under water boat hull cleaning

[Cacia]

We all insult each other lovingly around here, don't mind us.

It is true though the more you become educated about what is in that water the less likely you become to be inclined to get in it. I think that is what he meant. Welcome and ask anything anytime.

 

[Ice9]

look guys,im not tryin to make anybody mad.i found this board and seen that it had alot of people on it,so i decided to try and get some info about this cleaning bit.if you will google it there is alot of buisineses on the coast that do it so the boat dont have to come out of the water.

so hey,my DUMB REDNECK mind figured why not do that here in tennessee on these big house boats.might make some money,ya might not.either way i learned how to dive.it was a win-win.

i know nothing about this stuff,and there is nobody here that does,and thats why it seems like a good idea here.

Dude. Nobody is insulting you. I had this same thought. Of course, I would have charged more than $30 to do it!

 

[JahJahwarrior]

look guys,im not tryin to make anybody mad.i found this board and seen that it had alot of people on it,so i decided to try and get some info about this cleaning bit.if you will google it there is alot of buisineses on the coast that do it so the boat dont have to come out of the water.

so hey,my DUMB REDNECK mind figured why not do that here in tennessee on these big house boats.might make some money,ya might not.either way i learned how to dive.it was a win-win.

i know nothing about this stuff,and there is nobody here that does,and thats why it seems like a good idea here.

You still sound like you feel insulted. That's not the point of forums. Maybe you are a veteran forum user, but it doesn't sound like it. I've ticked off alot of people on alot of forums, sometimes on purpose, soemtimes on accident. Please, go read the rules of the forum, make an introductory post in the intro area, you'll find we really are nice. By reading some posts and keeping your cool, you'll learn when and why people say things the way they do, when they are insulting and when they are using sarcasm to make a point. It comes with experience. By the way, typing in ALL CAPS is like SHOUTING!!!!. It's considered to be rude if not done sparingly. Also remember the people of this forum will never miss you if you leave and we haven't gotten to know you. However, you might end up missing out if you leave without getting to know the forum.

Why don't you give us some more info on your boat that you need to get cleaned. How big is it? What marina do you keep it at? Could they haul it out and let you pressure wash the bottom with it in "drydock" for a few hours? How bad does it need cleaning?

 

[Meister481]

Being that I have spent quite a bit of time on Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow-KY, most big lakes that are large enough for houseboats have bottom cleaning stations. They look like an upside down carwash that use spinning brushes to clean the bottoms as they are pulled thru. Might go to the state dock and ask if you can use theirs.

After my first stint diving for money, I found that it's not very glamorous. In fact, It kinda sucked. Unless I can make $50 an hour or more, it's not worth the time to have to sanitize your gear, fill tanks and such after a dive in a bacteria infested mudhole with ZERO Vis.

You might be a nedneck if you are willing to scrub the bottom of a boat for $30. Even moreso if you do it to pay for aunt mommy's monthly back waxing.

 

[Brewone0to]

well i did'nt really mean to stir up the cur dogs,but mike does not know me or do i know him.he cant see my face and i cant see his,so i dont know what he means by anything .i was just trying to get some info,and i asked very nice.with no smart remarks.excuse me for taking it wrong.

so next time i ask for some advise ill start out with HEY ALL YOU STUCK UP RICH SCUBA DIVERS HOW BOUT SOME HELP.

and hopefully you'll know im joking and wont take it the wrong way.

i appoligize for any ruffled feathers and so long it was fun for my first 4 posts but ill go else where. thanks for the help mike.

Welcome to ScubaBoard!!!
You might try "DecoStop", those guys are very helpful and tend to be more understanding to someone with a problem such as yours.
But,honestly. there has to be a reason why there are so many divers and so few are willing to take on such tasks. Some do this for profit, Maybe you'll be one of those bold divers. Befor you do this though, consider Murphy & Darwin.
Well ta ta for now, I'll be looking for you in an upcoming DAN's Accident Analisis.

 

[adurso]

Welcome to ScubaBoard!!!
You might try "DecoStop", those guys are very helpful and tend to be more understanding to someone with a problem such as yours.
But,honestly. there has to be a reason why there are so many divers and so few are willing to take on such tasks. Some do this for profit, Maybe you'll be one of those bold divers. Befor you do this though, consider Murphy & Darwin.
Well ta ta for now, I'll be looking for you in an upcoming DAN's Accident Analisis.

As a TDS member I second the understanding and compassionate attitude that will prevail with such a post.
**snicker snicker snicker**
By the way, roughly 150 years ago I picked up spare change cleaning hulls in the Elizabeth River in VA, until I got a superinfection from the crap in the water, I will not clean my own hull now, I pull the boat out of the water...

 

[catfish20]

so now that we got all the bs out of the way,i did appoligize.you guys are saying cleaning the boats is just a bad idea?

 

[MasterGoa]

so now that we got all the bs out of the way,i did appoligize.you guys are saying cleaning the boats is just a bad idea?

This is my opinion, I have no experience in this.

To be able to scrub boat efficiently, you would need
something to hold yourself to have leverage.

Boat hull are just plain, slick, featureless things and I have trouble
find a way to scrub a boat and not simply push yourself off.

Also, I take it the most common thing to clean off are barnacles.

If so, remember that they are sheels and will put sand sized
shell particle in all your stuff. This is taking into account the off-marina scenario suggested.

The toxicity of the pain and the electrical hazard all seem
very real dangers.

Now, you are in Tennessy. I assume Mississippi, but do you have good vis
in your lakes and rivers?

That in itself might completly change the rules on what you are
trying to do.

Understand also that we mostly dive for fun, so I do not imagine a lot of people here
putting themselves in hazardous situations while diving.

That was my opinion.

MasterGoa

 

[adurso]

so now that we got all the bs out of the way,i did appoligize.you guys are saying cleaning the boats is just a bad idea?

Yes. Bad idea
I really have done it, long ago. If you get a small cut, the amount of bacteria in the water leads right into real bad infection. The really is a huge amount of stray electricity in the water, and there is not enough money in it. My wife has only been diving for about three years, and thought she as the first to come up with the hull cleaning idea. After running through the long version of why it is a bad idea for a rec diver, ending with the whole business thing needing OSHA compliance, she gave up.

With that said, one of my buddie's son cleans hulls at his marina, he makes good money for a kid, though I do believe I will be reading about him one day.....

 

[mike_s]

As a TDS member I second the understanding and compassionate attitude that will prevail with such a post.
**snicker snicker snicker**

Actually, I think they'll be even more cruel. (hence I think your *snicker*)

Prob still not as interesting as some of the posters on Usenet REC.SCUBA though. (they always have such creative responses there... )

By the way, roughly 150 years ago I picked up spare change cleaning hulls in the Elizabeth River in VA, until I got a superinfection from the crap in the water, I will not clean my own hull now, I pull the boat out of the water...

Ouch! That had to hurt!



Catfish. First off, welcome to the board. I hope you have a great time here. None of us, me included, meant to get off on the wrong fin (foot) here.


With that, I'd offer a different approach to making some extra funds cleaning boats. Check to see if the marina near you has a floatin dry dock. I know of one or two near me that have them. They are large docks (20' by 30' for example) that have a ballast floatation system on it. You set up the "stands" on the dock to match the hull you want, "sink" the dock (fill its tanks with water) drive the boat on, and slowly pump the tanks out which "floats" the dock again.

Boaters can rent this dock by the day or week at one of our marinas to do work on their boat. You then see them doing several tasks such as bottom cleaning, painting, installing thru-hull fittings, etc.

You could still make extra funds cleaning the hulls, but safely and above the waterline. In fact, it'll be easier with the use of a gas powered pressure washer. But as one poster said, be carefull of hull damage. Blisters are the most common hull/fiberglass paint problem. Considering a new Sea Ray 50 footer runs abot $600k or more, I'd hate to have to pay for his new bottom job.

Other marinas, especially those with dry storage, can quickly pull a boat of up to 40 feet and set is on stands/blocks with the standard yard forklift. This is a great above water way to clean a hull.

Other yards typically have a "sling lift" or what's called a "travel lift". These typically cost more as they aren't used 100 times a day like the dry storage lifts are.

Having it out of the water also allows the boat owner or tech to "inspect" the hull for any other damage (blisters, electrolysis damage, checking the zincs, prop "tuning", etc).

This is also the perfect opportunity to check the gear-oil in the lower unit (foot), etc.

Hope that all helps. I'm sure there is some money to be made in it (out of water hull cleaning) if you get everything set up.

Hope that's all helpfull to you.

-Mike