How often to bottom clean in s florida

[Whgoffrn]

Right now my boat is currently on the hard but I've been scouring the net for a cheap dock on the okechobee ....everywhere I've read says most clean their hulls once a ml month so that the cleaning is a soft cleaning with a little as abrasiveness as necessary to save their paint....most say that those that try to go 2 or 3 months between cleanings actually end up losing money because they get hard growth causing diver to use a scraper which takes more paint with it when the barnacle gets scraped off...so need bottom paint more frequently
But what about those who drive their boats up the okechobee that is freshwater...??? Can you get by with hull cleaning less often since it's not salt water and shouldn't have the barnacles ???? Yeah I'm sure a lot of soft slime would build up in 3 months but that would come off easily.....anyone store a boat on the okechobee water way here ???

 

[FF]

WE live near the Ortona lock , only very minor slime fouling in a decade in the water.

 

[O C Diver]

I'm on the Caloosahatchee river (Fort Myers) a little below the city marina. As you move up the river, the salt level in the water decreases from water coming out of lake Okeechobee. By the time you get to the Franklin lock the river is almost freshwater. Above the Franklin lock and above the Saint Lucie lock, the water is fresh. During the summer months (rainy season) enough water is being released from Okeechobee to make the city municipal dock in Fort Myers almost fresh. During the winter there's a higher salt content.

Barnacles don't start growing on your hull in freshwater. They can survive for weeks in freshwater. I typically clean my boat once a month in Fort Myers during the winter. Probably could go longer between cleanings, but I get a deal ($90 per cleaning) if I do it monthly.

Ted

 

[Whgoffrn]

WE live near the Ortona lock , only very minor slime fouling in a decade in the water.

Awesome that's what I was wondering.... I just recently purchased a trawler and keep it for now at indiantown but I kinda hate leaving the boat on the hard ....call it silly but I believe boats want to be in the water...indiantown I believe charges me 325 ish or so per month but I considered looking for a private dock but then if it's a private dock in a salt water canal or icw I'll have to deal with hull cleaning .....so I considered trying to find a dock on the okechobee water way ......which if I understand correctly will only build slime and soft growth which I can scrub off myself once I take it to the keys and can see in clearer water ......so as long as I have a good bottom paint to protect from osmosis/blisters I can for the most part eliminate bottom cleaning until I take it to salt water...is that correct???

 

[Frosty]

....call it silly but I believe boats want to be in the water.......so as long as I have a good bottom paint to protect from osmosis/blisters...?

I would say wooden boats want to be in the water; fiberglass boat hulls are better of dry (speaking of storage).

Bottom paint alone will not protect against osmosis, or perhaps worse, hydrolysis (water essentially just washes away strength vs making blisters). Good thing to do but not cheap (you mentioned seeking cheap).

If you want protection, one way is to take hull down to bare (no bottom paint), then prep and build up a barrier coat (at least five coats; two is just a tie coat -- there is a specific millage of thickness). The bottom paint then protects the barrier coat from UV (epoxy doesn't like UV) and also from marine growth.

Personally? I would store an unattended boat on land. Fiberglass likes dry and as a side bonus it can't sink.

 

[Dougcole]

We are well up the South Fork of the Saint Lucie River, just east of I-95, or about 20ish miles downriver from Indiantown. I got 5 years out of my last bottom job. Near the end I had a diver clean it about every 3 months. Just before I had it painted I screwed up and let it go 6 months, it was a real mess. Since I had it painted 14 months ago I've had it done once and it is holding up really well.


For us, it depends a lot on how much water they are releasing from the lake. When the water is high it is mostly fresh and there is very little fouling. When it is lower we get some growth.



Either way, it is far, far better than it was when our boat was at Sunset Bay. I had to have it cleaned once a month there.

 

[Whgoffrn]

We are well up the South Fork of the Saint Lucie River, just east of I-95, or about 20ish miles downriver from Indiantown. I got 5 years out of my last bottom job. Near the end I had a diver clean it about every 3 months. Just before I had it painted I screwed up and let it go 6 months, it was a real mess. Since I had it painted 14 months ago I've had it done once and it is holding up really well.


For us, it depends a lot on how much water they are releasing from the lake. When the water is high it is mostly fresh and there is very little fouling. When it is lower we get some growth.



Either way, it is far, far better than it was when our boat was at Sunset Bay. I had to have it cleaned once a month there.

So if I can find a private dock past the lock where its 100% freshwater .....and as long as i had a good bottom paint job to prevent blisters....I could prob go a year without cleaning right ? I mean it would have algae and slime but nothing damaging to the hull right?

 

[Deano]

In Tampa Bay I have to do it monthly.

 

[Seevee]

Also in Tampa Bay, but on the west side in the ICW, shallow hot water.


I do it every two weeks and needs every bit of it.



It depends pretty much on how much salt water and the temp. In the winter I easily get by with once in 6 weeks. Summers are BRUTAL.


My guy just finished, and having him back in 10 days to do a really extra detailed cleaning.


But at $60 a clip, I ain't complaining.

 

[Whgoffrn]

WE live near the Ortona lock , only very minor slime fouling in a decade in the water.

So if I'm understanding you right once far enough up the okeechobee that it's all freshwater you dont have to clean the bottom right? .... how often do you have bottom paint applied

 

[rslifkin]

I wouldn't say fresh water eliminates cleaning. But it does make it less frequent and much easier. Up north in the cooler great lakes, I still end up jumping in the water to scrub some slime off the hull every month or so. But it pretty much just wipes off and there's no hard growth to worry about except an occasional muscle in an area of low water flow (such as on top of a trim tab).

 

[Whgoffrn]

WE live near the Ortona lock , only very minor slime fouling in a decade in the water.

So if I'm understanding you right once far enough up the okeechobee that it's all freshwater you dont have to clean the bottom right? .... how often do you have bottom paint applied

 

[FF]

"which if I understand correctly will only build slime and soft growth which I can scrub off myself once I take it to the keys and can see in clearer water ......so as long as I have a good bottom paint to protect from osmosis/blisters I can for the most part eliminate bottom cleaning until I take it to salt water.."

The bottom osmosis is not determined by the bottom paint , it is the quality of the resin the boat was built with. Boats built after 1973 sometimes require a barrier coat of thickened epoxy .

Our bottom paint was about 15 years old when we sold the boat , about 3 or seasons summering in New England ,both loops , the rest winters in Florida in fresh water.

During the FL winters we would cruise only for a month or so in salt water , so there was no cleaning required, worked for us, Micron 66 .

 

[menzies]

I can see my bottom at the dock (especially the stabilizers) so I just call Pier 88 Diving when I think it needs done. Because it sits in fresh/brackish water it doesn't get much growth, mostly green slime and a bit of tube worm. However, because I want the zincs checked/changed out, I don't leave it longer than three months or so between cleanings.

 

[Whgoffrn]

"which if I understand correctly will only build slime and soft growth which I can scrub off myself once I take it to the keys and can see in clearer water ......so as long as I have a good bottom paint to protect from osmosis/blisters I can for the most part eliminate bottom cleaning until I take it to salt water.."

The bottom osmosis is not determined by the bottom paint , it is the quality of the resin the boat was built with. Boats built after 1973 sometimes require a barrier coat of thickened epoxy .

Our bottom paint was about 15 years old when we sold the boat , about 3 or seasons summering in New England ,both loops , the rest winters in Florida in fresh water.

During the FL winters we would cruise only for a month or so in salt water , so there was no cleaning required, worked for us, Micron 66 .

Awesome ty for the info....that's most likely a similar scenario I plan to do.... I plan to keep it stored in the okechobee water way and just spend summers of 2 or 3 months in the keys or Bahamas and during those times if I get growth on the bottom i can just dive and clean it off myself while in salt water

 

[motion30]

In South Florida and the keys the bottom gets cleaned once a month

 

[hfmckevitt]

We are at a marina in Ft Myers Beach, we have it cleared every month. A high growth area. Cost $3.00 per foot

 

[OldDan1943]

In South Florida and the keys the bottom gets cleaned once a month

Hollywood/Aventura FL
+1

 

[STB]

I get cleaned 2x monthly in Clearwater. Most get cleaned 1x monthly, i just think more often in the summer is needed to avoid rough cleanings, so set it up that way.

One other thought...saw something about keeping a boat on the hard...check the tech guide for the bottom paint. Many of hard paints can't be left on the hard too long or they suffer various damage, minimally a surface change that'll need to be scrubbed or pressure washed off for them to be effective again. After a long haul, it isn't unusual for a boat to take a few months of heavy cleanings to start staying clean again. Boats left out too long may need repainted, depends on the paint and age.

 

[RLKramer]

Vero Beach- clean every month during summer. Winter in Bahamas, clean a lot less often. Paint- 1 coat every year in October since it sits all summer and gone all winter.