Careening

[Marc]

Does anyone careen their 7.9 for bottom cleaning? I usually go in the water, but following a recent surgery (that has kept me from sailing), I'm thinking of careening it using the main halyard and a nearby dock. I used to do this with a J boat...but it was lighter.

[dave]

[Tom Elsen]

It will bend your mast tip.

[Marc]

What about using the jib halyard and raising the keel...or am I just asking for trouble?

[dave]

Marc, I have always considered careening a last ditch stop gap for smaller, relatively light weight keelboats. The wear and tear on your halyard where it comes out of the box at a severe angle would be even WORSE using the jib/chute halyard because they are lower to the water AND would put much greater load on that spot because of the shorter lever arm. Why can't you just pull the boat and clean/bottom paint it? There's no free lunch on such things!

[Marc]

Thanks, Dave. I thought I could at least get a voucher for that lunch!

I am sailing on one of the New York fingerlakes, and this is my second year with Zafu (#195). She had been sitting in the North Carolina woods for six years, and I had to do a lot of work to get her shipshape. Following the suggestion of two local marinas, I had the new Teflon-like bottom put on in the hope of not having to use bottom paint (after years with an older San Juan and bad arms, I had had enough). I now realize that one advantage of bottom paint is that you cannot see minor algae buildup... different than when you have a pristine white bottom. Since I'm picky, this bottom needs cleaning the bottom every month or so (I hate other sailors to see a dirty bottom when I'm going upwind at 6 knots!). This normally is not a problem (using my wet suit spring and fall). Returning back to the boat after six weeks, though, last weekend I found that even with scrubbing, there is some "staining" on the bottom that I have not been able to get off. Plus, I'm finding that the amount/number of time/s I have to hold my breath to get the center of the bottom clean leaves me feeling slightly seasick. I suppose I should think about hauling out on the trailer, doing the cleaning, and dropping her back in, but I'm guessing that is more trouble than it's worth. I think you're right... no free lunch. At least in the spring I can be sailing while my friends are still working on their bottom paint.

[dave]

There truly is no free lunch when it comes to a nice, smooth, clean bottom on a moored boat. If you're racing I'd put 2-3 SPRAYED coats of VC17M on the bottom followed by a quick wetsanding with 1000 grit. The isn't a great antifouling paint for the long term but if applied as described it's smooth enough and has enough copper AND Irgarol http://www.ciba.com/irgarol_1051 to really do a good job for a few seasons. Like all antifoulings USING THE BOAT is the most important thing for maintaining a clean[ish] bottom. Sitting unused in the slip or on a mooring will cause growth on ANYTHING given a few months or more.

You have much cooler water than we do which is good but fouling will still occur. If you mostly cruise then you might try this: http://www.bluewatermarinepaint.com/coshscx45abc.html I recently switched to this instead of ALL of the others type of ablatives because of the reviews and the lack of any REALLY good performance from anything else.

[Marc]

Thanks, Dave, you're a gem. "USING THE BOAT is the most important thing for maintaining a clean[ish] bottom. Sitting unused in the slip or on a mooring will cause growth on ANYTHING" not only explains a lot (which, foolishly, I just hadn't thought of), but it gives me an excuse for why I have to sail instead of cleaning the garage!

[dave]

There you go!!!!

People are often puzzled when they get new bottom paint, launch the boat and then come back in 3 months to find the bottom slimy........................ at least!
The slime is the fastest growing crud out there [algae] and will grow fairly well on most antifouling paints. Once the slime gets thick enough the other nasty stuff can start to grow because the slime layer is keeping it away from the paint surface.

I recommend to my clients to at least get their boat motoring at top speed every time they go out [no wind] and then turn the rudder all the way to port for a couple of circles and then build speed again and do the same thing on starboard. This will clean 95-98% of the slime off of fresh, SMOOTHLY prepared bottom paint, and even on the old roller special will take off maybe 80-90% of the grunge. Keeping the slime from building up is the first step towards keeping the biology projects from growing on the bottom!

[Tom Elsen]

Um, may I suggest....crew job?
Never worked for me, but you could always try.

[Tim Bosma]

have you tried flossing?

[fleck]

have you tried flossing?

Ditto.

Tim (or others) can you post a pic of your flossing setup? I'm about 900 mi from mine. I don't think the flossing rigs have been discussed before.

[Tim Bosma]

we flossed last night. i should check this board more often than daily!
Pics will follow since it did happen.

[Ed]

We have been playing with pool covers the blue bubble stuff -- sink the back with bricks and slide the boat into the under blanket up to the rudder and tie it up -- its working fine on flying scotts and I'm about to try it on the S2 after the winter -- or pay a 56 yr old kid like me to scrub the bottom 3x a year

[AJ Oliver]

There are many ways to clean the bottom of a 7.9, and this task should not be neglected if you want decent boat speed. By way of evidence, a member of our Club (Sandusky Sailing Club) recently motored across the Bay to give the bottom on his O'Day 28 a good scrub. On the way over, he checked his engine rpm's; and on the return trip (with a clean bottom), he kept his engine rpm's the same. He had fully 3/4 knot greater boat speed on the return trip with a clean bottom. A clean bottom doesn't just make a difference - it makes a huge difference. I would say that bottom cleaning every few months, even in cold northern lakes, is not sufficient. If you race, do it every two weeks or less.

Fair Winds, AJ Oliver
Sandusky Sailing Club
# 445 Class Struggle