Hull cleaners- post your gadgets!
- Thread starter fstbttms
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OP
fstbttms
Contributor
OK, but if you were to service a boat with good paint on the 2-week schedule others here have claimed is typical for the Charleston area, could you clean it with a white pad?
RoyalTouchDiving
Registered
By "white pad" do you mean the little scotch pad thingy? If so...then no.
Like I said...I am sure the growth here would startle your mind. The current on a lazy day here is around 3 - 4 knots. New moon we have tidal changes of about 7.5 feet, making the current go at about 6 - 7 knots.
On a daily basis you have to schedule your cleaning around the tide schedule...you can't do waterlines at full on tide.
I will post a picture of a boat that just pulled into the marina and wants to be cleaned and hasn't been cleaned in one month.....it will show the barnacle growth here also.
I will try to get pictures of the bottom also showing how much growth is on a typical boat here in 2 weeks.
Like I said...I am sure the growth here would startle your mind. The current on a lazy day here is around 3 - 4 knots. New moon we have tidal changes of about 7.5 feet, making the current go at about 6 - 7 knots.
On a daily basis you have to schedule your cleaning around the tide schedule...you can't do waterlines at full on tide.
I will post a picture of a boat that just pulled into the marina and wants to be cleaned and hasn't been cleaned in one month.....it will show the barnacle growth here also.
I will try to get pictures of the bottom also showing how much growth is on a typical boat here in 2 weeks.
OP
fstbttms
Contributor
By "white pad" I mean a white 3M Doodlebug pad which is the standard hull cleaning tool here in California. Here is a pic (holder on left has no pad attached):
I'm sorry, but your argument that a metal scraper is less damaging than a pad just doesn't hold water (no pun intended). And while I do not dispute that you experience extreme fouling conditions in your area, that doesn't mean that a scraper is the best tool for the job. Bottoms should never be allowed to get so foul that a scraper is required. Don't get me wrong, I take a scraper into the water with me every boat I dive. But only for removing three-dimensional growth, not as a general cleaning tool on anti fouling paint in good condition.
Here's my opinion; part of our job as hull cleaners is to educate the (frequently ignorant) boat owner about proper boat maintenance. And by "proper boat maintenance", in this instance I mean cleaning the bottom as gently as possible. If your customers think that letting their boats get so foul that they can only be cleaned with a metal blade constitutes proper maintenance, then you have an excellent opportunity to illuminate all the reasons that is not so. You are the professional here, not him. You speak with the authority that nobody else has. And once you have shown him why letting his bottom get anything more than lightly foul is bad for the environment, reduces boat performance and costs him money (lots of it, in the long run), he will understand why having you clean the bottom more frequently is a good thing and will save him dollars. On your end, your work will be easier and you'll make more money to boot.
I know that the prospect of moving clients to a more frequent schedule is daunting, but I have done it with a lot of success and using my method, once the customer sees the reality, going to a more frequent cleaning schedule is almost a no-brainer. I'll post more about what I do if anybody is interested.
I'm sorry, but your argument that a metal scraper is less damaging than a pad just doesn't hold water (no pun intended). And while I do not dispute that you experience extreme fouling conditions in your area, that doesn't mean that a scraper is the best tool for the job. Bottoms should never be allowed to get so foul that a scraper is required. Don't get me wrong, I take a scraper into the water with me every boat I dive. But only for removing three-dimensional growth, not as a general cleaning tool on anti fouling paint in good condition.
Here's my opinion; part of our job as hull cleaners is to educate the (frequently ignorant) boat owner about proper boat maintenance. And by "proper boat maintenance", in this instance I mean cleaning the bottom as gently as possible. If your customers think that letting their boats get so foul that they can only be cleaned with a metal blade constitutes proper maintenance, then you have an excellent opportunity to illuminate all the reasons that is not so. You are the professional here, not him. You speak with the authority that nobody else has. And once you have shown him why letting his bottom get anything more than lightly foul is bad for the environment, reduces boat performance and costs him money (lots of it, in the long run), he will understand why having you clean the bottom more frequently is a good thing and will save him dollars. On your end, your work will be easier and you'll make more money to boot.
I know that the prospect of moving clients to a more frequent schedule is daunting, but I have done it with a lot of success and using my method, once the customer sees the reality, going to a more frequent cleaning schedule is almost a no-brainer. I'll post more about what I do if anybody is interested.
RoyalTouchDiving
Registered
With your attitude, the sky is the limit for you out here then....you really should think about moving your operation to here in the Charleston area. I am sure you would put all 10 companies here out of business in no time.
I would think you could get here and have a pretty good base in about 2 weeks, and in about 2 months you should be able to clear about $150k pretty easily.
I guess I owe you a debt of gratitude that you don't come out here and put all of us metal scraper using hillbillies out of work........so thanks!
I would think you could get here and have a pretty good base in about 2 weeks, and in about 2 months you should be able to clear about $150k pretty easily.
I guess I owe you a debt of gratitude that you don't come out here and put all of us metal scraper using hillbillies out of work........so thanks!
OP
fstbttms
Contributor
The purpose of this thread is to provide a forum for hull cleaners to share information and techniques so that we all can do our jobs better, do them easier and hopefully become more successful. So far all you've contributed is how much better you are than your competition, tossed a few derogatory names and comments my direction and some complete bullsh*t about what anti fouling paint manufacturers recommend for proper cleaning techniques (a claim you have failed to back up to this day.)
Clearly you have been in business long enough to know all the tricks of the trade and can't possibly be shown (or even consider) a better way to do things. I'm just telling you what I know to be true about the hull cleaning biz and what has worked for me and others in my area. But if spending your days cleaning really nasty boats is how you want to make your living, hey, knock yourself out.
Clearly you have been in business long enough to know all the tricks of the trade and can't possibly be shown (or even consider) a better way to do things. I'm just telling you what I know to be true about the hull cleaning biz and what has worked for me and others in my area. But if spending your days cleaning really nasty boats is how you want to make your living, hey, knock yourself out.
RoyalTouchDiving
Registered
So far all you've contributed is how much better you are than your competition.
Where was this from?
Maybe you should contact paint reps from out there, then contact some from the east coast and speak to them about the Charleston area. You, continue to use the implement that the manufacturer strictly recommends against. It seems as though it is you that is so close-minded...
Where was this from?
Maybe you should contact paint reps from out there, then contact some from the east coast and speak to them about the Charleston area. You, continue to use the implement that the manufacturer strictly recommends against. It seems as though it is you that is so close-minded...
Why bother with a hand scraper, why not go full-throttle with a steel bristle brush mounted on a hydraulic or pnumatic grinder. 
OP
fstbttms
Contributor
OP
fstbttms
Contributor
By calling me "closed-minded", you infer that I am passing judgement upon something with which I have no knowlege or experience. That, however, is not the case. I use a scraper when necessary in my business and know how it works on, and what it does to, bottom paint. I am not speaking from ignorance or blind, misguided belief.
BTW- I have contacted sales reps from Interlux, SeaHawk and Petit and posed the question to them. Assuming they respond, I will happily report here what they have to say on the matter.
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