Select to expand quoteRamona said..cisco said..Ramona said..
I'm going to try the Sharpie pen in a couple of weeks. May as well I have tried everything else except propspeed.
I am really tempted to do it too but after all the money I am spending on the current slipping I don't want to have to slip again for at least 12 months.
I have used paint, lanolin, stove black and polishing. Polishing was probably the best and it's easy to clean up again in the water. I can reach my prop when snorkeling and give it a scrub and even use a broom from my tender but the folding blades make it awkward. Much easier to use the hookah and take your time cleaning it down. I'm thinking get the prop as shiny as possible by linishing and go crazy with a few Sharpie pens.
Suggest you use about 120 paper for the sharpie, seems to like a bit of a bite. Met a US couple who swore by them, they were on the hard after a trip through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific. Their prop looked OK to me.
Select to expand quotePhoenixStar said..Ramona said..cisco said..Ramona said..
I'm going to try the Sharpie pen in a couple of weeks. May as well I have tried everything else except propspeed.
I am really tempted to do it too but after all the money I am spending on the current slipping I don't want to have to slip again for at least 12 months.
I have used paint, lanolin, stove black and polishing. Polishing was probably the best and it's easy to clean up again in the water. I can reach my prop when snorkeling and give it a scrub and even use a broom from my tender but the folding blades make it awkward. Much easier to use the hookah and take your time cleaning it down. I'm thinking get the prop as shiny as possible by linishing and go crazy with a few Sharpie pens.
Suggest you use about 120 paper for the sharpie, seems to like a bit of a bite. Met a US couple who swore by them, they were on the hard after a trip through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific. Their prop looked OK to me.
have tried sharpie pen didn't work and mare barnies than nothing
Select to expand quotePhoenixStar said..
At the risk of sending this thread off centre, I antifouled last February with Amron ABC3 that was left over from a job 10 years ago. It stirred up OK, went on smoothly and so long as I take the boat for a swim every 2 or 3 week there is no slime on the bottom - except for a bit 6 inches from the bow, but I think i must have hit something there. The boat was left on the mooring for 8 weeks but after taking it for a burn up the bay the bottom looks good again.
I also just used Sharpie permanent marker on the prop. I have had such variable results from propspeed I thought it was worth a try. I have run aground 4 or 5 times since and thought I must have sand blasted all the Sharpie off by now, but last time out, a week ago, I still got 5.5 knots at 2000 RPM which is about normal. It'll be interesting to see what the prop looks like when I come out again in February.
Without doubt, using your boat frequently is the definitely the cheapest easiest way to keep hulls clean (within limits of course). "A rolling stone gathers no moss" could be adapted to "A moving boat gathers no barnacles" 
Curious to learn how the Sharpie works. I find Propspeed is only good for about a year.
Actually the bit about the boat moving will not gather shell is a bit of a fallacy. For boats moored in a tidal estuary with a lot of tide flow which is the same as a moving boat will suffer badly from barnacles when the antifoul is depleted. Anchoring or a mooring out of the current makes a significant difference though you will get slime.
Lots of interesting comments on antifoul.... I'm new to this game, feels like nothing as a good as the old (now banned) copper based products.
I think I'll repeat last year approach of antifoul hull and prop with depleting paint, clean the prop regularly with a swim myself, and live with an increasingly dirty bottom and associated loss in performance until next year.
Select to expand quoteRamona said..
Actually the bit about the boat moving will not gather shell is a bit of a fallacy. For boats moored in a tidal estuary with a lot of tide flow which is the same as a moving boat will suffer badly from barnacles when the antifoul is depleted. Anchoring or a mooring out of the current makes a significant difference though you will get slime.
I think you're spot on Ramona, my boat is mid-channel on a straight and has full tidal flow and a lot more growth than when it was in the enclosed basin at Burnett Heads. Cisco's mooring is 300m downstream from me on the inside of a bend and seems to get a lot less growth even on the mooring tackle.
In regards to the prop I keep thinking some sort of cover that could be removed would solve the problem, how to get it on and off easily and quickly presents another problem 
Select to expand quoteWander66 said..Ramona said..
Actually the bit about the boat moving will not gather shell is a bit of a fallacy. For boats moored in a tidal estuary with a lot of tide flow which is the same as a moving boat will suffer badly from barnacles when the antifoul is depleted. Anchoring or a mooring out of the current makes a significant difference though you will get slime.
I think you're spot on Ramona, my boat is mid-channel on a straight and has full tidal flow and a lot more growth than when it was in the enclosed basin at Burnett Heads. Cisco's mooring is 300m downstream from me on the inside of a bend and seems to get a lot less growth even on the mooring tackle.
In regards to the prop I keep thinking some sort of cover that could be removed would solve the problem, how to get it on and off easily and quickly presents another problem
Interesting thought, my thrusters retract into the boat and have no antifouling. Because they are in the dark, they get not growth. If you were not going to use your boat for a period of time you could dive down and put a black plastic or canvas bag over the prop. You could attach it with a Velcro wrap which would be quick and easy to put on and remove.
Some of the problem with prop antifoul is the use of anodes that electroplate the copper with zinc. I didn't use anodes on my old wooden boat and never had a prop antifoul problem. And the prop shaft lasted for 30 plus years. I have had propspeed last for 2 years, then 2 months, then slough off one blade of a Gori. Totally over propspeed. If the sharpie doesn't work I will be looking at Velox.
I was chatting to some one today and they told me about a prop paint when its applied it looks and feels like ceramic colour was white. It was a lot cheaper than prop speed
He could not remember the name of the product but it was available in Melbourne' .
The product came from New Zealand
He said to me on one half is his prop he applied prop speed and the other the ceramic paint from N.Z. He said there was nothing growing on the ceramic side. some on the prop speed.
I am going with Prop Speed when I put her back in the drink. This photo is after three years and not a lot of running. Speaks for itself.
That was the right way around in my gallery. No need to correct HG. 
With specialized products like Prop Speed I think it is very important to follow the maker's instructions precisely.
Notice the hull in this pic above and in the following. The product is Altex No 5 which was applied at her last slipping 3 years ago. Since then she has been sailed (motored) from Lake Macquarie to Bundaberg and only been out for 3 or 4 day sails since. As Wander66 has noted she has been anchored and moored where there is little tidal flow.
I have had a lot worse than this on other yachts I have had in the Burnett River, one with snot tendrils 3 foot long hanging off it. 
Select to expand quoteHG02 said..
I was chatting to some one today and they told me about a prop paint when its applied it looks and feels like ceramic colour was white. It was a lot cheaper than prop speed
He could not remember the name of the product but it was available in Melbourne' .
The product came from New Zealand
He said to me on one half is his prop he applied prop speed and the other the ceramic paint from N.Z. He said there was nothing growing on the ceramic side. some on the prop speed.
Sounds like velox.
www.antifoulingpaint.net/
All I know is that it felt like ceramic( hard surface) and white in colour
I'm going with prop speed also Cisco .
Ill be fitting Kurts prop up this weekend.
Second coat on the non skid. Finish off some engine wiring and sort out some new hoses for the manual bilge pump.
At some stage Ill tidy up the steering hoses in the coming weeks but Ill bleed the autopilot pump this weekend. I fitted the last hose on Wednesday night after work as well as swapped the two hoses going to the hydraulic clyinder so it turning the rudder in the correct way
I might remove the stanchions and strip the paint off I'm not sure as there aluminium what or if I can just polish them. and remove the bob stay Tang and turn it up the correct way.
If your going with prop speed burnish that prop with 80 grit so the etch paint has something to bite into.
Select to expand quoteRamona said..
If your going with prop speed burnish that prop with 80 grit so the etch paint has something to bite into.
And make sure the can has just been opened as propspeed goes off in the tin after being opened.
In New Zealand they have two vertical poles about 10m apart and two horizontal poles,at high tide you moor up to the post and as tide drops the boat sits on horizontal poles and sits out of the water so you can clean hull or any repairs, i though it was a great idea. Has anybody seen them in Australia
Select to expand quotesunycoastguy said..
In New Zealand they have two vertical poles about 10m apart and two horizontal poles,at high tide you moor up to the post and as tide drops the boat sits on horizontal poles and sits out of the water so you can clean hull or any repairs, i though it was a great idea. Has anybody seen them in Australia
There are drying poles or jetties around, places like Darwin etc. There is no chance any would ever get built now though because there is no way to protect the environment! Scrapings etc has to be very carefully collected and removed from slipways etc and this is nearly impossible at drying poles. The pressure from the operators of slipways and travel lifts would stop any chance of new ones anyway.
I used Mark 0413856049 on Lake Macquarie, $133 for 11m Ericson, good job, easy guy to deal with.
Select to expand quotesunycoastguy said...
In New Zealand they have two vertical poles about 10m apart and two horizontal poles,at high tide you moor up to the post and as tide drops the boat sits on horizontal poles and sits out of the water so you can clean hull or any repairs, i though it was a great idea. Has anybody seen them in Australia
They are called 'grids'..."I'm pitting my yacht on the grud thus Widinsday".
I grew up in Bucklands Beach, Auckland and there were several grids at the old BBYC which comprised of piles which the yacht lashed to, and a series of square, evenly spaced concrete piles which lay flat and athwartships on the sea bed which the keel rests on.
My dad still puts his Lotus 950 on the grid near his house on the Tamiki River. Grids are great for people with lots of time and the clubs that own them usually only charge $10-20 for the use of them.
Select to expand quoteAshleyM said..sunycoastguy said...
In New Zealand they have two vertical poles about 10m apart and two horizontal poles,at high tide you moor up to the post and as tide drops the boat sits on horizontal poles and sits out of the water so you can clean hull or any repairs, i though it was a great idea. Has anybody seen them in Australia
They are called 'grids'..."I'm pitting my yacht on the grud thus Widinsday".
I grew up in Bucklands Beach, Auckland and there were several grids at the old BBYC which comprised of piles which the yacht lashed to, and a series of square, evenly spaced concrete piles which lay flat and athwartships on the sea bed which the keel rests on.
My dad still puts his Lotus 950 on the grid near his house on the Tamiki River. Grids are great for people with lots of time and the clubs that own them usually only charge $10-20 for the use of them.
They are called "Careening Poles". I used to put my Spencer "Adrian" up against them at the Glendowie Yacht Club on the Tamiki River in 1978. They were free to use as a club member back then and club membership was about $25/year.
There's careening poles at Stony Point in Vic but I haven't seen em used in years. I took my boat into the shallows yesterday
because the prop had lost a bit of thrust and sure enough there where little barnacles and growth on it so i put on the wet suit, got the scraper and gave it a good clean. One of the advantages of a 3 ft 6 draft, you can stand while cleaning. Then went around the waterline with the long handled scrubbing brush and this with light use of the scraper cleaned the bottom.
If it hasn't been said before, using prop speed, I have read it's essential to heat the prop before applying.
Select to expand quotecisco said...
They are called "Careening Poles". I used to put my Spencer "Adrian" up against them at the Glendowie Yacht Club on the Tamiki River in 1978. They were free to use as a club member back then and club membership was about $25/year.
Ah, the Glendowie boys with their prim and proper terminology
Select to expand quotePhoenixStar said..HG02 said..
I was chatting to some one today and they told me about a prop paint when its applied it looks and feels like ceramic colour was white. It was a lot cheaper than prop speed
He could not remember the name of the product but it was available in Melbourne' .
The product came from New Zealand
He said to me on one half is his prop he applied prop speed and the other the ceramic paint from N.Z. He said there was nothing growing on the ceramic side. some on the prop speed.
Sounds like velox.
www.antifoulingpaint.net/
Sprayed on the Velox today
One coat of etch primer followed by the supplied Velox primer,, and then 3 coats of the Velox plus
Select to expand quoteHG02 said..
Have you used velox on it before Jolene?
No, only Prop speed.
I wanted a paint I could apply myself, If the paint lasts in the tin I could probably go another two applications.
Prop speed didn't fair too well last time .
I notice that Propspeed is available from USA eBay but the postage is $39. Did not see Velox.
