To clean the bottom I use a combination of green scrub pad (3M), Magic Eraser (any brand), and an abrasive sponge (it has a rough plastic-ish netting over regular sponge).
I jump in the water (put out the swim ladder first), and start at the bow, port side first. It's easy to lose your place, particularly if the bottom is just a little slimy so I like to mark my progress by cleaning from the water line to the bottom. I also use my toes on the side of the hull, especially deep down on the side of the keel, to feel where the hull is still icky. It's difficult to swim down to the keel, find the slimy spot, and clean it all on one breath of air.
This time it was extremely dirty. It was also interesting to find that where the jack stand pads held the boat up (in the boatyard) I developed a significant number of very small barnacles. I guess that second coat makes the difference. Supposedly the yard moves the jack stands to get at the missing spot, but apparently they only do one coat before launch.
I also had a whole bunch of barnacles on the folding prop, to the point where I couldn't fold it up. A little action with the scraper took care of that. Now they open and shut nice and smooth.
I also had a Hunt for Red October moment. While I was working next to the boat I could hear the beautiful sounds of the Grateful Dead through the hull: "I think I hear singing, sir."
A before/after:
2 comments:
I have a beautiful mail-it-to-you prize for the first person who can tell me if the tide was going in or out while I cleaned the bottom.
well, on the before picture the algae is flowing to starboard but I'd have to know more about your local geology to know what that means. On my boat, if it's flowing aft, it's flooding, forward, it's ebbing. Unless I turn my boat around, then it's the opposite.
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