How do we keep our bottom clean!!

Arion's West Indian Adventure
Hermione & Douglas Pattison
Thu 24 Mar 2016 09:35
Having had Arion’s bottom scrubbed in Antigua (and actually it was looking really rather good then, with only a handful of pesky barnacles on there) we realised that we needed a more efficient method of keeping growth at bay. It was taking Douglas about 40 minutes every week or so to go over the whole bottom with a scrubbing pad. It needed doing more frequently really and with the children this is now always possible. Thinking caps on; we put in an order with Elizabeth to make a custom device which I will describe to you in a minute. She bought it out with her a couple of weeks ago and it really has revolutionised our bottom!

The device I am talking about is something my father has used for many, many years on his J24. It is a bit of fabric which you sink under the boat. Standing either side of the boat, on deck, you see-saw the fabric along. The idea is that you do this every 2 days, and prevent any growth. Obviously the area right next to the keel is not reached, plus the part behind the prop, but it massively cuts down the area to wipe by hand. This morning I dived under the boat with one end of the fabric, between the back of the keel and the prop, enabling another area to be cleaned. The whole process took 10 minutes and means the majority of Arions bottom is squeaky clean at all times!! Thank you Bob for the initial idea, and Elizabeth for making our order over email and hand delivering it to Antigua for us!

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