Shell Fish On Your Hull?

[minerva]

Has anyone else had this?

My neighbour who's boat has been in the water for 4 yrs has just had it out for blacking, and he says he must have scraped about 2 tonnes of fresh water muscles from the underside of his boat!

 

I know others on the S.Yorkshire navigations have had this also....

 

Its not going to do much for your fuel consumption, with all that hanging on your underside, surely!

 

[stuart]

Well I regularly go over plenty of shopping trolleys on the BCN so that must scrape them all off!!

[Guest]

Our previous boat lived on the Leeds Liverpool. When it was hauled out about four years ago, that too was covered in fresh water mussels. It was only 32 feet, but we managed to fill five of the one hundred weight sand bags. The slipway owner said it was quite common. Incidentally I have seen mussels for sale in garden centres for fish ponds.

[ChrisPy]

I've seen dozens of boats lifted out in Bristol. They are nearly all covered in mussels acquired from, I suppose, the River Avon.

[blackrose]

My baseplate had quite a few on when it came out last June - strangely only the baseplate & not the sides. I didn't bother to remove them as I couldn't get the pressure washer under there. I can't see them creating much drag & having a great effect on fuel consumption at the speeds we travel - probably not as much as the weed growth! Some of these antifoulings like copper are designed to inhibit marine colonisation for commercial & seagoing craft, but they aren't great for the marine environment.

 

Could it be that I had mussels because I'm only 2 locks away from the tidal Thames? (Brentford Gauging Lock) I saw some big Chinese mitten crabs in the canal here last summer - a couple were the size of dinner plates! So marine life can obviously move about & get through the locks. Anyone seen any further inland?

Edited September 12, 2006 by blackrose

[sbillis]

My baseplate had quite a few on when it came out last June - strangely only the baseplate & not the sides. I didn't bother to remove them as I couldn't get the pressure washer under there. I can't see them creating much drag & having a great effect on fuel consumption at the speeds we travel - probably not as much as the weed growth! Some of these antifoulings like copper are designed to inhibit marine colonisation for commercial & seagoing craft, but they aren't great for the marine environment.

 

Could it be that I had mussels because I'm only 2 locks away from the tidal Thames? (Brentford Gauging Lock) I saw some big Chinese mitten crabs in the canal here last summer - a couple were the size of dinner plates! So marine life can obviously move about & get through the locks. Anyone seen any further inland?

 

We passed some Turtles in Grand Union Paddington Branch in July. They were soaking up the sun on the offside near the golf course.

 

Simon

nb Bulrush

[Crazy Scheme]

Our boat has a bow thruster tube, but no bow thruster. It's a kind of mussels doss-house as we found out when we reblacked it in April.

 

We also grow an attractive beard of weed on our boat, the Lea is really clear and full of vegetation.

Edited September 12, 2006 by Crazy Scheme

[NB Willawaw]

[blackrose]

That is bad! I take back what I said about fuel consumption. Looks like the anodes could do with a scrape too!

[GUMPY]

 

That will be Whisper, when it was lifted out from the Thames a couple of years ago.

 

http://www.nbwhisper.com/liftout/liftout.html

 

 

J

[DHutch]

Yeah, i was going to link to there site too..

 

 

Daniel

[GUMPY]

Yeah, i was going to link to there site too..

 

I've known Andy and Jan for years, hence I know exactly whose boat it was when I saw the picture.

 

J

[Yoda]

That will be Whisper, when it was lifted out from the Thames a couple of years ago.

 

http://www.nbwhisper.com/liftout/liftout.html

J

 

Interesting to note that the creatures are attracted to the area of the anode.

[DHutch]

Interesting to note that the creatures are attracted to the area of the anode.

Yeah, clearly they like the taste!

[Dr Bradley]

Yeah, clearly they like the taste!

 

What about the taste of freshwater mussels!

 

Yeah, clearly they like the taste!

 

What about the taste of freshwater mussels!

 

Could it be anodine?