[Rhodes22-list] Biological Centerboard Fouling/Jamming - A SeriousIssue?

[Herb Parsons]

I found that last part interesting. The first time I took my O'Day 25 to
Corpus Christi (from Lake Grapevine, an inland lake in North Texas) I
had a similar experience. The boat was pretty nasty from "pond scum".
Had bottom paint, but still gets some growth, and I don't have it
cleaned. I meant to power wash it, but ran out of time. We put it in the
saltwater at Corpus, and when I pulled it out 4 days later, the pond
scum was mostly gone. Same thing happened a few months later when we
took it down to Port Isabel, and again this year when we took it to
Aransas Pass. I've decided that towing it to the coast may be more
trouble than power washing, but it's a lot more fun.

>>> jdwhite at utpa.edu 12/3/2004 6:44:22 PM >>>
Robert:
Most invertebrate marine organisms can only tolerate rapid, heavy
salinity 
changes for short periods. Barnacles, which are actually closely
related to 
shrimp and lobsters (they're crustaceans) are one which are pretty 
sensitive to these changes.

So sailing up into  fresh water and remaining there for a bit of time
would 
kill the organisms on ones hull. The barnacle "shell" is composed of 
calcium carbonate, that over time would dissociate in fresh water 
(especially fresh water with a slightly acidic pH), but I have doubts
as to 
whether they would actually fall off.....probably most of the oldtimers

would scrape along the bottom a bit, dislodging things. Barnacle 
attachments, once firm are pretty secure.

I have also heard of this method used down South (I believe in the Rio

Dulce region of Guatemala), where the local fisherman bring their boats
up 
the fresh water river during the off season, mooring them there. 
Anecdotally, they say that during the off season fresh water growth
begins 
to colonize, then when they return to sea, it dies and the process
starts 
over. Sounds like a good method of biologic control.
jw
Jim White
Le Menagerie

At 06:22 PM 12/3/2004, you wrote:
>Jim White wrote:
> > ...
> >   A week (or two) in most saltwater areas is no big deal, and even
here
> > where the water is pretty warm year round (seldom gets below low
60's)...
> > If you don't leave your boat in the water for extended periods, and
don't
> > bottom paint, I certainly wouldn't consider doing that for a short
stay in
> > the briney such as you have described.
>
>Historically in the Chesapeake and in Maine, sailing up a
>river into fresh water for a week or so was/is supposed to
>cause barnacles to fall off.
>
>Is there any truth to this?
>
>/Robert Skinner
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