In keeping with my new commitment to spend less and live more, I've been contemplating bottom cleaning vs. hauling out and painting.
It costs serious money - not to mention the hassle - to haul out a 39-foot boat. With that in mind, I did a bit of research for ways to extend haulout intervals to 2 or 3 years and still keep the hull reasonably clean. It's a bitch sailing to the Algarve and back with a dirty hull. Fuel consumption increases just as dramatically as the drop in speed.
Diving and scraping is good exercise, but not very practical without scuba diving gear.
Here's my research results:
1 - the Hulltimo Pro robot. Awesome but expensive.
2. The Hulltimo Smart robot for 2,290 euros. Didn't bother reading the warranty. It would have to run trouble-free for a long time before it paid for itself. Another downside is that everybody at the marina would want a free cleaning. Nah.
Courtesy of Hulltimo.
3 - Scrubbis, for 88 euros (limited special price). Now that sounds appealing to a cheapskate.
Courtesy of Force 4 Chandlery
4 - I could make my own scrubbies, but it would probably take a long time and fall apart as soon as it touched the hull. Something to think about lying in bed.
It costs serious money - not to mention the hassle - to haul out a 39-foot boat. With that in mind, I did a bit of research for ways to extend haulout intervals to 2 or 3 years and still keep the hull reasonably clean. It's a bitch sailing to the Algarve and back with a dirty hull. Fuel consumption increases just as dramatically as the drop in speed.
Diving and scraping is good exercise, but not very practical without scuba diving gear.
Here's my research results:
1 - the Hulltimo Pro robot. Awesome but expensive.
2. The Hulltimo Smart robot for 2,290 euros. Didn't bother reading the warranty. It would have to run trouble-free for a long time before it paid for itself. Another downside is that everybody at the marina would want a free cleaning. Nah.
3 - Scrubbis, for 88 euros (limited special price). Now that sounds appealing to a cheapskate.
4 - I could make my own scrubbies, but it would probably take a long time and fall apart as soon as it touched the hull. Something to think about lying in bed.
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