Haulout Spritzig II

[Ozzie]

This year prior to haulout I dived on the boat. I decided freeing up the cb and cleaning the flat part on the keel bottom would ultimately save me some time later shifting the boat half off the trailer. Wetsuit and weightbelt are a must. The need for air is a PITA as I found myself upside down at one point one foot on each side of the keel sawing the gap around the centreboard with an old blunt pruning saw. I’m glad I’ve never been a smoker . I have reduced lung capacity for other medical reasons but I can still hold my breath for about 40 odd seconds which is a lot when you’re expending a lot of energy at my stage of chronological decline. It usually only has a millimetre of crust by the end of the season, just enough to stop the weight from dropping it. Anyway after freeing up the cb it dropped down easy and is still in good nick. Pull ring ok. I then gave it a good clean up and scrape with a brick bolster.

SCARY STUFF EH?

This is the ideal tool for dirty hulls and cbs, blunt so it won’t harm the hull but sufficient weight that it will carry through on a swing even underwater and take off anything clinging to the hull. Just don’t drop it. After haulout and trip home it was only about an hours work with my wife on the supercreep petrol washer and me on the bolster and Spritz was clean enough to paint.


Haulout time is always very interesting. Not least because of the looks of horror I get from boaters at the ramp when they see the weed and growth on the boat. But mainly it’s crusted growth that comes off usually in large slabs leaving mainly smooth surfaces underneath with a smattering of barnacles. The main thing I’ve learned after nearly 30 years of mooring is do not stop for a beer after haulout, you hit the growth while the “glue” is still wet. Most barnacles come of with pressure wash. Dried on ones can need high explosives.

I use international “Longlife” hard antifoul which I’ve just discovered has been superseded by “Ultra 2” . I assume they are constantly refining this stuff. Back when I started mooring boats in the 90s it was something else.” Interspeed” I think. So far I cannot complain, mostly degunking the hulls of the two boats I’ve had has not been too much of a chore . I will add pics as I go for anyone interested. The next job is to use boat acid on the weed line above the antifoul area.
AN HOUR LATER NICE AND CLEAN OTHER THAN THE WEED LINE

[Ozzie]

Stage 2 boat acid . The line of crud above the antifoul in the pic in the previous post is the weed that grows above the waterline . A few years back I abandoned the original waterline and boot stripe painted on with red Awlgrip enamel as the weed usually covers it by the end of the season. I masked to the top of the stripe and antifouled to that line . The weed must be eating it’s weetbix however as it managed to get above that too. It’s not hard to scub of if you do it regularly but I’ve been travelling and slack so a good application of boat acid is needed. This is hydrochloric acid at 10 :1 in water or 5:1 for heavy stains which is what I’m using here.

Paint on and hose off with a bit of scrubbing and your good to go. As 3m style stripe material is fairly cheap these days on fleabay I’ve bought some to stick on above the new waterline. Didn’t bother last time. We’ll see how it lasts . At this rate the weed line will reach the gunnel by about 2029


You will notice that the antifoul didn’t stick too well to the old red Awlgrip even though I undercoated it . I may have to bung some two pack primer over it which is what I have on the whole hull under the antifoul. I touch up anything that looks like a scrape with it every haulout. So far it has served me well with zero osmosis blisters that I can detect. I think this was a bloody good hull layup.

[Ozzie]

It dawned on me today just how good the 3M vinyl striping material is. Spritzigs name has been on now for 15 years 24/7 Marine environment and still going strong . The colour flashes I put on the side of the boat are a bit tatty but they are subject to bumps from the tender and annoying teenagers who raft up to her and fish when I’m not there.

[Geoff]

Hey Ozzie,

Thanks for the write-up.

Your annual trade-off for not having to raise and lower the mast, and trailer launch every outing?

Gotta love the versatility. Mooring not an option for me, but it certainly has its attractions.

[Ozzie]

Sounds good David. I have two coats of interprotect on Spritzig II and it has served me well plus always touch up with it on scrapes before antifoul. Only thing I would say is, that I used white antifoul on my old Swiftcraft 21 Cruiser in the early days of mooring. It does show growth but that’s the problem. I’m sure you could scrub growth off but the discolouration that comes with marine greeblies does not look good on a white background. See my current post on boat acid. You really do see it just on the glass and that’s not even it the water constantly. May be better with the Ultra 2 but there’s probably a reason most moored boats use blue or black antifoul and I think that’s it. Anyway just my two cents worth. I’ve just become a lazy sod in my old age and was a bit slack at keeping Spritzig’s bum scrubbed. The black hides it longer

[no way]

I've got black on mine - yes it hides the discoloration. I'm in fresh water but when the Lakes got salty during the drought the growth was quick. With plenty of fresh only get slime. Ultra2 is the replacement to Longlife when International failed to successfully renew their licence on the product. Longlife was the one recommended by all but tropical cruising boats (they need special stuff). From reports I've had, even from retailers, is that Ultra 2 is not a patch on its predecessor. I used to get 3plus years from LL so will be interested to see what you get. BTW as a nearly 50 year veteran of International products their quality has declined in proportion to their parent company's need for profit. Maybe look at other products as well?

[Ozzie]

I have never actually antifouled inside the casing David, other than the few mm that the brush reaches from the outside, mainly because even with the board down it’s difficult. I have found however, on the two occasions I’ve replaced the pull ring, that Marine growth is minimal inside this area. Not non existent but minimal.

I’m not a marine biologist, so guessing, but I assume it has something to do with the fact that mollusks, bottom feeders and greeblies (made that one up) need passing water, erhm, make that water passing in order to feed so don’t grow in confined spaces like keel cases. Either that or it’s just the low rent district of such critters. On the outside this year however I got half a dozen little crabs and a blood worm plus every type of weed.

If you can search my previous post on my last replacement of the pull ring, I did Interprotect (I think) prime, metal paint and antifoul the cb as much as was accessible but most of the time I’ve only just squirted fish oil up into the cavity and the cb. When I pulled it fully down a few weeks ago during the dive it was all good. The antifouled area had bugger all growth and the area above it had gal still happy and visible as gal , not rust. As a side note I’m still on my original centre board bolt. Bless Kevin Shepherds design skills although I don’t think he ever imagined the boat as a mooring concern.

Id prime and antifoul the board as a one off if it’s convenient. This year I’m going back to fish oil.

[Ozzie]

Up early today for Anzac in front drive. Two other neighbors out. Nice to see. We have been getting on with haulout last week,taking pics just not posting. As we have lots of free time we are taking extra time on the prep.

Many people complain about anti foul buildup but I have not found this an issue over 30 years of mooring. Normally pressure washing and degunk remove a good amount of paint and as per pic any areas of Hull showing through the prep get a fresh touch up with 2 pack Interprotect.

I have done more light sanding this time, mainly on the old painted bootstripe and its getting two coats. Cognoscenti say to put first coat of AF over 2 pack while it is still tacky.

[Ozzie]

At the time, 15 years ago, the advice I got was two coats of InterP 2 pack. One of my old band members was a pro spray painter and came over with his gun and safety gear. After one spray coat my compressor began playing up. As he could not get back with his till the next day and it’s recommended to recoat when tacky we hoed into it with a thick coat using a brush. In retrospect I think a brush is better anyway. Given spraying two pack legally now requires a space suite if done professionally and is sensible at any rate, a brush job covered better and a sprayed finish is not needed given how dimpled rolled on AF is. We used extra for third coat along keel.

I recommend anyone doing two pack read all relevant safety sheets there is usually a summary on the can and link to online. This is dangerous stuff. Particularly if used inside and particularly inside a boat. I work outside with a good mask and gloves and a breeze and overalls.

Not speaking to you here David as I know you were a professional but I should have mentioned it earlier for the casual reader. As general advice for any DIY folks reading any forum, not just this one your lungs are meant to pump fresh air and nothing much else. This includes wood, metal and plastic dust.

Just to finish I do two thick rolled coats of Hard AF with two extra thick extra brushed coats on the keel edge and around the CB slot. This has been my process now since mooring. For me anyway it works fine.

[Ozzie]

We had finished 98% of the AF last week, just need to ease the hull back a little and do under the rollers but have gotten side tracked on the interior. To top it off my next door neighbours of 25 years have put their house up for sale so I have gotten busy sorting out some boundary fix ups with him so it don’t have to negotiate them with new people. Sheeeet, this bloody lockdown is gonna finish too soon and I’ll still have all these jobs to finish, never been so bloody busy.