Vaseline?

[Dennis]

I thought I heard where a man put vaseline on the bottom of his boat, instead of bottom paint! I guess the object was to make it slick so no sea-life would adhere to the hull! Question, did it work? People are trying to get away from bottom paint I guess, because of the pollution! I heard a good coat of wax also works! I was wondering about the vaseline report?

 

[p323ms]

Vasoline is Grease

It would probably be a mess. There are paints that are supposed to be ultra slick. Heavy wax will work but not for very long. One summer I kept a boat clean by washing the hull every week or so while snorkling. It wasn't worth the effort and towards the end of summer became less and less effective. The bacterial scum film eventually starts depositing calcium and larger organisms then attach. After a while the bottom is like slime covered sandpaper. This doesn't even include oysters and barnacles!!!!Tom

 

[patrick]

I remember an article in Practical Sailor

about this. They did a test. It was not vaseline. As I recall it was some kind of baby bottom lotion. They said it worked as well as bottom paint until it wore off after a season. It was some British product - Diaperene?

 

[Bill23969]

Slick-em-quick !!!

West Marine has a product they call "Easy On Bottom Wax". A soft wax that goes on easy and good for a season. Just smear it on and leave it. It's clear & non-toxic. WM # 247777. $38/pint does a 24 ft. boat. Manager at marina where I tie up says it's the cat's meow !!!!Good Luck

 

[Bill Ebling]

Polution????

Valeline is a petrolium product. I don't know how marine frendly this is but lets say you are spreading a gallon of this on. Is that not like dropping a gallon of oil in the water? Maybe not all at once but over a season. If its wearing off its going somewhere. I bet if you appled a gallon of axel grease to your bottom you would have an oil sheen bubbling up around your boat all summer long. Sticking to all the birds, boats, insects and all the little crawlies that live at the shoreline that keep the whole thing going. When fully dispersed a gallon of grease can probably cover a lot of square acres of surface water. Now multiply this by everyone doing this.

 

[patrick]

Jack says

"Chill Bill! Can you hear meow?"

 

[patrick]

Hey Bill, think about these famous quotes

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." --Al Gore, Vice President  ````````` " It's no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or another" --George Bush, US President  ````````````````````` "We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?" --Lee Iacocca . ````````````````````````````````` "If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." --Bill Clinton, President  `````````````````` "We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur." --Al Gore, VP  `````````` "Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas." --Keppel Enderbery  ``````````````` "Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances." --Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina  ````````````````````````````````````````````

 

[Jim]

Baby Magic

Both of my boats are bottom painted with Trinidad SR now, and always have been painted with Trinidad hard bottom paint products. I don't use Vaseline, but I have been known to coat the bottom with Baby Magic (illegally) before a race. Baby Magic is self rinsing after a day of racing, and will not leave the residue that vaseline does. Racers....<G> Baby Magic is magic! (Shhhhh) Jim

 

[Dirk]

Everyone knows

the best use for vaseline is for sex- you put it on the door knob to keep the kids from getting in the bedroom!

 

[RichH]

Desitin --- baby ass cream

Ive used Desitin baby bottom cream -- apply thickly and apply to prop, strut and all the places that barnacales, etc. usually adhere to (anything in proximity to zincs). You can use any baby diaper cream that contains Penaten®... Sea-grant studies have found that it also works against zebra mussels. sgnis.org/publicat/96wrigh8.htm...but I guess I'll have to keep my boat away from Kent Island... ;-)

 

[Dennis]

Ingredients?

I looked at some of the baby products mentioned here as bottom slicker uppers, and most of them has a petroleum base to them, which I take to mean Vaseline! I always thought Vaseline was non toxic, as they wouldnt let you put it on a babies bottom, let alone a boats?