62 replies to this topic

[pointyend]

So, I inherited a Cal 27 almost as old as me. The previous owner is a relative who took fairly good care of it, but hasn't gotten out as much as he used to, and whose interests now lie with more land-based toys. Rather than watch it languish on land for several years while trying to sell it, he kindly gave it to me.

On my pre-launch punch list was cleaning the Martec prop. It was encrusted in barnacles. The paint worked... to a point. I think the lack of use really allowed those little buggers to grab hold of the metal last season. Today I scraped off all the bastards and polished it up pretty well with no roughness left.

I've been thinking what I wanted to do to keep the prop clean. I definitely plan on doing some regular bottom cleaning, but really want to minimize the time I spend on it. The paint seemed to kinda work, but I'm not inclined to do it again this year... and I couldn't do worse than last year's growth. I read here and elsewhere about applying grease to the prop and shaft to keep it clear. Everyone seemed to say it works pretty well, but that it doesn't seem to last very long.

I had this stuff around the house from my former job in a chemistry lab:

Lubriseal

It's designed to be used as a stopcock lube for ground glass fittings. It's thick as hell, and is insoluble in water. The stuff is really hard to get off when you try unless you use xylene. I've applied a decent coat to the prop, shaft, and cutlass strut. I hope that when the boat is hauled again at the end of the season, I remember to update this thread with the results.

[Mr. Fixit's brother,, Mr. Fixit]

sure it works for a while, depends on how long you motor and the amount of silt in the water to how long it lasts. We used to coat the entire bottoms of aluminum utility boats with grease as an AF.

[Maxx Baqustae]

I use Mobil 1 synthetic/waterproof grease that seems to do the trick. I use to use Lubriplate as well. I know a lot of people talk about diaper cream with cayanne etc but I think it only last so long in any event. I think if you get a year with no real barnacles then you are doing okay.

[mo fuzz]

Yeah. Desitin. The anti-diaper rash stuff, supposedly works ok.

[hobot]

What?? I thought there'd be a discussion about bacon and all its wonderfull, nay marvelous, uses.

I feel gyped.

[Ishmael]

What?? I thought there'd be a discussion about bacon and all its wonderfull, nay marvelous, uses.

I feel gyped.

Gyped, as in having fiberglass mush crammed into your yawning orcifices, or gypped, as in having paid money for inferior merchandise?

Yeah, and what's that about bacon, anyhow? Bacon and diapers do not belong in the same province.

[hobot]

So, in old age one loses the desire for bacon?

Life is so unfair.

[Ishmael]

So, in old age one loses the desire for bacon?

Life is so unfair.

Not at all, in regards to the bacon.

We had a marvelous breakfast of Coombs double-smoked bacon, free-range eggs, and fresh home-made bread. Then we went sailing with a friend for five hours and trickled along the Saltspring coastline seeking whispers of wind. Shorts and tee-shirts and bare feet, interrupted by chilly wafts off the snowfields up in the hills which prompted long pants and sleeves and jackets, then back to light air and warm sunshine. Excellent day. Life occasionally tries to make up for being such a jerk.

[Kirwan]

I think the Lubriseal is a silicone based lubricant, which should be at least as good as any other grease you're gonna find. Silicone has a tendancy to creep, as if it has a desire to coat everything; we have to take extra precautions on our production line so it doesn't end up everywhere. Very inert, not soluble in anything you're likely to get without a permit. But like any grease, it'll be subject to simple mechanical wear, especially if you motor much.

Brings an interesting thought.... I wonder how cured silicone would work. That is, paint a thin coat of RTV or other 'window caulk' type product on the parts, and let it harden. Then again, that might be no better than paint.



Oh, and getting old doesn't make ones taste for bacon change, we just become more aware of it's adverse health affects.

[jimbojones]

Brings an interesting thought.... I wonder how cured silicone would work. That is, paint a thin coat of RTV or other 'window caulk' type product on the parts, and let it harden. Then again, that might be no better than paint.



Oh, and getting old doesn't make ones taste for bacon change, we just become more aware of it's adverse health affects.

I have read numerous writings on the interwebs suggesting doing just that is very effective. I have a coat of zinc paint and then got crazy and painted ablative on top of it. Either I made a battery and will have no prop next year or maybe just maybe I will have a crap free prop this season I do not know enough about such things to say. I think i will try the silicone idea next season.

[Great Red Shark]

I always go with a mega-polish with 3M scotchBrite pads on a high-speed disc and then 4+ coats of wax - seems to last a full season in the tropics.

Interested to hear your results - please let us know.

[charisma94]

LANOLIN. I get 2 good years with it in Australia with only average use of the boat. It's a bit of a process however.

Remove the prop, take it home and pre-heat your wifes oven to about 75C or 160F. Put prop in the oven until it's just hot enough that you can't hold it for long in your hands, not too hot or the Lanolin burns..

When it's the right temperature, remove from oven and smear prop all over with Lanolin and back in the oven for just a few minutes. When it's ready, expect the wife to tear into you for getting Laonlin inside oven and making the whole house smell like a sheep shearing shed.

What happens is when heated, Lanolin changes from sticky & gooey to runny melted butter. The tiny cracks and surface imperfections on the prop will also open up and expand from the heat. The runny Lanolin then works it's way into the cracks and crevices.

When the prop cools, the Lanolin hardens again to it's usual consistancy and we're done. Leave the excess, it'll wash off in due course.

[Ishmael]

LANOLIN. I get 2 good years with it in Australia with only average use of the boat. It's a bit of a process however.

Remove the prop, take it home and pre-heat your wifes oven to about 75C or 160F. Put prop in the oven until it's just hot enough that you can't hold it for long in your hands, not too hot or the Lanolin burns..

When it's the right temperature, remove from oven and smear prop all over with Lanolin and back in the oven for just a few minutes. When it's ready, expect the wife to tear into you for getting Laonlin inside oven and making the whole house smell like a sheep shearing shed.

What happens is when heated, Lanolin changes from sticky & gooey to runny melted butter. The tiny cracks and surface imperfections on the prop will also open up and expand from the heat. The runny Lanolin then works it's way into the cracks and crevices.

When the prop cools, the Lanolin hardens again to it's usual consistancy and we're done. Leave the excess, it'll wash off in due course.

I assume backing the boat under power into a dead sheep would not have the same protective power, but might be a lot more entertaining to film.

Great tip, but there's no way I am going to bake lanolin into my max prop in my house. Maybe I can con a friend into it...

[charisma94]

LANOLIN. I get 2 good years with it in Australia with only average use of the boat. It's a bit of a process however.

Remove the prop, take it home and pre-heat your wifes oven to about 75C or 160F. Put prop in the oven until it's just hot enough that you can't hold it for long in your hands, not too hot or the Lanolin burns..

When it's the right temperature, remove from oven and smear prop all over with Lanolin and back in the oven for just a few minutes. When it's ready, expect the wife to tear into you for getting Laonlin inside oven and making the whole house smell like a sheep shearing shed.

What happens is when heated, Lanolin changes from sticky & gooey to runny melted butter. The tiny cracks and surface imperfections on the prop will also open up and expand from the heat. The runny Lanolin then works it's way into the cracks and crevices.

When the prop cools, the Lanolin hardens again to it's usual consistancy and we're done. Leave the excess, it'll wash off in due course.

I assume backing the boat under power into a dead sheep would not have the same protective power, but might be a lot more entertaining to film.

Great tip, but there's no way I am going to bake lanolin into my max prop in my house. Maybe I can con a friend into it...

Mine is a 4-blade Variprop... never an issue whatsoever with the prop... the wife was a different story however!

[svpahto]

I have used two methods, both were successful for extended periods in both cold water, and the tropics. First method, I polished the prop so it was nice and shiny, then wet-sanded with some 400 or something pretty fine. In the tropics it required more frequent cleaning, but I found that a clean and shiny prop stays that way longer, and with much less effort. 5 minutes with a scotchbrite pad had it back to looking new.

Second method, prop-speed. Minimum cost I think is around $100, which will cover most of our 4 knot shitboxes. The stuff really is pretty miraculous, multi-year protection, given the instrustions on the can are followed properly, and on your haul-out, don't water blast your prop, or the life of your propspeed will be shortened. If you are really on a budget, the polish method worked well for me, but the prop-speed was more than worth the bucks it cost. No messing around with grease on my prop for me.

[charisma94]

I have used two methods, both were successful for extended periods in both cold water, and the tropics. First method, I polished the prop so it was nice and shiny, then wet-sanded with some 400 or something pretty fine. In the tropics it required more frequent cleaning, but I found that a clean and shiny prop stays that way longer, and with much less effort. 5 minutes with a scotchbrite pad had it back to looking new.

Second method, prop-speed. Minimum cost I think is around $100, which will cover most of our 4 knot shitboxes. The stuff really is pretty miraculous, multi-year protection, given the instrustions on the can are followed properly, and on your haul-out, don't water blast your prop, or the life of your propspeed will be shortened. If you are really on a budget, the polish method worked well for me, but the prop-speed was more than worth the bucks it cost. No messing around with grease on my prop for me.

Propspeed is a fantastic product, no question.

Just two drawbacks with Propspeed 1.) the cost (+-$300 for my prop!) &2.) the silicone top coat has zero abrasion resistance. A few seconds even near any sand and it's gone... run over even a small plastic bag and it's gone... small piece of rope/fishing line, gone... I've done all these!!

FWIW, my Lano method is less dicking around than Propspeed application. Cost's about 20c to do too.

[floating dutchman]

LANOLIN. I get 2 good years with it in Australia with only average use of the boat. It's a bit of a process however.

Remove the prop, take it home and pre-heat your wifes oven to about 75C or 160F. Put prop in the oven until it's just hot enough that you can't hold it for long in your hands, not too hot or the Lanolin burns..

When it's the right temperature, remove from oven and smear prop all over with Lanolin and back in the oven for just a few minutes. When it's ready, expect the wife to tear into you for getting Laonlin inside oven and making the whole house smell like a sheep shearing shed.

What happens is when heated, Lanolin changes from sticky & gooey to runny melted butter. The tiny cracks and surface imperfections on the prop will also open up and expand from the heat. The runny Lanolin then works it's way into the cracks and crevices.

When the prop cools, the Lanolin hardens again to it's usual consistancy and we're done. Leave the excess, it'll wash off in due course.

Wow, that's a difficult and well, Marrage problem causing way of applying Lanicote to a prop!

Honestly the best results I've had with lanicote is applying it underwater! Clean the prop as good as you can and put lanicote on a rag and smear all over the prop, Usualy I'd get about 3 monthes out of the lanicote treatment but for some reason 6 monthes after the underwater treatmeant the prop is still "O.K." with only one dock-side "clean" with a broom.
Just don't swim aruound the boat twice to clean hands then climb up the stern ladder, leaves greasy marks on the ladder, next time I'll try three laps.

[DrewR]

I had absolutely no luck with Lanocote, but then I didnt heat it up first. I heated the Lanocote in hot water, but not the prop. Maybe thats the key. But taking a 3 bladed MaxProp apart and home is not a whole lotta fun.

I went back to Trilux this year which I know is useless, but at least for 15 minutes after launching I know its working and I feel better. And its cheap enough.

[Kirwan]

Brings an interesting thought.... I wonder how cured silicone would work. That is, paint a thin coat of RTV or other 'window caulk' type product on the parts, and let it harden. Then again, that might be no better than paint.



Oh, and getting old doesn't make ones taste for bacon change, we just become more aware of it's adverse health affects.

I have read numerous writings on the interwebs suggesting doing just that is very effective. I have a coat of zinc paint and then got crazy and painted ablative on top of it. Either I made a battery and will have no prop next year or maybe just maybe I will have a crap free prop this season I do not know enough about such things to say. I think i will try the silicone idea next season.

Ok, I'm just a noob, but it seems to me you *want* the zinc exposed. Coating it with a barrier negates the benefit of having it. It's the reverse battery deal, you want the replaceable thing to corrode first.

[Great Red Shark]

This "Zinc" was likely just an ablative coating for props - not intended to perform the role of a sacrificial anode.

[jimbojones]

This "Zinc" was likely just an ablative coating for props - not intended to perform the role of a sacrificial anode.

yes it is petit Zinc Coat, I have a pair of shaft anodes on the boat

[Kirwan]

This "Zinc" was likely just an ablative coating for props - not intended to perform the role of a sacrificial anode.

yes it is petit Zinc Coat, I have a pair of shaft anodes on the boat

My bad, when I re-read the post, I realized that, but it wouldn't let me edit my post.

[pointyend]

I think the Lubriseal is a silicone based lubricant, which should be at least as good as any other grease you're gonna find. Silicone has a tendancy to creep, as if it has a desire to coat everything; we have to take extra precautions on our production line so it doesn't end up everywhere. Very inert, not soluble in anything you're likely to get without a permit. But like any grease, it'll be subject to simple mechanical wear, especially if you motor much.

Brings an interesting thought.... I wonder how cured silicone would work. That is, paint a thin coat of RTV or other 'window caulk' type product on the parts, and let it harden. Then again, that might be no better than paint.



Oh, and getting old doesn't make ones taste for bacon change, we just become more aware of it's adverse health affects.

The reason I'm trying Lubriseal instead of one of the more common silicone greases is that the Lubriseal seems really resistant to mechanical wear. It was sort of a problem getting it off older labware that had been used by students for years. The stuff didn't seem to wear out like other grease. Now how use in a lab compares to the thrashing it should get on a prop will be the interesting thing.

I like the idea of a cured silicone coating. I'll have to look around at what's available. Actually, Dow Corning 3140 might be a good start, since it's nice and runny (easy to "paint" on), and has no acetic acid curing agent. I wonder if that plus grease would be good. Maybe that will be next season's test.

[Kirwan]

One of the other oddities about silicone grease is that sometimes it isn't really all that thick - it's a non-newtonian fluid. (Silly putty is a silicone too)
It may seem like peanut butter when it comes out of the tube, but give it time, and it'll run just like water, only slower. Come to think of it, that might not stick so well to the prop, beyond the thin layer due to surface tension.
But maybe the stopcock grease has some extra additives to help it stay put.


Cured silicone could go either way; the critters might not like the 'taste', or they might find the soft material easy to dig their little tendrils into. But at least they would be easy to scrape off (along with the silicone)

[olaf hart]

I tried silicone this last year and it doesnt seem to be working much, if at all.

[JBE]

I've left them, polished them , lanacoted them, baked em in the oven, antifouled them, and sprayed on some stuff out of can promising to be the ducks nuts of propellor protection. None of it was satisfactory for more than a few months.


Prop speed works . I get between 18 months and 2 years between haulouts and there's plenty of life left in it then.

[stickboy]

I found this on the shelf of nasty stuff. I'm thinking about trying it on my brand new bright and shiny folding prop, should I bother?

Here's the chemical report on it:
http://scorecard.goo...ULANT%20COATING

Mostly TRIBUTYLTIN METHACRYLATE but 3.91% tin too

Edit:
Well, they stopped making it 10 years ago, either it didn't work or it's too nasty to keep manufacturing. Let's hope it's nasty.

Attached Files

•  antifouling paint.JPG   586.02K   4 downloads

[Solen]

Try Duck or Goose grease - it is more water repellant than anything I have tried - natural or man made - and it is much more fun disposing of the wrapping.

[167149]

be interesting to know if that teflon frypan coating stuff has been tried

[Rohanoz]

Re: propspeed...
You can get an extra season out of it by doing another clear coat if the base coat is still in good nick - as long as the original application was done right. Three years on my current application, and not a crusty to be seen. Wish I could do the whole boat with it.

[sailman]

Test ran this for a season. Worked great and since it's not a "marine" product the price is right!

[Mr. Fixit's brother,, Mr. Fixit]

I tried silicone this last year and it doesnt seem to be working much, if at all.

Google 'Silicone Antifouling' The stuff is amazing. Expensive but amazing.

[bert s]

Re Teflon coating - Try hanging your T-Fal pan in the drink for a year or two. the bare aluminum side grows shit like crazy and the teflon not so much. A pulp mill I worked ordered a gob of 5 gallon pails of some sort of teflon for coating the insides of pipes carrying concentrated tree sap (red licquor) that didn't work out for that application. So lots of boats got teflon bottoms. Seemed to work.

[pointyend]

So the great experiment is a failure. There was no difference when the boat was hauled. There were still barnacle all over. The Lubriseal wasn't effective, but at least it didn't seem to attract more growth!

[boomer]

Coat the prop and shaft with Bag Balm a cream for cow udders from your local farm store.Smear it on in a thin layer like grease.Barnacles and marine growth can't stick. When you haul out wipe off the old Bag Balm and replace with a fresh layer yearly. Learned this trick from an old time Manson engineer and avid powerboater named Tike Hillman from Port Townsend....I have his phone number if you wish to consult him on this, he's retired now and living in Port Ludlow.

[Fleetwood]

There's a near-identical thread going right now on Fix-it Anarchy.
Propspeed is a methyl-silicone. You can make it yourself: buy a tube of wet-area or outdoor silicone sealant (check MSDS to ensure it has methyl silicone in it) , thin with epoxy thinner till its paint-like, then apply over a vinyl-etch primer. Its all in the application, but no harder than varnishing.

[olaf hart]

There's a near-identical thread going right now on Fix-it Anarchy.
Propspeed is a methyl-silicone. You can make it yourself: buy a tube of wet-area or outdoor silicone sealant (check MSDS to ensure it has methyl silicone in it) , thin with epoxy thinner till its paint-like, then apply over a vinyl-etch primer. Its all in the application, but no harder than varnishing.

I tried that on my and a mates boat this year.
Hulls were relatively clean, props were oyster farms.
Trying anhydrous lanoline this year.

[boomer]

The base ingredient of Bag Balm is anhydrous lanolin mixed with petrolatum, heated to 95 degrees.

A machine quickly squirts the goop into metal cans that are cooled, capped and packaged.

[Ishmael]

It's also marketed under the name of Scrotum Salve in Australia.

[olaf hart]

It's known here as wool fat.

[Ishmael]

It's known here as wool fat.

Well, that's how you guys get it naturally, but you can also get it in stores.

No offence.

[olaf hart]

It is called Lube in NZ

[floating dutchman]

It is called Lube in NZ

Ha ha funny, accualy most people I work with call it "sheep shit"

[olaf hart]

It is called Lube in NZ

Ha ha funny, accualy most people I work with call it "sheep shit"

No offence, that sheep cartoon was epic.

[floating dutchman]

It is called Lube in NZ

Ha ha funny, accualy most people I work with call it "sheep shit"

No offence, that sheep cartoon was epic.

No offence taken.

[boomer]

Bag Balm

http://www.amazon.co...ywords=balm bag

http://www.amazon.co...ywords=balm bag

[Mr. Fixit's brother,, Mr. Fixit]

I found this on the shelf of nasty stuff. I'm thinking about trying it on my brand new bright and shiny folding prop, should I bother?

Here's the chemical report on it:
http://scorecard.goo...ULANT%20COATING

Mostly TRIBUTYLTIN METHACRYLATE but 3.91% tin too

Edit:
Well, they stopped making it 10 years ago, either it didn't work or it's too nasty to keep manufacturing. Let's hope it's nasty.

Stuff's been banned for years now. Works great and they used to coat entire ships with it, Then entire harbors and ports died,,,everything died.

[Jim in Halifax]

Anyone tried Fluid Film? Its lanolin-based and comes in spray cans. As I recall, we used to use it to coat the inside of preload (ballast) tanks on MODUs in years gone by...albeit from 45 gal. drums.

Though I would try a couple of coats on the prop and shaft it next spring.

[Innocent Bystander]

I found this on the shelf of nasty stuff. I'm thinking about trying it on my brand new bright and shiny folding prop, should I bother?

Here's the chemical report on it:
http://scorecard.goo...ULANT%20COATING

Mostly TRIBUTYLTIN METHACRYLATE but 3.91% tin too

Edit:
Well, they stopped making it 10 years ago, either it didn't work or it's too nasty to keep manufacturing. Let's hope it's nasty.

Stuff's been banned for years now. Works great and they used to coat entire ships with it, Then entire harbors and ports died,,,everything died.

TBT was so effective, a friend in Key West used it and put his boat in a slip. A week later, all the marine life in and around the slip was dead. Great anti fouling. Just as great at indiscriminate killing. I'll probably die sooner than I should from sanding TBT paint without PPE as a young man.

[stickboy]

I found this on the shelf of nasty stuff. I'm thinking about trying it on my brand new bright and shiny folding prop, should I bother?

Here's the chemical report on it:
http://scorecard.goo...ULANT%20COATING

Mostly TRIBUTYLTIN METHACRYLATE but 3.91% tin too

Edit:
Well, they stopped making it 10 years ago, either it didn't work or it's too nasty to keep manufacturing. Let's hope it's nasty.

Stuff's been banned for years now. Works great and they used to coat entire ships with it, Then entire harbors and ports died,,,everything died.

TBT was so effective, a friend in Key West used it and put his boat in a slip. A week later, all the marine life in and around the slip was dead. Great anti fouling. Just as great at indiscriminate killing. I'll probably die sooner than I should from sanding TBT paint without PPE as a young man.

Thanks for all the info, I'll be more careful with it than I am with most of the other stuff. If I stick to using it on only the prop it should last a lifetime.

[FastBottoms]

Intentionally intoducing TbT into the marine environment = dick move

[SiempreSabado]

I tried Bag Balm once and, interestingly, had to haul out about a week later due to a different problem. After a week, the prop had no Bag Balm left on it and subsequent barnacle growth was normal.

[boomer]

Clean the prop and shaft absolutely with a scotch-brite pad..then heat it with a hot air gun..then apply Bag Balm.

In temperate waters it last 6+/- months, in colder waters up to a year.

In warm waters it doesn't last at all!

I've talked with some sailors who like using Propspeed....they say it lasts well in temperate waters...but only if the prop turns every couple days or so....they said, it last's 12 mths...if the it isn't turned you'll get growth.

I've never used spray on cold galvanizing....but I've met those who swear by it as well.

[boomer]

More options here....http://forums.sailin...howtopic=141236

Good luck and all the best to you!

[sailglobal]

I had Propspeed applied by the yard in Hobart in 2008 and the diver remarked last month that the prop "looked like new". That's in temperate, tropical and subtropical waters. So much for "6 months". Lanoline has worked very well for me above the water as a waterproof coating and lubricant on mechanical parts and appears to help keep electrical components corrosion free.

[boomer]

Like I said, the boaters I met who used Propspeed liked it, and they said it was good for 12 months.

Seems like a good product from what I seen right after they hauled.

That's good to hear it works much longer....thanks!

[FastBottoms]

That's good to hear it works much longer....thanks!

I don't believe the claim that a PropSpeed application has lasted 4 years and beyond for a minute. While I think PropSpeed is a quality product, my own personal experience is that it lasts maybe 12 months and the many, many anecdotal reports I've read on this, and other, forums support that. I don't consider one guy telling us his diver said the prop "looked like new" (whatever that means) to be proof that every other bit of evidence about PropSpeed's performance is inaccurate.

[kidkodine]

I have got about a year out of prop speed - when I hauled I noticed that the edge of the prop blades lacked coverage. All the big fishing boats at the marina use it - All report loss at blade tips do to surface friction and heat.

One day I may try powder coating the prop with Teflon.

A polished prop will always be cleaner - at least it will clean easier

Marina location is a huge factor - My boat is in deeper/darker water of marina - not much growth at all - boats on end ties with good water flow grote up almost instantly.

[stickboy]

Intentionally intoducing TbT into the marine environment = dick move

I've been called much, much worse.

This week.

I'll buy some carbon offsets. Better?

[FastBottoms]

Intentionally intoducing TbT into the marine environment = dick move

I've been called much, much worse.

This week.

I'll buy some carbon offsets. Better?

Whatever lets you sleep at night, chief.

[Balder]

Buy a Kiwi prop and paint the blades with the same antifouling you use on the boat! That is what they recommend.
http://www.kiwiprop....tml#antifouling

And additionally you can carry extra blades that you can change yourself. you can change the pitch on the prop yourself.

Not to count that it backs up like a car.

[MoeAlfa]

Buy a Kiwi prop and paint the blades with the same antifouling you use on the boat! That is what they recommend.
http://www.kiwiprop.us/installation.html#antifouling

And additionally you can carry extra blades that you can change yourself. you can change the pitch on the prop yourself.

Not to count that it backs up like a car.

That's what we do, but there is never a trace of paint on the blades at the end of the season. My theory is the diver removes it with the growth.

[Steam Flyer]

Magic marker ink works in our water (relatively warm, high organic).
You have to buy it in a refill bottle and paint it on thick.
Ours lasted 2 years with very little* barnacle growth, intermittent use.

linky linky to pic

*Toward the end of the two years, a couple of small barnacles appeared on the hub then died.

It may be that this stuff is worse than TBT for the marine environment, I dunno. Doesn't seem to kill barnacles on the rest of the boat though.

FB- Doug