Hull Cleaning Day

I went over the side at noon today to clean the hull.

To help me counter the gently ebbing tide I hung loops of rope on each side of the hull to give me something to hold onto while I worked with the free hand. My tools were a mask with snorkel, a green kitchen abrasive pad, and a paint scraper. The area of interest was only a but 50mm wide, that section just above the antifouling. I would work with the scraper first, removing the small mussels and the bulk of what appeared to be some sort of sea grass that was maybe 25mm long, soft, and fortunately not too firmly attached. After cleaning off a section with the paint scraper I finished it off with the abrasive pad.

My goal for the day was modest: do both sides of the waterline and if things got tough then be satisfied with only one side of the waterline. I finished both sides of the waterline then decided to visit the ladder. Below the waterline it was starting to look like a reef with a thick covering of that fuzzy grass everywhere but on the top sides of the rungs.

I did this job without too much trouble using the abrasive pad then had a go at the propeller and shaft which looked like the beginning of another reef. It is highly unlikely that I would have gotten much drive from that badly fuzzed up propeller. However, there was still too much ebb tide for doing this job because when I came up for air I would be behind the stern and drifting back. I decided to have lunch an a rest. I had been in the water for over an hour but did not feel particularly chilly. The water temperature has risen noticeably since Arnold and I left La Paz for the islands to the north.

While heating the water for the noodle soup I started the chart plotter (Yes, it started OK!) and checked the tide for today. At 3.15 PM it would be slack. I had my lunch and a short snooze theen at 3 PM I climbed back down into the water, this time armed with a stainless steel scourer for kitchen pots. I do not have a long breath, probably due to a lifetime of mild, managable, but nevertheless chronic asthma. A dive to the propeller would give me only 10, maybe 15 seconds over the target, but my recovery was fast. After maybe 30 dives the propeller and shaft were clean.

Then ... why not ... I had a go at cleaning large amount of soot at the port rear of the hull around the exhaust and the counter stern, which was pretty sooty too. I used "Vim", an Australian brand name for a mild abrasive liquid, which worked very well. The low part of the hull required me to be in the water, clinging to a rope and scrubbing the best I could. The upper part and the stern I was able to clean from the Zodiac. Then I went along the rest of the hull in the Zodiac cleaning rust and fender marks as best as I could.

The result was acceptable. Pachuca's hull shows a few battle scars from her sail half way around the world, but it still passes muster as a "normal" hull. (I haven't told Pachuca yet, but she will get her hull professionally painted if she gets me back to Fremantle.)

It was a satisfying day. I was fortunate in that the wind was light and the water was warm.

Tomorrow I'll use the long-handled mop to have a go at wiping the thin coating of slime off the rest of her hull below the water.

I've grumbled about the antifouling that I got in Port Townsend but this is an appropriate time for another grumble. Before I left Australia I was told that the "hard" antifouling was more appropriate for long distance cruising. Rejecting this advice I put on 3 layers of ablative antifouling (i.e. "soft" antifoulding that slowly drifts away taking the wildlife with it) with a fourth coat in the high-stress areas. I reached Port Townsend more than a year later, after spending several weeks in Tahiti and 5 months in Hawaii and never having cleaned the hull and propeller; and after the high pressure wash-down following my haul-out the hull was so clean that the fellow remarked that she could be put straight back in the water.

I spent big dollars for 3 coats of the top grade "hard" antifouling which was reputed to be 80% copper, and some sort of silver paint looking coat on the propeller and shaft. Within weeks I could see a layer of slime growing on my hull, and in these Mexican waters the propeller and shaft act as though they have no antifoulding at all.

Maybe I just haven't adjusted to how "hard" antifouling is supposed to work, but until I learn different I'll go back to my ablative antifouling when I return to Fremantle.

Speaking of Fremantle, the hull will get a lot of attention. I plan to sand the hull below the waterline right back to the gel coat, then give it a coat or two of "high build" before applying the antifouling. I did this with my previous boat Angie and it worked brilliantly. While I am at it I will raise Pachuca's waterline another 25mm (1 inch). Yes, I know that she will ride higher when I have unloaded her at Fremantle, but I want her prepared for another cruise.

I've got a counter clockwise circuit of the Indian Ocean in mind. Set off NW from Fremantle to Cocos Keeling Island, then Chagos, then maybe the Maldives. From there perhaps Seychelles, down to Rogriguez, Mauritius, Reunion, and a downwind ride back to Australia, maybe visiting Amsterdam or St Paul along the way.

But wait a minute! I'm in La Paz enjoying the wonderful climate and culture but with a busted engine and the Central America hurricane zone and the Horn ahead of me.

First things first.