DIY Tips for an Underwater Hull Clean: Part Two
In this blog, we are going to talk about how to clean your running gear with your diving equipment.
Assuming you’ve completed antifoul properly, running gear often has more growth than your hull. Most of the time you will find barnacles on your props and shaft. You will need a narrower scraping tool to gently scrape this off. However, if you have a nice coat of prop-speed, try a plastic scraping tool. It’s important to note that a lot of barnacles won’t come off with a plastic scraping tool.
After you clean your running gear don’t forget your water intake and trim tabs because sometimes, they can get blocked. If you have a hydraulic platform just take your time and do as much as you can – you can always come back the next day!
Be confident in the water, have a buddy to dive with, and take as many breaks as you need. It is physically demanding so if you feel tired just come up take a breath or call it a day.
Here are a few extra tips:
- Cover your body as much as possible! Jellyfish are everywhere and even though most of them are fine some will make you swell for a few days.
- Move as slow as you can. You don’t want your tank or head moving around too much.
- Check the tide if you’re in a strong current location. You want to clean your hull when the tide is high.
- If you feel tired, stop, and rest!
- If you feel yourself getting too cold, stop and get out of the water. Once you’re out of the water, take your wetsuit off and dry yourself ASAP.
- Be aware of sharks – I’ve had a few close encounters myself.
If you think you can do it yourself, find a nice sunny day, get a diving buddy and go for a swim! Or give us a call because we are more than happy to do it for you.
If you want to check out Part One of ‘DIY Tips for an Underwater Hull Clean’, click here!
