which Anti-fouling paint for speed wheel
- Thread starter NCBrew
- Start date
No real need for AF on the impeller. If it gets fouled, pull it out and clean it. You should have a plug that goes into the thru hull to close it while you clean the impeller.
When the impeller is removed you will get a gush of water. Depending on how quick you are sticking the dummy plug in you won't get much water in the boat, probably less than a pint. The first time you do this, your heart will skip a beat or three. After a few times it will be down to one skipped heart beat.
When the impeller is removed you will get a gush of water. Depending on how quick you are sticking the dummy plug in you won't get much water in the boat, probably less than a pint. The first time you do this, your heart will skip a beat or three. After a few times it will be down to one skipped heart beat.
I've thought about hitting it with a shot of the Pettit barnacle spray, to cut the crud down. It's a pain to clean every time we sail, and little things tend to latch on in warmer water. I'd be worried about putting anything thick on it that would foul the little bearings or slow it down.
There are transducer anti-fouling pants. Some are rather pricey, at $5 an ounce.
I use a little transducer paint just to cut down on how often I need to pull ours out for cleaning. Ours had a flap that would reply when the transducer was pulled but it failed years ago, so now the changeover is a little more exciting (though still manageable). The paint is expensive but a small bottle lasts years. The solvent in some traditional antifouling can be bad for the plastic so your mileage may vary using that.
I like the way you’re thinking. The Airmar transducer also doesn’t read the right sea temperature anymore. Just wish there was another game in town other than Airmar with their durability issues.Sounds like a good reason to upgrade the electronics.
I imagine someone is going to respond with all the reasons an impeller-driven knotmeter is the only way to go (i.e. when sailing in areas affected by tides), but I have found the GPS knotmeter in the SailFree smartphone app to be quite useful, with lots of other nice features as well.
A GPS and knot meter give different information, each is valuable. Learn to use them and you'll become a better sailor and navigator.
My main reason for caring about the paddlewheel knot meter - it is the only thing interfaced to my wind instrument to give True wind speed and angle, not apparent. When the crud gets to the paddlewheel, then Apparent = True.
I wouldn't put any paint on it. I'd be afraid that the crud would just stick more firmly to the paint making it more difficult to clean. Either that, or paint build-up would throw it off, which would require more calibration and error. I think pulling it out every time you leave the boat is the better solution. Get into that habit and you are naturally cleaning it more often.
You think that anti fouling paint will lead to increased fouling?
The real reason there are specialized anti fouling paints for transducers is because the transducers will be damaged or suffer interference when coated with traditional bottom paint.
We see that stuff so infrequently, I really couldn’t give you a product recommendation. Honestly (as mentioned previously), the only way to keep stuff from growing on the paddlewheel or to keep bugs etc. from getting up inside the housing is to pull the transducer and replace it with a dummy plug. THAT’S what I recommend.