Prop fouling

[s/v Dearbhail]

no worries. I completely agree that as boaters we should as a group be more concerned/involved. Despite millions of dollars and many regulations the Chesapeake Bay isn't much better than it was ten years ago.

[gfatula]

An interesting discussion! I am not concerned about the chlorine either but the bag presenting a problem is worth addressing. Perhaps I will do a second single breath dive and remove it after a few days and before I run the engine. I wish we had 51 degree water here in the summer!

[s/v Dearbhail]

It's a little cold in your part of the country, the water never really warms up.

Rick Powers mentioned a different prop for the A4 in a different thread, it's flexible. I checked out their web site, http://mysite.verizon.net/resqp86c/p...lers/id21.html and found they offer an anti fouling paint that's suppose to last a season. I have not contacted them yet about that but I am interested. I know season means different things to different folks, boat useage, time motoring, etc.

[gfatula]

Yes it is "cool" Downeast. I do have a wet suit and scraping the prop is really no big deal. It does usually require more than one breath now that my 60th year is becoming a distant memory. I am just responding to the interest in alternative solutions. We have 10+ feet of tide here so beaching out the boat on a tide to scrape the prop or do anything else a haul out requires in most parts of the country only requires a soft place to lay her over or a dock to support her. Mother Nature's Dry Dock does come in handy.

I did look into the sacrificial prop offered by Indigo. My discussion with them confirmed the variable life potential of the prop depending on how "hot" the harbor is where the boat is moored. According to them it could mean the prop would only last 2 to 3 years in a "hot" harbor. "Hot", meaning electrically hot.

I think I will paint my prop this year with the same paint I put on the hull and see what that accomplishes. The real solution is to use the boat every day! A goal of mine.

[msauntry]

Don't put antifouling directly on your bronze prop. The copper in the paint will react with the prop and electrolysis results. Paint it with a primer first.

Petit sells a spray can for about 17 bucks that's mostly zinc and designed for prop growth. I used it last year and it got me through most of the summer. I did have some barnacles growing towards the end but it was much less than in former years.

[s/v Dearbhail]

msauntry- You had me wondering if I still have a prop. I did paint it back in May when I hauled the boat and did the bottom paint and boot stripe.

However if chemistry serves me right, Bronze is an alloy of Copper and Tin. The copper in the paint should be a "more sacraficial" metal than the bronze alloy of copper (Cu-29) and tin (Sn-50). The copper in the paint is also more sacraficial than the zinc (Zn-30) mounted on the shaft. At least that's how I think it will work. I will let you know though if my prop is "gone."

[msauntry]

One season probably won't show much reaction, but I'd imagine its best not to do it year after year. Put on an appropriate primer and you should be fine with bottom paint.