Dirty Bottom,

guglielmo6160 · Post by **guglielmo6160** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 5:44 pm

Hey guys, another Outta Control queston,,,
how much can a fouled bottom affect my F31 getting up on plane? I mean I seem to be having alot of problems getting her up,,,

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:26 pm

It will stop you from getting on plane . dirty props /shafts and rudder will do the same only worse .

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:41 pm

Trim tabs working?

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:28 am

Just had mine pulled and cleaned on Saturday. There was a difference of 8 knots at the same rpm due to barnicles and fuzz. yes- it makes a BIG difference!

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:07 pm

it make s a HUGE difference. I have to have my bottom cleaned every 3 weeks in this heat. We went out yesterday with weeds growing on the bottom (3.5 weeks since cleaned), and I didn't even consider trying to get her on plane ...

guglielmo6160 · Post by **guglielmo6160** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:18 pm

wow,,, glad I asked, amazing, Im gonna haul soon, , let me ask, if I haul and just clean, how important is it for the remainder of the season to paint again, about 2 more months,

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:27 am

in middle river, baltimore county where my boat is, i take her out twice a month and run her up for about an hour to get the schmutz off the bottom. there was some crud on the water line area, and after phil and i brought her back into dock i inspected the water line area and all the crud was gone. she had her bottom painted in may so the ablative paint was still fresh but doing what it was supposed to do. even if you dont do extended cruising during the summer, it's always good to just take her out and stretch her legs a bit. i only wish i could do it more often as i cannot handle her alone and it takes an act of congress to get phil away from his home renovation business for even a few hours on the boat. needless to say, i am taking reservations for a boat buddy..... any takers?

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:16 am

guglielmo6160 wrote:wow,,, glad I asked, amazing, Im gonna haul soon, , let me ask, if I haul and just clean, how important is it for the remainder of the season to paint again, about 2 more months,

I guess that depends on the condtion of you paint some paints are muliti seson most ablative paints are you can get a year per coat , the proplem is you will get some growth .And you get a lot of growth on the props , shafts and running gear even if painted . Prop speed or prop coat works well on the running gear you can get a year out it if you use the boat. I used to have to dive every few weeks to clean the running gear before I when to pro coat. I am soing to swith to prop speed next time very costly but worth it .

I would clean it if it looks ok and repaint in the spring . to bad you can't find a diver up there to clean the bottom

JuiceClark · Post by **JuiceClark** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:38 am

I'm on FIVE years now with no bottom job.

I do still put on the scuba gear and dive under there about every six months to replace zincs and give a scrape. There's usually a few tiny barnacles on the props...but the only place they really grow with this contraption is right inside the V-shape of the strut. For some reason, they can manage to grow there and that's the worst place - right in front of the prop.

Don't tell the cops...but when I get a little fuzz at the water line I put a little bleach in the pump sprayer and spray it around there. That takes care of it.

Tuck · Post by **Tuck** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:05 pm

thought this post was about how to change diapers while underway or something.

nevermind.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:17 pm

Juice , you need to tell how you get 5 years . some of us know but others don't .

If you think Juice keeps his boat in a swiming pool your very close to the anwnser .

JuiceClark · Post by **JuiceClark** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:03 am

prowlersfish wrote:Juice , you need to tell how you get 5 years . some of us know but others don't .

If you think Juice keeps his boat in a swiming pool your very close to the anwnser .

I wish I knew how to pull up one of those old posts that describe my "barnicle bunker." Barnacles feed on things flowing in the water under your boat. So, if there's no flowing water there won't be any barnacles. I bought an old billboard on Ebay, framed it with PVC pipes and slid it under my boat and haven't really had barnacles since.

Barnacles try to grow on the bottom of the thingy instead of on my boat but it flexes and shakes them off. About every 18 months I just take a couple hours and make a new one and throw the old, stinky and nasty bunker away. I even re-use the pipes.

On my last version, I didn't frame the transom area like in this picture. I just left it open and bungee the material to the swim platform. That way, when I slide it out from under the boat the pipes don't try to float up into the props...just slips out from under the boat effortlessly: