Staying Ahead of the Legislation!

SB 623, a bill proposing to ban or seriously reduce copper in antifouling paints is expected to pass in the state senate. Currently copper is one of the main ingredients of the antifouling paints that we use for retarding growth.

Presently the paint companies have some reduced copper and copper free alternatives.

One of the issues for the owner is the expense of removing the existing copper paint and priming in preparation for the new paint, the existing paints are going to be illegal.

The new legislation is proposed to come into effect 2015, and be fully instituted by 2019.

Today we forecast the life of the existing paint at 2-1/2 to 3 years before recoating, some people are stretching it to 5 or even 6 years between haulouts. The reduced or copper free paints are going to be of a different composition, more ablative (softer), and therefore a shorter duration between haulouts.

There is also going to have to be an education for the divers to treat the new paints differently, less aggressively, so that the full life of the paint can be achieved.

The positive side of the whole process is that the vessel gets more regular inspections and ultimately we are protecting the environment by cutting down on heavy metal deposits in our local waters.

An Amazing Restoration By Our Own Valentine Marine

Christmas at Sea

Robert Louis Stevenson

The sheets were frozen hard, and they cut the naked hand;
The decks were like a slide, where a seamen scarce could stand;
The wind was a nor'wester, blowing squally off the sea;
And cliffs and spouting breakers were the only things a-lee.

They heard the surf a-roaring before the break of day;
But 'twas only with the peep of light we saw how ill we lay.
We tumbled every hand on deck instanter, with a shout,
And we gave her the maintops'l, and stood by to go about.

All day we tacked and tacked between the South Head and the North;
All day we hauled the frozen sheets, and got no further forth;
All day as cold as charity, in bitter pain and dread,
For very life and nature we tacked from head to head.

We gave the South a wider berth, for there the tide-race roared;
But every tack we made we brought the North Head close aboard:
So's we saw the cliffs and houses, and the breakers running high,
And the coastguard in his garden, with his glass against his eye.

The frost was on the village roofs as white as ocean foam;
The good red fires were burning bright in every 'long-shore home;
The windows sparkled clear, and the chimneys volleyed out;
And I vow we sniffed the victuals as the vessel went about.

The bells upon the church were rung with a mighty jovial cheer;
For it's just that I should tell you how (of all days in the year)
This day of our adversity was blessed Christmas morn,
And the house above the coastguard's was the house where I was born.

O well I saw the pleasant room, the pleasant faces there,
My mother's silver spectacles, my father's silver hair;
And well I saw the firelight, like a flight of homely elves,
Go dancing round the china-plates that stand upon the shelves.

Tips on a Proper Rinse Down

After a great day out on the water you pull into your slip and often it seems as though the last thing you want to do is go to all the work to rinse down your boat. I mean it wouldn’t hurt to leave it, just this once . . . Right? Wrong, salt is one of the most damaging elements found in nature, the damage it can do in a short amount of time is amazing. Just a few ways salt can damage your vessel are:

• Stain the window glass if left on long enough
• Corrodes metal
• Corrodes boat finishes, including the gel coat Salt crystals that form after the water evaporates are as damaging to a finish as sand
• Salt will mix with dew and become salt water again

How to rinse properly:

• Start with a light mist wetting the whole boat (go as high as possible on the mast) and allow a couple minutes for the salt crystals to dissolve
• Rinse it down thoroughly
• Come back for a final rinse. Go from the top down saving the hull sides until last
• By doing a simple preventative maintenance it can save your boat from unwanted salt damage.

Taken from David H. Pascoe “Washing Down”

For more information see: http://www.docksidereports.com/washing_down.htm