Cleanup Time!

Well, we’ve done a lot to the boat on the inside, engine, topsides, gear, rigging, rafts – but until this  week, no attention has been lavished on the exterior hull lying below waterline.  The abundance of marine life in the sea makes it important to periodically get the boat into a dry location so the bottom can be examined and cleaned – sort of like the annual visit to the dental hygienist.  Such was my plan upon returning to Sitka after the Montana trip. 

I have heard about “the Grid” forever, and only since becoming a boat owner has it had any immediate significance.  The Grid – most maritime towns have one for public use, at a very minimal price.  The idea behind the grid has been in play since boats began – bring the boat to shore on a flood tide, tie it off, and wait for the water to go away on the ebb tide.  The bottom is exposed for examination and work, until the tide returns.  Not bad if you are a flat bottomed boat, but modern boats require a bit more tlc.  The Grid is usually some form of timbers placed in the sea floor like railroad ties, in that zone that is exposed to the air when the tide is out, but is covered when the tide is in.  A dock or pilings alongside, and one can tie the boat in an upright position, just resting on the timbers as the water flows away.  Some are parallel to shore (i.e. the Petersburg grid) or perpendicular to shore, as the one at Sitka is.  Ours holds as many as 8 boats, 2 on either side of 2 dock arrangements.  There are a lot of considerations, such as the height of the  tide, if there is enough water predicted on the next tide so you can get afloat again, the position of the timbers under your boat, the tilt of your boat just as it goes aground so that it doesn’t lean the wrong way and fall over (bad!), etc.  Still, it’s cheap, effective, and done daily by mariners needing to see the bottom of their boats.

I didn’t go on the Grid.  Steve J. called me the day I got back and told me I should get on down there that evening, as the tides were right.  Nervous Nellie that I am, I had to go down and look, and see all the possibilities.  One spot remained open as of 8pm, and the high tide (when you want to be there) was at 3am.  I was exhausted from my trip, so caught a few winks with the alarm set for 12:30 am.  I woke up at the alarm, and had to talk myself into each step – clothes on, start the engine, untie the lines, back out of the stall.   Sometimes every step of the way is just tough!  It was really dark, something that occurs for only a few hours here this time of year, so I made my way out of the harbor with a floodlight to shine on the channel markers.  I got over into the main Sitka channel where the Grid is located, and eased my way over.  Another boat had left, but someone else had taken the spot I had eyed as mine, and as I circled to go in, another boat came cruising in and took the place.  After a few more circles, I decided to go back to the stall and to bed.  

Sticking to my original plan, I took my car up to Halibut Point Marine, about 7 miles from Sealing Cove where I live.  I left it at about 8am, and began the long trek back to town.  Fortune would have it that about 3 miles later I passed right by a construction site where my good friend Rich was working.  Stopping to chat for a minute, he convinced me we could visit while he took me back to the boat, and Who Am I To Argue??  I then drove the boat up the coast and waited to catch the crane ride onto dry ground.

The crane straddles a tall, narrow dock arrangement, sort of like a parking stall with 20 foot walls.  Huge nylon slings are suspended down into the water, and you gently drive your boat in to them.  The operator lifts the slings to stop your boat, then moves the gear back and forth until you are cradled in a balanced position.  Once he is  satisfied, he begins to lift.  It’s really weird to be 20 feet below the operator, then be sitting in your boat 10 feet above his head!  Once you are clear of the dock, he drives you over to a spot, lowers you onto wood blocks, then the crew places supportive stands all around your boat so it doesn’t fall over.  Once secure, the straps are released, removed, and you get a ladder to get off the boat. 

It was really cool to see the unseen.  My hull had a short, nappy fuzz all over, but not as bad as I expected.  The rudder and prop were the worst, with long, green streamers prolific.  The keel cooler pipes ( my boats radiator!) were covered with mussels, as were the transducers for my depth sounders.  Barnacles covered the prop, and had to be polished off with a wire wheel grinder.

  The zincs were abysmal. Electrolysis renders them useless in about 2 years, and this is year 3 for mine.  I told you I’d elaborate on zincs, and this seems like the place.  When you place dissimilar metals in a salt water solution, you essentially create a battery.  Current is generated and flows from one metal to another, based on the ionic value of the particular metals.  On boats we have aluminum, copper, stainless steel, bronze, brass, and all sorts of metals.  The rules of chemistry say that metal is remove from the least noble of the available metals during the process, and zinc is less noble than them all.  The term “sacrificial anode” is used, and sacrificial is the key.  We put chunks of zinc on the boat, connect it to the other metals by bonding straps or direct connection, and presto – your nice steel shaft or bronze thru-hull fitting doesn’t dissolve and leave you in trouble – the zinc dissolves instead, and you don’t sink!  We just have to replace them every couple of years.  A side benefit of this zinc activity is that fish seem to be attracted to certain electrical charges, which the proper amount of zinc seems to provide.  You can see from the pictures what used zincs look like!  Note the new, shiny ones on the “after” pictures.

The bottom paint was not terrible, but did need to be redone.  Bottom paint isn’t to make it pretty – it contains some pretty potent compounds that inhibit the green and gray slime that tends to grow on the hulls.  I’ve seen some neglected boats around here with seaweed growing about 15 feet long!  My neighbor, who has not been here all year, has ribbon kelp about 3 feet long all over the place.  As you can see from the before and after rudder/prop picture, I had a bit of growth trailing along!

So, as soon as it was shored up, I fired up the pressure washer before the goo on bottom dried and peeled off as much as I could.

I had to grab the mussels to peel them off – pressure washer wouldn’t even touch them.   This little collection was stuck to the keel cooler and attached zincs pretty tightly!

 

Once washed, I removed all the zincs and headed for the supply house to get replacements before the store closed.  I found them all, and then (exhausted by now!) got a shower, supper, and a short night’s sleep, courtesy of the awesome Dolands.  Up at 4am and back to the yard to mask and paint.  I ran out of paint at about 7:30 am, so back to town for another gallon. Cough!  Only $175 per gallon – you certainly scrape the can clean at that price!  I think my father-in-law, Norm, was spot on in his observation -- “Sounds like to me the money in fishing is in owning the marine supply house!”  Truer words were never spoken….!

Finally, by noon I had everything cleaned, painted, and installed.  A few extra hours to let the paint dry, and I was on my way again.  On the way back to town, I saw a cloud of water vapor right in my path, and sure enough, it was my old friends, the Coast Guard, practicing hoists just to make me feel secure!  I motored by, enthralled by the skill displayed, and had to snap a shot or two.

Today I completed the Upright and Watertight course by AMSEA, and learned a few more things about how to keep the boat on top of the water in a useable condition!  One more item to do – install new troll wire tomorrow, since the old wire is more splices, kinks, and repairs than not – can’t afford to have that break in the big opener! 

Now I have to make some money!  Monday I’ll fish somewhere – the charter guys are getting skunked the last few days, but next week is going to be a winner, I just know it!  Next photos will be of lots of fish, I hope!  Stay tuned!