Conference unifix::sailing

    I always end up with a few of those crusty little devils.  I usually
    chip most of them off with some tool readily available - screw driver,
    putty knife.  Then I sand the remains with a coarse grit until I
    can get the last of them with fine grit (don't want to score the
    prop or strut or shaft.  I generally apply bottom paint to the metal
    parts too and though it doesn't last the whole season it seems to
    be better than not doing anything at all.  I tried to find some
    kind of bottom paint this year for the strut, shaft and prop but
    Interlux's tri-lux says not for steel.  Anyone know of something
    that will work on steel and bronze?
    
    Pam

    Not on blue water now..:-(, but when I was we used to swap slips
    with one of the chaps up the river in fresh water for about a week
    before we cleaned the hull. The little buggers died and practically
    fell off!! Of course the part they did leave was those sharp base
    shells, so be sure and wear thick rubber gloves to protect your
    hands.
    
    Don't really miss the barnacles and the gulls, but all the rest
    I do...
    
    Bob

    
    		A Little Off the Wall....
    
    Last season a yacht surveyor and charter boat owner/maintainer in
    Maine who's advice I would usually trust, told me of his remedy
    for marine growth on bronze props. It sounds off the wall, and I
    havn't tried it yet myself, but he claims he coats his prop with
    STP(the oil treatment!) and it stays clean the whole season on a
    mooring in Southwest Harbor. His boat sees a lot of use during a
    full season, so it might be the frequent use and the fact that he's
    in a reatively open/cold harbor that keeps his prop clean rather
    than the STP !  I figured I'd give it a try, what the heck. If it
    actually did work on the prop I'd think it would work as well on
    the support strut.
    
    On another subject, my prop is an OLD Martec folding prop which
    tends to stick half closed from time to time, a minor anoyance when
    I give the engine some throttle and the boat shakes from stem to
    stern until the other half of the prop frees itself. I've heard
    some people say the newer style that Martec produces is much less
    prone to this behavior. Does anyone have any suggestions/experience
    with other brands of folding props they're happy with ?
    
    	- John
    
    a Martec folding prop  doesn't make sense to me but hey,
    I figured I might give 

    I have had several people tell me about the oil trick (re: .3),
    but I havent tried it.
    
    I bought some Scatt Teflon bottom coating for the tender this year.
    I also wiped it over the Prop, strut and shaft. I will let you know
    how it works out (assuming I own the boat when she is hauled this
    fall...I dont plan to).
    
    Walt

    > It sounds off the wall, and I
    > havn't tried it yet myself, but he claims he coats his prop with
    > STP Oil treatment.
    
    Even more off-the-wall solution we heard on the internet and which we
    are trying with our engine: Desitin! It's the petroleum-jelly-like
    product used to soothe baby bottoms. I'm skeptical: I've used it on my
    baby, and her bottom fouls pretty often anyway. Still, our propeller
    and engine shaft was coated pretty thickly with barnacles last year, so
    we're trying it.
    
    On a similar subject: what is the best way to clean barnacles off a
    mooring line? Our mooring line has been in the water since we hauled
    the boat last Fall; it is now so encrusted that it barely fits through
    the chocks. I was thinking of soaking the line in chlorine water for a
    while to kill off the growth; would that damage the line?
    				THANKS,
    					Jim B.

In the last year or so, Practical Sailor tried Desitin and a couple of other
home remedies.  I think it didn't work as well as "real" stuff but is was at
least cost effective.  Also I think you should be able to apply Desitin while in
the water.

Doug