Sea Mooring-Anti fouling

phil richards · 17 June 2011, 19:35

Hi guys, how long can you keep a rib ( if at all) on a mooring without using anti foul paint?, if it has been on a mooring for a few weeks can you just clean the hull or does it make it difficult to clean? ie it eats in to the surface. Still new to the ribbibg world but learning fast....and sometimes the hard way!! cheers.
Ps when a rib is on a mooring do you leave the bungs in on the for and aft locker/engine well area on a Destroyer and why are they there? apart from condensation etc.
Phil

HUMBER P4VWL · 17 June 2011, 19:52

We leave our ocean pro on from may to september, but with antifoul. If not, the barnacles and green weed end up all over it, but it will depend on your area, some are worse than others. covered in weed, your speed can fall by up to 30%.

If you cleaned it off every 3 weeks or so, you would be ok, but it means diving in, or pulling it out. You'll find the green slime to start with, then weed, then barnacles. It's the barnacles and thick weed once attached that will do damage to the tubes especially at the rear if the boat sits low. The hull should be ok, but it may damage the gel coat when you try and get it off.

Persoanlly, put some antifout on.

Re the bungs, we leave our front anchor locker bung out and the rear bung in to the well out too. Water will get in to the front locker from rain and in to the void as the rear bung in the well is not perfect. So you may as well leave them out, or the front locker well fills and soaks your ropes etc.

Perhaps leaving them in is beneficial if in severe weather when moving, so if you stuff, the water wont go in the void and take longer to get out, but personally, i doubt it makes much difference as the tubes lift the boat anyway.

Hope this helps.

GJ0KYZ · 17 June 2011, 21:36

There's no way around antifouling unless you can clean the bottom of the hull at low tide. I have Coppercoat on my boat; it's good for 15 years although it's not cheap. I don't know anything about ultrasonic devices but they don't sound cheap either.

behavin · 17 June 2011, 21:57

i keep mine in for 11 months a year only really pulling it up if i go off on hols's or if extreme bad weather is forecast in the winter

i thought long and hard about antifoulling the 6.8 ribcraft i have....but after pricing it up and because i have the use of a crane i fitted lifting eyes for it and lift it out every 5-6 weeks and bleach it.
cost of eyes were £65 cost of the antifoulling and primer over £120 and then the elbow grease to sand off the hull ,loosing the shine to get the paint to stick...

i loose about 11-12 knots of top end after a month of growth..

another con' re antifouling is if you sell the rib at a later date...some people are suspicious of the covering of the hull...however on the plus side you can fair up the hull with isopon and then paint rather than using gelcoat filler and lots of wet and dry.

.

if you were to antifoul ,once the hull is sanded back ..make sure you degrease the hull as apparently wax from the moulding can still be present which throws the primer off....

willk · 17 June 2011, 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by GJ0KYZ

There's no way around antifouling unless you can clean the bottom of the hull at low tide.

A friend of mine does his on SCUBA.

A quick trailering is probably the answer - keep yer hand in at recoveries over the summer. Once every three weeks is about average. A rub down with a brush or pressure washer followed by a scrub with a 3M light abrasive pad seems to be standard. I reckon if the pressure washer was strong enough, it would be enough. Some recommend waxing the tubes to inhibit growth gripping the fabric.

Looking at the cost of annual antifouling and periodic stripping - a petrol pressure washer would be the cheap option. It would also make your RIB easier to resell. Antifouling a boat is a PITA and takes several goes over several days (if you do it right). Four or five recoveries over the season is a small price to pay - you will probably need to do other work on the boat anyway, some of the times.

Antifoul slows a boat down, costs money, looks crappy. A dirty hull does too mind...

gotchiguy · 17 June 2011, 22:02

Into the Red lived on her mooring from Early July 'til September. The tabs were covered in weed but the rest of it was fine. We did clean it every so often but only really one side as when it dries it is impossible to tip the other way. Thanks to GT Marine, a little bleach soon got it all off

willk · 17 June 2011, 22:05

What type of bleach are you guys using?

behavin · 17 June 2011, 22:07

i use red label hyperchloride...brilliant stuff

walruz · 17 June 2011, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by behavin

i use red label hyperchloride...brilliant stuff

+1 for hyperchlorite

willk · 17 June 2011, 22:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by behavin

i use red label hyperchloride...brilliant stuff

That'll be Sodium Hypochloride (chlorine) then? Typically sold 10-15% for sterlising things. Swimming pools for example. It's very caustic (a strong Base)

Quote:

Originally Posted by walruz

+1 for hyperchlorite

That's a change from the Hydrochloric Acid you were using last year

You lot, what are yiz like?

GJ0KYZ · 17 June 2011, 22:48

I'm not sure that antifoul slows a boat down that much; I can't tell any difference personally. I've tried bleach in the past. It's ok, but the trouble is that it takes a while before the weed drops off and it doesn't get rid of any caked-on mud which obviously will slow you down. Coppercoat won't prevent mud settling on the hull either so what I bought recently was a Vileda mop from B&Q that has a right angle head. I can now clean my hull whilst the boat's dried out resting on her beaching legs, even at MSt.M.

jwalker · 17 June 2011, 22:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by phil richards

Hi guys, how long can you keep a rib ( if at all) on a mooring without using anti foul paint?, if it has been on a mooring for a few weeks can you just clean the hull or does it make it difficult to clean? ie it eats in to the surface. Still new to the ribbibg world but learning fast....and sometimes the hard way!! cheers.
Ps when a rib is on a mooring do you leave the bungs in on the for and aft locker/engine well area on a Destroyer and why are they there? apart from condensation etc.
Phil

It seems to vary considerably depending on your location. Given that your profile says you are at Ullapool, I'd give it a go without antifouling. My experience of being over from you in the islands is no growth in the time scale you are talking of.
You should not get water into the inner hull of your Destroyer, if that happens you should be investigating the leak. If you fit the rear bung when the hull is cold a positive pressure will develop as the hull warms.

walruz · 18 June 2011, 08:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

That'll be Sodium Hypochloride (chlorine) then? Typically sold 10-15% for sterlising things. Swimming pools for example. It's very caustic (a strong Base)

That's a change from the Hydrochloric Acid you were using last year

You lot, what are yiz like?

Hey we all make mistakes.

Ian

HUMBER P4VWL · 18 June 2011, 08:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwalker

It seems to vary considerably depending on your location. Given that your profile says you are at Ullapool, I'd give it a go without antifouling. My experience of being over from you in the islands is no growth in the time scale you are talking of.
You should not get water into the inner hull of your Destroyer, if that happens you should be investigating the leak. If you fit the rear bung when the hull is cold a positive pressure will develop as the hull warms.

Therefore if you put the bung in when warm it will go loose when the rear well fills with rainwater. Consequentially the void will get water in as ours does. Ours is a new boat and the void gets water in with bungs fitted as they're not screw in, just rubber bungs. Asked Humber and PBS and they both said the same.

willk · 18 June 2011, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by walruz

Hey we all make mistakes.

Ian

We do. And I wasn't being picky, it's just that I wouldn't want someone to mess with either of those brews

BTW, if you mix them they generate a rapid chlorine gas release that is rather deadly. I've lost several pairs of trousers and a few shirts to the hypo. A few bits of skin to the hydrochloric...

willk · 18 June 2011, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

BTW, if you mix them they generate a rapid chlorine gas release that is rather deadly.

Good grief - what a coincidence!

Anyone guess what these numpties were doing?

behavin · 18 June 2011, 22:22

ok i cant remember the exact chemical...i'll read the label on monday at work and tell you..

all i know it works a treat and i dilute it about 50-50 ..stubburn bits put it on neat..

and yes i once mixed this "bleach" in a sprayer that had some of our rust descaler acid ( it pp400 phosphoric acid i think) and it cleared everone out of the office in seconds .....

willk · 18 June 2011, 22:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by behavin

and yes i once mixed this "bleach" in a sprayer that had some of our rust descaler acid ( it pp400 phosphoric acid i think) and it cleared everone out of the office in seconds .....

On a smaller and more homely scale - it's the same reaction that occurs when your missus has bleached the jakes and you take a whizz in it - fizz!

Hypo + Uric acid = fizzy water & a mighty whiff!

jwalker · 19 June 2011, 22:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

Therefore if you put the bung in when warm it will go loose when the rear well fills with rainwater. Consequentially the void will get water in as ours does. Ours is a new boat and the void gets water in with bungs fitted as they're not screw in, just rubber bungs. Asked Humber and PBS and they both said the same.

Well yes if the bung is fitted when the boat is warm that will apply that's why I mentioned it. However, be rational, if water is getting in then there is a leak somewhere and there shouldn't be. After all, you dont expect water to come through your hull, why would you expect it to come through your deck?

BogMonster · 20 June 2011, 01:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

Therefore if you put the bung in when warm it will go loose when the rear well fills with rainwater. Consequentially the void will get water in as ours does. Ours is a new boat and the void gets water in with bungs fitted as they're not screw in, just rubber bungs. Asked Humber and PBS and they both said the same.

My Destroyer used to as well - water used to get in under the deck both from the anchor space and from the bilge at the stern. Didn't matter how hard you shoved the bungs in the holes they didn't seal properly and worked loose after a while.

I always assumed it caused no bother and if there was a bung in there then it was intended to get wet inside at some point, so in the end I just left them both out all the time and put the bilge pump on when I first launched. I always worried a bit about whether it would freeze but never had any problem from it.

The Vipermax has a closed anchor locker and the deck drains out through the trunk so no water can sit anywhere, the only access into the hull void is through the sealed deck hatch and the drain bung on the transom. Fortunately the hull void is 100% bone dry - I say fortunately as some of the ply in the under-deck space is not sealed (mainly where it's had holes put through it) so water inside could create a problem but as it's dry it isn't a great concern.