Algae strip Barnacle Remover

Skipper October 31, 2011 Ask The Skipper

Shawn Noonan asked:

More of a statement…i messed up with my 2005 Carolina skiff and didnt bottom paint it. First year was fine…second year i got murdered!! i tried everything looking for a remover for the “rings”. I ordered your product but it was no more effective than ON|OFF. To be fair…i didnt find anything that worked but it shouldnt be advertised as a barnicle remover.

Needless to say hard labor and muscle finally got the hull clean and i upgraded to a 20 footer. I do enjoy your blog and i am interested in some of your products and will probably give it another shot with another product of yours….hopefully with better results.

Truly
Shawn

Answer:

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Hi Shawn,

Anything stronger than Algae Strip will damage the gelcoat on your boat. It’s inhibited so that it doesn’t leach the plasticizers out of the gelcoat. There is nothing available that will remove barnacles without scraping. The way that Algae Strip works is: first it softens the shell so that they can be scraped off more easily using a plastic or wooden scraper then a second application is required to soften the rings so that they can be scraped away.

We recommend a plastic or hardwood scraper with the corners rounded off to eliminate the chance of gouging the gelcoat. Metal scrapers can damage the boat finish.

The danger of trying to scrape the barnacles off without first softening them is that they have adhered so tightly that they can also pull some of the gelcoat off with them. This is a common occurrence. They even pull the surface off the fabric of inflatable boats.

If you do not wish to paint the bottom of your boat with toxic antifouling paint, then I would recommend that you apply two coats of VS721 to seal the pores and make removal of marine growth much easier. If you keep the slime off the bottom of your boat, you won’t get any growth. Many boaters wipe the bottom of their boat off with a sponge from time to time and their bottoms stay clean without paint.

Thanks for your question,

Captain Aurora
Richard Kittar