Ready to rumble ......

[Norman]

well it`s been a while, the annual wash and clean up slipped this year, not to two years but in fact almost 3 years ...

Was expexting to find skyscrapers of muscles and other crustaceous things clinging happily to the bottom but ..........

Not too bad as I found it, maybe the occasional run out is keeping them away hahahahaah

just a few pics for those interested (and especially those looking to move into owning their own boat) this is a job that MUST be done I would say every two year at least. It`s no fun and its back breaking but its a must.
Mind you the final result is worth all the work.

pic 1, the ("expensive") lift out - Notice the fairly clean bottom ... a nice surprise !




Closer inspection shows weed (easily removed) on rudder, but a group of shelly crustacious thingys on the propeller . Tell me -ANYONE- how can anything live in that environment being thrown around at 2-3000 rpm for hours on end every week ?????




Lastly - all done and dusted waiting to be lifted back in (she`s in now by the way) with the hull thouroughly cleaned, washed & waxed all the bits and bobs to hull level all cleaned, the bottom all rubbed down and prop polished up, rudder cleaned and new anodes all around. Then everything waterlevel and below (except the polished prop and anodes) re anti-fouled.




ooooooh me back hurts tonight , but its worth it .... probably get a couple on kts extra speed now

[mark]

that props fairing well norman, seen a couple come out recently that were well and truly buggered, even though the boats had decent anodes on, got a theory that one of the 'posh' boats that always seems to have a mains line hooked up must be leaking masses of electrickery off the pontoons ready to eat anything nice and expensive below the water line

[KeithB]

No wonder the bottoms clean Norman, not even your passengers can hang on the speed you fly around

What anti-foul do you use?

[Stuey]

wish i'd known you were doing this norman as i would have come and given you hand. I should be in a similar position soon myself so would have been nice to see the products you used and how you tackled it...and picked up a few tips along the way

regards

stu

[codhw]

Looking great after all your hard work hope the fish appreciate it LOL. This is my first season as a boat owner do you change all of the anodes once every two years or an annual inspection?

[mick dunn]

Norman your boat looks fantastic. It also looks expensive. You are a lucky bloke. I bet its great sailing past the pier watching us divvys fighting for space. I retire in five years and would love something like this.It also looks hard work maintaining it. Never even thought about cleaning up the hull etc.

Mick.

[SIXFOOTSTEVE]

Nice work mate ,sorry I couldn't make it to help as promised months ago ,I blame your timing lol ,fancy waiting until I'm on lates with a washer to fit and holiday stuff to sort for a hugely irate missus at the same time the kids are off

[Norman]

Thanks for the interest folks.

Mark, - Yeah prop not too bad , just a few crusty things on it, thought I`d have seen a lot more than that (especially since I left it so long)

Keith, - I use Blakes , it used to be called Tiger Crusing, I think its now called performance crusing, about £50 for 2.5 ltrs, Held in stock on shelf at Storrar Marine

Stuey, - No problem when you want to clean up your boat, just drop me a line and I`ll pass all info and help on.

codhw, - Yes I change all anodes when boat is out whatever the condition may be. 1 year is suggested time but experience has shown me that 2 year is sufficient in my case, may be due to the fact that the marina is locked and the water is slightly less salty than the river.

Mick, - Yeah its hard work keeping on top of things. There`s a lot of work that goes on in the background to keep the boat seaworthy, and yes it is expensive, the lift out in the first picture for instance will cost £100-£150, still it`s like any hobby, you get out what you put in.

Steve, - Nee probs mate LOL you done your fair share of cleaning over the weeks in any case .

[amadeus]

Norman its like the old saying if you dont like some one buy them a boat you never get help when its out the water but lots of friends available when its ready for fishing.As for cleaning the bottom one hull is bad but as i have the blyth cat next to the hoist its twice as bad with two hulls to clean lol

[Norman]

LOL Amadeus, yes seen your boat .... bet it`s very stable .......
LOL expensive as well, one lift but twice the anti-foul . . . .

good luck mate, enjoy

[amadeus]

Everything about boats are expensive norman as you will know. Its getting inspected next week so should get its COP license fingers crossed. Catamarans are very stable but unfortunately the price seems to have gone through the roof for boats these days.

[KeithB]

Cheers Norman, I think that's the stuff Bert used, it doesn't seem to have lasted as long this time. Think he's gonna go back to the self polishing stuff next time.

[mark]

Cheers Norman, I think that's the stuff Bert used, it doesn't seem to have lasted as long this time. Think he's gonna go back to the self polishing stuff next time.

might be down to being the river that there's more nasties to get a hold, plus its got a continuous flow of water across the hull when moored which maybe takes it off a bit faster, whereas the RQ is still water and more brackish. I stuck the blakes on mine and when it came out a couple of months ago, quick jet wash and the anti-fouling looked like new, so I just lashed some more on top. The transducer looked tina turner on a bad hair day though

one thing that made me feel a bit better (briefly) about the cost of the lift in the RQ is where the money goes, I thought it was just outrageous profiteering but apparently there's a big fat insurance premium to be paid to cover each lift in case it goes a bit(!) wrong

was reading somewhere (might be too late now if its back in the water) thats there's a new polishing treatment for bronze props to keep em clean and shiny and limit electrolysis, have to see if I can find the link

[IanW]

If you'd let me know I could have popped down to help out.

It might have rekindled the desire to get out some time this year and do some fishing.

Next time you do the clean up give me a ring.

[Norman]

dont need to wait till the clean up Ian, come on out anytime.
(I keep checking your rods are ok LOL)