Clean Boat Bottoms

Have you ever noticed that a good boat dealer or broker will always have the bottom of a boat cleaned the day before a sea trial?  The reason for this is that even the slightest growth will cause inefficiencies at running speeds.  Even moderate growth can cause loss of speed.

This equates to higher fuel consumption and Slower sailing speed.  For competitive boats Sail or Power this often makes the biggest difference in when you finish. For engines it is not uncommon for hard growth on the running gear to actually “snuff out” a very powerful diesel engine when it’s shifted into gear.  So it just makes sense and saves operating dollars to maintain that bottom and running gear in as clean a condition as possible.

Basic Guidelines:

Power boaters, have a diver clean your bottom every 2 weeks; note that most of the cost of your dive is prop cleaning

Sailors, have your boat cleaned once a week the best time is within 30 hours of a race. Some racers do them twice a week 

Zincs need be replaced about once a year in water we will inform you when this is needed

FAQ

1) Can I wait more then a week to clean my sail boat

Yes, but unlike a powerboat usage of the boat does not knock off growth often raising the price of a cleaning.

2) What Type of Paint Should I Use

For sailboats, a hard paint or a VOC is best and can be safely cleaned in any circumstance but it does need weekly cleaning. An additional advantage is the paint is about half the price of a soft paint

For power boats a soft paint works well on power boats but must be cleaned with great care as all soft ablatives have toxic compounds that by EPA mandate cannot be discharged in the ocean. Soft paints should be cleaned every 2 weeks.

Props, propspeed is the best option. A cheaper option is trilex of zinc coat. Here’s a nifty trick: Add cayenne pepper to the coating Inflatable or Dinghy A flexible Vinyl, MDR paint.

3) What Do You Clean?

We clean Propellers, Struts, Cutlass Bearings, Shaft(s), Rudders and Water Screens Intakes and the Hull.

$1.50 a foot; the range is $1 to $4 a foot.

$1.00 per foot boats that are cleaned twice a week that have no in water engines IE, outboards and are under 36 feet

$1.50 per foot standard price for any SAIL boat under 36 feet with less then 5ft draft cleaned once a week.

$2.00 per foot standard price for any boat under 36 feet with less the a 5ft draft and one prop cleaned every other week.

Boats over 36 feet or with a deep draft will be determined by boat.

$3 to $4 per foot standard price for any boat not cleaned on a regular basis 

Boats over 36 feet or with a deep draft will be determined by boat.

Examples

J120 which is 40’ LWL beam of 12’ and 7’ Draft cleaned weekly is 60 a cleaning or $1.50 Per foot

Ablin 50 which is 39’ LWL beam of 16’ and 4’ Draft cleaned Biweekly is 100 a cleaning or about $2.50 Per foot

Olson 30 which is 28’ LWL beam of 9’ and 5’ Draft cleaned weekly is 40 a cleaning or about $1.50 Per foot