Your Polluting Hobby

[Rick D]

I received a notice that California's Bureau of Lands is set to adopt a resolution calling for a discontinuance of copper-based anti-fouling marine paints state-wide. In doing some (more) research on this hot-button topic, I noticed this article on the negative impacts of recreational boating. Sounds like the author would support its elimination. For your reading pleasure... Rick D.

 

[Maine Sail]

If copper is so bad?

why are 98% of the homes in the US using copper pipes for drinking water? The marine growth at my boat yard, around the area they pressure wash EVERY boat that comes out of the water, is the same as the marine growth at my neighbors dock where no antifouling paint is...??? It's class warfare nothing more, nothing less...

 

[NYSail]

I think

the problem with the copper in the ablative paint is that it is fine and ends up getting injested into the sealife.?I'm no scientist or doctor, but I bet if you drank fine copper flakes it would not be too good for you. The copper as pipes though does not leach into the water that runs through them....Who knows....not me!

 

[steverose]

copper in salt water

Back when I had a salt water aquarium, copper was chemical of choice for treating parasites in marine fish. But if you had any corals or other invertebrates in the tank, copper was strictly off limits since it was extremely lethal to any of the invertebrates like shrimp or shellfish.

 

[Smitty]

When we had a marine aquarium,

we had to be out of town for several months. So, I got a friendly neighbor to watch the closed up house and take care of the aquarium (feeding and topping off the water). Apparently, because of very infrequent use of the house's plumbing, the copper from the plumbing built up to a higher than normal concentration in the water. When the neighbor added fresh water, it was very much more than normally copper laden. This killed all the invertebrates. The pollution created by the dead invertebrates killed everything else. For a little comedy within this real tragedy, the neighbor either didn't notice, or didn't realize that everything was dead and continued feeding and topping up the tank. When we got home, the entire house stunk and the tank was totally disgusting. We had some really beautiful old friends in that tank and cleaning up the mess was a terrible, depressing job. That was the end of keeping marine aquariums for us.

 

[Peter]

On the left coast

they also pressure wash all the boats that come out for yard work. But the yard has containment boom and sumps that collect all the stuff, that is then collected and hauled offsite. (Probably to dump in a landfill somewhere.) The boatyard is pristine, but I wonder where the gunk goes?Back in the '50s & '60s, the gov'mint dumped dozens of steel barrels with radioactive waste about 20 miles outside the Golden Gate. Wonder how that is helping the environment out there?Hey, Phil, are we getting too political here? (Or is it just me?) Should this stuff go to the politicalpurgatory section?

 

[Rick D]

E Paint

I looked at the site for e-paint since I think it is the only larger non-copper bottom paint producer in the US. Interestingly, it takes three coats and an additional at the water line at $200 gallon. And, for that you get 12-18 months life. That is 25% less than I am getting with Pettit Trinidad in SoCal with two coats. I do have a dive service monthly and twice in summer. Point is, that's a chunk of change more for an improvement that seems to be questionable as to toxicity to begin with. Interestingly also, I have watched them gathering samples in Marina del Rey. They go to the far end of the marina, the end farthest and least flushed to sample. It is also the docking area for the huge tour boat fleet. I may just be suspicious, but it seems they have gone out of the way to find the worst spot. Anyhow, according to The Log and some other sources, the methodology to measure the copper in San Diego's Shelter Island is flawed as is the projected impact on marine life. Here is a link to the Recreational Boaters of California's statement. I sure don't mind doing our part, but I'd like to feel better that a) what we are doing is materially damaging and b) that the corrective measures we are asked to endure will provide material improvement. BTW, the USN has a large facility right next to Shelter Island in San Diego. Of course, it is the recreational boater who must be responsible for the leeching... uh huh. Rick D.

 

[abe]

Ensedana here I come when its time to repaint..

my boat. Better, cheaper, and none of this environmental crap from California.

 

[OldCat]

Boaters can do a better job . . .

Rick - while not bottom paint, the article touched on several areas of boating and environmental issues. Boaters in general could do a better job - on basic maintenance and its potential environmental effect.Early this month, I was out your way - chartering out of MDR. Whilst there, I looked at a boat that I was interested in buying. The *ding* "this boat has not been mechanically maintained" moment was finding a frozen potti dump seacock with a broken rusted off handle. I don't know for sure it was stuck open - but it looked that way.IMHO - in today's times, boater's are better off following the rules on dumping waste and making sure boat systems are maintained - as example - the seacock closes so as to prevent poo being dumped in the harbor.Long term - better behavior by all means less regulation and hassle for us.It doesn't answer the paint issue, but it does address in part the problem of not so easily becoming an enviro target - better behaviour by the bad/poorly maintained boaters would probably reduce attention payed to boating by the enviros.

 

[patrick]

It sounds like more hysteria to me

Like global warming and the freon deal. Just some more emotional, legal, regulatory marketing practices like before with outlawing some kinds of freon when the patents ran out on the big guys formula.

 

[RoadTool]

Pleasure boaters the prob ?

SEWAGE OVERFLOWS TO BE MAPPED Christina ShockleyMarch 20, 2006Public interest groups say, on average, more than 850 billion gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage is dumped into U.S. waterways each year. Notifying the public of these events is sporadic, but one city has started to tell the public of when — and where — overflows occur. The GLRC's Christina Shockley reports: Federal guidelines say officials need to notify the public of sewage overflows, but the rules are vague… and sometimes not followed. Kevin Shafer is executive director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District. In a somewhat unusual move, it’s set up an online map of area waterways that will highlight where, exactly, sewage is dumped into the water. Shafer says, in the past, specific information wasn’t so easy to get. "We would notify the Public Health Department and then they would notify everyone that there’d been an overflow. We never really pinpointed the location, unless someone from the media or general public called." Shafer says people should avoid areas where overflows have occurred because of bacteria and viruses that could be in the water. Meanwhile, some states in the Great Lakes region are working on updating notification requirements about sewage overflows. For the GLRC, I'm Christina Shockley. © 2004 Great Lakes Radio Consortium back

 

[Marc]

Anti-boat prejudice

A couple years ago, two parks (Peanut Island and Phil Foster) in Lake Worth Lagoon had to be closed due to high coliform levels. The County Environmental Department blamed moored sailboats in the area, and has been working to get them pushed out of the area. (I keep my 24 footer with a porta-pottie moored there.)Funny thing was that they perisisted in saying the sailboats were the cause long after the Health Department had identified a leaking submerged sewage pipe as the proable cause. Sewage line fixed - Coliforms gone - sailboats still identified as the "source". Go figure.

 

[Calif. Ted]

Most of the plastic and other trash in our

waters come straight out of the open storm drains and flood control channels. It's customary for beaches to be "black flagged" due to bacteria levels after a storm and most are now boomed during storms to try and catch most of the floating debris. These channels run for hundreds of miles across densely populated urban areas. They are used as dumps by inhabitants and campgrounds for tens of thousands (estimated) "homeless". Catalina Express burns 450 gallons of diesel every trip and my sailboat is a polluter ?

 

[Ross]

Don't forget the dog poop

that washes into the water ways with every rain. And all of the motor oil from the parking lots.

 

[Calif. Ted]

A few months ago a bait fishing boat with

1500 gallons of diesel and 15,000 pounds of squid sank off the beach in San Clemente and they can't even find the darn thing. You'd think they could track the bodies of dolphins that have died from eating diesel marinated squid.

 

[newly anonymous]

non-toxic bottom paints

What RBOC isn't telling you is that non-toxic bottom paints currently under development, especially the epoxy-based solutions, will cost less, last longer, weigh less, and perform equally well to copper-based paints. Other benefits will include less blistering and a faster bottom. To find out what RBOC doesn't want you to know, consult with a University of California site at http://seagrant.ucdavis.edu/nontoxicdemo.htm . And remember that RBOC is the group that fought long and hard to try to keep two-cycle outboards in Lake Tahoe, jet skis in the Monteray National Marine Sanctuary, et cetera. Although RBOC claims to represent all recreational boaters of California, they certainly don't represent those of us who are environmentally consious.

 

[tom]

Oysters doing well

Measuring copper is one thing but I've noticed how large the oysters are that are growing on our marina's pilings. It would seem more meaningful if they showed that there was a noticeable difference in marine life in a copper polluted basin as compared to a comparable non-polluted basin. Hell the oysters and barnacles still grow on my propshaft and propeller right next to my copper painted hull. At least here it must not be much of a problem. If I wasn't worried about the sewage treatment plant a 100yds from my marina I'd be eating some of the big fat oysters growing on pilings surrounded by toxic boats. These oysters look much better than the raw ones I've been buying at restaurants. If the by is full of sewage the amount of copper present won't matter. If cities can't control runoff pumping my head won't matter. If all the rivers and streams are full of plastic trash the little that boaters contribute won't matter. BTW I only use my holding tank and pump it out never overboard and nothing gets thrown overboard from our boat. OTOH if they provide a non-toxic substitute that is comparable to what we now use I'll buy it. I think everyone sees our waterways going downhill and boats are an easy target to blame. Forget that all of New Orleans sewage treatment plants flooded and blame it on the yacht basin. Finally the cost and hassle of boating is making me think about finding another hobby. My wife and I really love boating but the reality is that we only have so much money to waste on a hobby.