Barnacles.

Pirate Lady

Pirate Lady

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2020
7,538
Chesapeake Bay, Middle River
Boat Info
Sundancer 250 ‘91
Engines
7.4 Bravo 1
Pulled boat yesterday to have leaking outdrive seal fixed. Found out why my depth guage only works when sitting. The transducer, trim tabs, outdrive hoses, totally covered in barnacles. Was going to remove drain plug, so encrusted I couldn’t get a wrench on it. Lady at the marina I took boat to said they are very bad this year, not just me, everyone having barnacle issues. Never seen it this bad. You’d think the boat sat in water for years. Will post pics tomorrow before I scrape them off.
They were pulling boats today, power washing, that barnacle smell was all over the boat yard.
It’s like skunk, a smell you never forget.
 
Everything environment wise is "bad" this year at my marina I am told. Birds, spiders, growth in the water, dirty boat bottoms, etc. It's my first season there so I can't comment other than, it's bad.

Must be the climate change/warming stuff...
 
I was pleasantly surprised my bottom paint and outdrive paint in excellent condition. Come fall I will need a smidgeon of a quart to touch up a couple of spots. None this year on the outdrive.
I did paint trim tabs and they are bad, not sure why. May have to get that special transducer paint. Never had to paint it before but it’s bad.
 
Growth is insane this year.

I put the dink in the water the other day at 11AM, went to the marina bar for lunch, came back at Noon and there was already growth on the bottom :eek:

I do have bottom paint on the 300 including the drives and tabs but I'm not looking forward to seeing what that looks like :mad:
 
PL, the Bay this year has been bad from top to bottom. Growth on mine has been limited to trim and running gear. If it stays like this I will do a quick pull and clean her up for Winter
 
The barnacles seem bad every year for the past few years. I’m glad I have a trailer boat.

Has anyone noticed the insane number of jellyfish in the middle bay? They are so thick that you can’t put a line in without it coming out covered in jellyfish snot. I did find some Spanish mackerel breaking along the western shore, south of Chesapeake beach before breezy point, so there was that.
 
We are just now getting shrimp, large enough to eat. Jellyfish are showing around Fort Eustis. The lack of a good long rain is bringing the salt levels up. It happens very long dry spell on the James
 
What can I use to get off barnacles in the nooks and crannies of outdrive?
Got tabs and flat surfaces with scraper. A brass brush with wooden handle is too bulky to fit.
 
Pirate Lady said:
What can I use to get off barnacles in the nooks and crannies of outdrive?
Got tabs and flat surfaces with scraper. A brass brush with wooden handle is too bulky to fit.
Click to expand...

A screw driver (flat blade) or pick set. Then possibly wire bush to clean up.
 
So I found a tool worked great in my son’s toolbox. I’m sure it has an automotive use but it’s the size of a screwdriver with a curved forked tip could be used for prying nails out of wood. Worked great for getting barnacles out of tight spots.
I cleaned it up pretty good, took about 2 hours. It’s not pretty but I got about 98% of them off. Very windy so I didn’t have to deal with flies.
Don’t say you weren’t told or be surprised at haulout. Bad this year.
 
Pirate Lady said:
So I found a tool worked great in my son’s toolbox. I’m sure it has an automotive use but it’s the size of a screwdriver with a curved forked tip could be used for prying nails out of wood. Worked great for getting barnacles out of tight spots.
I cleaned it up pretty good, took about 2 hours. It’s not pretty but I got about 98% of them off. Very windy so I didn’t have to deal with flies.
Don’t say you weren’t told or be surprised at haulout. Bad this year.
Click to expand...
That is a tool to remove automotive panels held in place by the christmas tree studs. They do work great as a scraper in many situations.
 
Has anyone taken water temperatures and compared to past years? I assume they are elevated everywhere. We used to get barnacle plumes that would inundate our running gear when I kept my boat up in Suisun City which is 10 miles up a slough. Not that I am on the strait between the delta and the bay it has not been nearly as bad.
 
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