Scuba diving for work

[Jenkcoast]

Very well put rmediver2002, electrolysis will eat your hull, out drive/lower unit/shaft and props up quick, especially in warmer water. I got some pictures of a boat I did in St. Mary's, GA, less than 1/8 of a hull left w/ pin holes scattered through out the stern. Bad stuff.... Thanks for the insight though. I think some of you have looked to deep into this, I ain't starting a career out of this, mostly just doing it for friends and a few co-workers boats. Nothing commercial grade or size. Just looking for some numbers. Thanks

 

[Gary D.]

I have done a search and didn't find much. I've been doing it for 3-4 years up in CT but worked directly for a marina because I wasn't gonna kick out a 1,000,000.00 insurance policy, which is required up there. So I never had to do the leg work, just did the job and got paid once a week.

The EPA shouldn't be involved, unless your using some ugly chemicals, hell half the time a putty knife and alot of green pads work just fine. With the newer bottom coatings like intersleek and nofoul algea build up isn't that bad as long as it's kept up.

Oh, and not to be a smart *** but, zincs are spelled with a "c", not a "k". And I have changed zincs all day long, what do you think Fireman do in the Coast Guard......

Sorry for the K but I just finished a 20-hour day at work. So I’m lucky I spelled my name right.

The way your first post reads was like you were one of the many that gets a C card and plans on going to work. Your profile didn't say much to change our thinking.

The EPA "SHOULDN'T" get involved but they can and if they do they can be a real problem. Some of the bottom coatings, especially the older ones, can be nasty.

Zinc’s, you haven’t seen Zinc’s until a team of three change all of them on a Carrier or Cruiser. They have to be done way more often than the divers like. Two bolts per Zinc, which if I remember right was around 18” long, and they span about 2/3 the length of the ship. Talk about bounce diving. That was one of those glory jobs everyone thinks the Navy Divers do.

Take a look at my pic's and you can see some of the stuff we changed. Slightly tougher than Zinc's. Anyone ask me to do that today and they will see 3 fingers raise. I will then say, "Read between the lines". ;^)

I'm just guessing but wouldn't a fireman be changing them on deck and not submerged?

Gary D.

 

[Jenkcoast]

Not in the CG, Fireman are Engineers and maintain pretty much everything except the lines and paint(lol), but I respect the Navy divers, my CO is a Navy diver and he has put us though some of the training he had to go though. No joke and tuff. We don't even do our own bigger ships, all contracted out, we just do the smaller ones.

I'm talking about the 40-60 range that most of the people have asked me to do for them. It cost about 350 just to haul a boat out in Charleston that size (not including the work being done). I figure if I can help them save alittle money and make a little myself, then why not.

 

[rmediver2002]

Very well put rmediver2002, electrolysis will eat your hull, out drive/lower unit/shaft and props up quick, especially in warmer water. I got some pictures of a boat I did in St. Mary's, GA, less than 1/8 of a hull left w/ pin holes scattered through out the stern. Bad stuff.... Thanks for the insight though. I think some of you have looked to deep into this, I ain't starting a career out of this, mostly just doing it for friends and a few co-workers boats. Nothing commercial grade or size. Just looking for some numbers. Thanks

For small boats around here they charge around $2.00 a foot, we do the Navy vessels in town and charge an hourly rate for the dive team but that is the only vessels we get and the only reason we get them is that the Navy base requires contractors to meet the OSHA and Coast Guard regulations for commercial diving. Most of the "hull scrubbing companies" working for $2.00 a foot are single man operations.

You might be doing better in your part of the country, sometimes it seems everyone in Florida is a diver.

 

[Jenkcoast]

For small boats around here they charge around $2.00 a foot, we do the Navy vessels in town and charge an hourly rate for the dive team but that is the only vessels we get and the only reason we get them is that the Navy base requires contractors to meet the OSHA and Coast Guard regulations for commercial diving. Most of the "hull scrubbing companies" working for $2.00 a foot are single man operations.

You might be doing better in your part of the country, sometimes it seems everyone in Florida is a diver.

Thanks for the help, I talked to a couple dive shops too and they said it ranges between 4-9 dollars a foot. But not as many people around here do it as FL probably. Thanks again though.