hadn't gotten to the parts with the big growth that's left?

Reason I ask is that Mark's yard guy has a BIG, WIDE scraper in his hand and it looks like they are USED TO having to scrape big sheets of growth off the bottom.

Matt may disagree with me, but in the 13 haulouts I've had since 1987, I've never seen a yard worker do that here in my neck of the woods, they just use the power washer and spray the slime off. In many cases I've gone well over two years between haulouts, in one case five years!

In the interests of peace & harmony , you and fstbttms may choose to agree to disagree.

Me, I'd call the differences "shades of gray" 'cuz the "evidence" in the pictures seems to indicate that there is very heavy duty growth in your area with recommended intervals for bottom cleaning that are supported by professionals in the industry, with which you personally disagree.

It would be interesting to know what bottom paint you chose to use and how many coats.

There are also bottom cleaning devices on long sticks that have been made for many years that allow YOU to get most of the area of the hull and top of the keel and rudder right from your dock.

 

[fstbttms]

Matt may disagree with me, but in the 13 haulouts I've had since 1987, I've never seen a yard worker do that here in my neck of the woods, they just use the power washer and spray the slime off. In many cases I've gone well over two years between haulouts, in one case five years!

South China Sea coral worm is a very aggressive fouling organism but fortunately one we do not see much of in the Bay Area. Hard growth (even barnacles) are not the main fouling issue here.

 

[marke14]

Reason I ask is that Mark's yard guy has a BIG, WIDE scraper in his hand and it looks like they are USED TO having to scrape big sheets of growth off the bottom.

The guys in the yard that day did not seem surprised or impressed with the growth - certainly not as surprised or impressed as I was/am! - and they had enough of those scrapers lying around for five of us to go to town on the hull. Fortunately they scrape off easily as long as they are not left to dry (I was told). After the scraping was done, they efficiently swept it all into a pile and shoveled it into a bucket.

On a separate and disgusting note, I was reminded of ramen noodles (like Cup-O-Noodles) when I saw the bottom of my boat!

 

[marke14]

Just for fun - check these photos out. Our problems are nothing compared to these guys!

 

[Calif. Ted]

You guys make me want to give my diver a big hug and an extra big present this Christmas, he'd never allow that freakin' white worm to get a foothold like that on my boat. 4 years 9 months since last haul out.
I almost never go with the "lowest" bidder when selecting contractors BTW.

 

[uncledom]

fstbttms you have to realize it's very hard to trust you diver types.......

You all wear masks.

 

[Maine Sail]

As for the growth on the bottom of my boat, I have a hard time believing that was just a month's worth.
-Levin

In early October, Thursday the 8th to be exact, I dove on my boat to check the anodes. The bottom was spotless including the prop and shaft which were n=both clean shiny metal with zero growth. My diver had cleaned it two weeks prior and Falmouth, ME is a very low growth anchorage.

On Friday the 9th I moved the boat from where we normally moor her, in Falmouth, to a tidal river not too far away. In the five weeks between diving on her and hauling her the prop and shaft were COVERED, and the hull had a decent slime film. This is in Maine's very cool waters and I saw the prop and shaft with my own eyes just five weeks prior.. The river is a known location for rapid growth. It sounds like where you are a three week schedule is what may be necessary...

Five weeks growth in MAINE (Harraseekett River)....

 

[fstbttms]

Thanks for posting that, Maine Sail. I never cease to be amazed by boat owners (and I refer to the OP) who purport to know more about boat maintenance tasks than the professionals they hire to do them, despite having zero experience doing the maintenance themselves.

 

[capta]

As one of the first to offer this service in Frisco Bay in the early 60's, I found it quite sufficient to only have the number of customers I could service personally. It was great money for hard work (especially for a teen), but having employees and expanding the business was of no interest to me.
It seems for many businesses, with expansion often comes a degradation of quality and service, which is why it is sad to see the super stores like Walmart push out the small local personally run shops.
We've got 6 bunks we can use for charter guests, but we steadfastly refuse to take more than 2. Better to give 2 a great experience than 6 an OK one.