Had the boat hauled

Ruby,

that really doesn't look too bad.

Id like to try the prop speed next year also.

I did not put a lot of hours on the Post this season and ended up growing a barnacle farm on the props and shafts. it took me over an hour with the hooka last month to clear the props and shafts before a trip out east.


RT46

Our divers in Jax FL use ScotchBright pads softly to clean silt and scum from the hulls every month. NEVER a scrapper.
Running gear can never hold any paint treatment so a blade may have to be used if the boat does not get run often.

Hull cleaning is a monthly event. Once the paint is covered with silt or slime, you loose. The best paint in the world can not protect under a covering of silt.

There is a moral there; used the boat often.

Guys, on Long Island Prop-speed won't even come close to paying for itself. All you need do is hire a diver about the 3rd week in August, and use the boat ocassionally, and she'll stay clean. The key though with boats is to keep them moving. If you can't run your boat every 2 weeks or so hire someone to take it out and slow cruise for half an hour. Not only the growth, but it keeps everything lubricated.
Mind if I ask what they get for a short haul these days. Last time I short hauled it was $100 for a 31', inlcluding pulling off a crab pot and sharpening the blades. (A long time ago).

We go out 2 times a week, all year around (lucky me), so hope my fresh painted (micron 66) Post will last for at least one year!

And we pay $ 8,- per ft for haul and launch.

I was talking specific to Long Island, because that's where Ruby hails from. When I was in Lauderdale my boat ran every day, but at the end of 13 months she was a freakin coral reef under there. Up here we get grass, but barnacles don't grow until mid-August.

We did a short haul in June and cleaned the gear.
I had not run the boat much in the spring and it needed it.

Since then, we've run the boat every weekend w/o fail.
from 20 minutes to a couple hrs and everywhere in between.

Still, the slim, she grows......

Once again, hire someone to move it ocassionally. Put on too few hours and you could be looking at rebuilding motors, etc.. Much cheaper (and better for the boat) to hire someone every few weeks to take her off the dock.
The slime is no problem. It'll barely slow you down, and comes off easily with a medium brush. Generally it'll only be found where the sun hits it, so is easily reached.
In the waters around here (assuming that you leave her in all year) you should have a diver go down in the spring to change the zincs and clean the bottom and running gear. Then towards Labor Day have him go down again to clean. I believe you also said that you're coming up on two years with the paint. That boat should be hauled and left for a season for the hull to dry out.
Not to say this is you, but I see far too many people in this industry who try to save a couple hundred and it often costs them thousands.

To repaint, inspect for blisters, and fiberglass does absorb moisture. On the Hat we found her to be stem to stern blisters with water weeping through in at least one spot. Better if that had been found and dealt with 5 years ago.

I won't quote any scientific data. I just learned to always let a fiberglass boat dry out every couple of years.

And that's the difference between a northern and southern boater. It's also one of the reasons I steer my client to northern boats whenever possible. BTW, for the fuel we now have an item called fuel stabelizer. Everything else gets drained and winterized.

You've probably noticed many times on here where it was recommended that people buying boats have a moisture check done.

And I've also seen Northern boats grenade motors on seatrial because the motors sat for 8 months a year. It goes both ways. Sitting isn't good for a lot of the machinery and parts on a boat either. In most modern boats, I see relatively few blisters.....hardly ever actually on boats 1990 or newer.....nothing like you did on boats from the 60's, 70's, and 80's.