Bottom cleaning charges

[O C Diver]

Should have noted that - yes a certified diver for over 30 years.

On my trawler I kept a 50 cuft. tank and regulator. The regulator had a 50' hose between the 1st and 2nd stage. Left the tank on the boat and clipped the hose to a weight belt without weights. Weighting yourself so that you always float up is ideal.

Ted

 

[SteveK]

Are you a scuba diver? What you don't know can kill you. Before you get in over your head (literally), take a class to understand what you can't do. If you venture ahead, have somebody watch your bubbles the first few times, that can help you if you have a problem. I'm not saying scuba diving or hull cleaning is difficult, but people have died doing it on their boat or doing it for hire.

Ted

Do tell, how did they die?
Yes I am an advanced diver and would like to know what you know.

 

[psneeld]

Here's the headline, google this "divers dying while hull cleaning boats" and many posts come up....

"Divers have died while cleaning boat hulls. The risks and precautions for ship's crew when divers are doing underwater hull cleaning operations include drowning from the divers running out of air or their breathing apparatus malfunctions. "

OK...one more....


Marine Patrol Sgt. Marlowe Sonksen says 71-year-old James Stormes, an independent diver from South Bristol, entered the water at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday to clean the hull of the 131-foot yacht from the Cayman Islands that was berthed in Rockland Harbor.

Maine diver dies while cleaning yacht hull

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death of a Maine scuba diver who failed to surface while cleaning the hull of a luxury yacht in Rockland.

apnews.com

"The yacht crew called police at about noon when they realized that Stormes had failed to resurface. A Maine State Police diver found his body at about 3 p.m. in 20 feet of water."

But who knows...it's just the internet.

 

[tiltrider1]

What I find interesting is that the diver said pay me what you think it’s worth. As a buisness man my invoice is what I am worth. I justify my rate by the quality of my work and I justify my hours by the difficulty of the job. If you feel I over charged I am going to defend my hourly rate and the number of hours involved. This diver obviously didn’t feel he deserved what he charged and was willing to take much less.

The other possibility is that the diver just fired you as a customer and is too busy to chase you for money. Either way you now need to look for a new diver.

 

[tiltrider1]

I am just another of millions of certified divers in the world. I for years did my own cleaning and zinc replacement. Diving is a dangerous sport. Hull cleaning and zinc replacement is pretty low on the list of dangerous dives. My guess is all those cleaning deaths had nothing to do with cleaning and everything to do with poor dive practices. Running out of air or malfunctioning equipment is not acceptable. Like running out of fuel in a plane. Its not bad luck, its a total lack of following proper procedures.

 

[O C Diver]

Do tell, how did they die?
Yes I am an advanced diver and would like to know what you know.

I personally know of two:

One drowned from striking his head on the hull and losing his regulator. Essentially the coroner said he drowned and there was a bruise / contusion on the top of his head. There was still air in his tank.

The other one was a commercial diver, a scuba instructor, and probably in his late 60s. The coroner hypothesized he had a heart attack from scrubbing, lost his regulator, and drowned. There was still air in his tank.

The problem with hull scrubbing is that it's to easy. After a few times, you get complacent. Then something happens that you might survive on land, but then you drowned because you're underwater.

Edit: James Stormes (we knew him as "Stormey") was the second person I knew.

Ted

 

[SteveK]

As the saying goes "**** happens" Sad but true. In itself the hull cleaniing did not kill, there was other circumstances only guessed at.
But now I feel guilty in asking a driver to clean my hull when I am not there to ensure he surtfaces.

 

[O C Diver]

As the saying goes "**** happens" Sad but true. In itself the hull cleaniing did not kill, there was other circumstances only guessed at.
But now I feel guilty in asking a driver to clean my hull when I am not there to ensure he surtfaces.

Playing the game at a different level.

So the first picture is a Scamp. It's a self propelled hydraulic hull scrubber that is supplied by a substantial power supply through a massive umbilical. This is what you use to clean ships like Navy aircraft carriers.

The second picture is my buddy, the commercial diver, who started cleaning ships and eventually became the team supervisor.

Aircraft carriers are up to 60' draft. When you go down to "mow the grass", you can be down for hours and need to decompress on ascent.

Worth note is the Superlite 17 dive helmet required for true commercial diving.

Ted

 

[Docktopus]

Thanks everyone for the replies. At least I don’t feel crazy for assuming $350 was a flat fee (I can’t say for sure exactly what he said on the phone when we set it up). To answer a few of the questions:

The hull was in typical condition. We use it a lot and I had not noticed any decrease in performance. He also confirmed that there was not excessive growth.

The location might be a thing that raises the price. I am in Napa, CA and the boat was at a Marina, but we have a hard time getting divers here. There was one diver that had a good number of clients but ha hasn’t been showing up lately. Most Bay Area divers won’t come up this far. I’m guessing that even though the new diver I tried out is advertising at the Marina, he does not have a bunch of boats to group together in one trip.

Moving forward, I think I am going to DIY it, we’ll see how that goes. I have been a recreational diver for over 35 years. I’ve cleaned the bottom myself a few times with just the partial tank left after a fun dive. I have not done the zincs though, because I figure that the number I drop in the muck will be incredibly frustrating. It seems worth a try now.

 

[READY]

Please consider the risk of contaminated water in many marinas and also stray currents that can kill. None of this justifies 350/hr but I am happy to pay $100+/- to have my hull cleaned and not tackle it myself. @$1200 maybe I would consider it but more likely I would find a more reasonable diver. I would think Bay area divers would come to Napa and charge lower fees. Perhaps getting 3 or more other owners together and that would make it worthwhile to travel. Maybe they will charge a premium but nothing close to $1200.

 

[lwarden]

Thanks everyone for the replies. At least I don’t feel crazy for assuming $350 was a flat fee (I can’t say for sure exactly what he said on the phone when we set it up). To answer a few of the questions:

The hull was in typical condition. We use it a lot and I had not noticed any decrease in performance. He also confirmed that there was not excessive growth.

The location might be a thing that raises the price. I am in Napa, CA and the boat was at a Marina, but we have a hard time getting divers here. There was one diver that had a good number of clients but ha hasn’t been showing up lately. Most Bay Area divers won’t come up this far. I’m guessing that even though the new diver I tried out is advertising at the Marina, he does not have a bunch of boats to group together in one trip.

Moving forward, I think I am going to DIY it, we’ll see how that goes. I have been a recreational diver for over 35 years. I’ve cleaned the bottom myself a few times with just the partial tank left after a fun dive. I have not done the zincs though, because I figure that the number I drop in the muck will be incredibly frustrating. It seems worth a try now.

I've done plenty of anodes with just a mask and snorkel so you will have no issues at all. Guess my somewhat snarky comment about alligators or crocs doesn't apply in Napa...

 

[BruceK]

IMO the OP`s bill was outrageous.
IIRC, I recall our previous esteemed members BandB relating a horror story of a diver in the water and a thruster switching on. There could be an argument for the observer after all. Or some commonsense.

 

[talort]

The fact that he told you to 'pay what you think it’s worth' suggests he knows he messed up communication. $630 for a 30' boat with zincs sounds more than fair.

 

[SIBERNUT]

Check CA law. In MD it says a client MUST be given an estimate and ok it.

 

[inquisitivej]

42’ Grand Banks by the foot, no zincs were needed, just a scrub and video of the bottom: $231 including tax.

 

[motion30]

In my area the going rate is about $5 a foot

 

[SeaRanch]

Here’s the cost of cleaning and 7 zincs on my boat in San Diego.

 

[amapola]

We paid $157 US for our 58' trawler.

 

[guy edwards]

I had a new diver out this week to clean the bottom and change zincs. There was some miscommunication regarding the charges and I am curious what others would do. When the new diver quoted me $350 I thought he meant a flat fee. I have always paid a flat rate based on the length of the boat. I guess he actually meant $350/hour and he was going to take his time. The bill was almost $1200. Is anyone paying a diver a rate like this?

When I asked him about it, he said I could just pay what I think it is worth. I am thinking of paying for one hour plus the cost of the anodes, $630. Does tnat seem reasonable to others? This is a 30’ boat 31’ 7” LOA. The invoice and the text chat is attached.

I pay $295 per cleaning of an Aquila 44. Prop zincs are $50 each, hull zinc $110.

How often do you have the bottom cleaned. It does make a difference in the amount of effort required.

 

[SeaGator]

I pay $3.50/foot plus cost and labor for zincs monthly on our 45' (50' LOA) in Ft Pierce, FL. A few short years ago it was only $2/ft. Labor for zinc anodes is about $10 per anode.

 

[MileniumFalcon]

I had a new diver out this week to clean the bottom and change zincs. There was some miscommunication regarding the charges and I am curious what others would do. When the new diver quoted me $350 I thought he meant a flat fee. I have always paid a flat rate based on the length of the boat. I guess he actually meant $350/hour and he was going to take his time. The bill was almost $1200. Is anyone paying a diver a rate like this?

When I asked him about it, he said I could just pay what I think it is worth. I am thinking of paying for one hour plus the cost of the anodes, $630. Does tnat seem reasonable to others? This is a 30’ boat 31’ 7” LOA. The invoice and the text chat is attached.

4$/ft done every other month Jax FL 43 Albin twin screw

 

[welippisch]

I clean 2x a month for $178 each time on a 65' boat. Zinc install is $10 each if I supply the zinc.

Howard, Can you forward me the name of the diver/company. I am also based in Stuart.