Hull cleaners- post your gadgets!

[Couv]

...help an old man out, what is CPDA & BMP?

We sometimes used the brushes on fiberglass bottom pleasure craft, I don't recall there being a problem, except one catamaran had anti-fouling paint that was the same color as hydraulic fluid and we got into a panic shutting the pump down….so yeah, if a boat has anti fouling paint, the brush is not a good idea.

c

 

[fstbttms]

CPDA = California Professional Divers Association

BMP = Best Management Practice

What I mean to say is that brush carts can be safely used on boats with anti fouling paint, provided the right brush is being used and the operator is experienced and knows what he is doing.

 

[charlie123]

fstbttms not to change the subject what is the going rate to clean a bottom of a boat in Califorina.

 

[fstbttms]

Here in the Bay Area we're getting about $2.25/foot for sailboats, $3.00/foot for powerboats. South of Point Conception, the price goes down by about a buck a foot.

 

[Flyingobject]

now is that per foot of boat length or square foot of haul area?

 

[fstbttms]

now is that per foot of boat length or square foot of haul area?

For me, it's length on deck (LOD). Some boat owners expect you to charge by waterline length (WLL) which is always shorter, and I tell those geniuses that they're delusional. I wish I was charging by the square foot of hull area (or wetted surface), but the owners wouldn't know what the number was, in most cases. No, LOD is best because it is usually an easy number to know (most boat model names include the length, i.e. "Catalina 36") and since some boats of a given length have more wetted surface to clean than others of the same length, I want to make sure the tables are stacked in my favor.

 

[mike_s]

fstbttms... do you clean/polish the hull above the water line?

 

[fstbttms]

fstbttms... do you clean/polish the hull above the water line?

No. Topsides stuff is too much like work.

 

[hullscrubber]

Yup... and if someone complains about the cost of having the bottom cleaned, let them see what it costs to have the topside washed and waxed!

 

[sterlingMarineService]

What fo you guys use to clean a steal hull?! Anything more heavy duty?