Huge loss of speed over the season !

[QBhoy]

Crazy how much the boat has slowed down since her highly polished launch early season. Used to Rev to 5000rpm or just over ! Refuse to antifoul her. Look at the colour of the hull and the growth on it !

 

[QBhoy]

Upside...you probably won't find a better prop slip figure than that ! Haha. That's with the 19" ballistic.
Think the figures suggest a figure of 3...not bad.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Anyone fall off the rear when she's at a 12/10 pitch? I hardly drive my 1/2 ton truck 55MPH let alone my fishing boat which won't hit 35 MPH anyway. The fuel cost isn't in the budget.

 

[QBhoy]

Haha...not this time...just wanted a photo of the hull from the camera boat to see the state of it.
I suspected it would be as bad !

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Would a fouled hull really hold the boat back that much Q? I guess yes. Maybe that's why I don't hit 35. My 1/2" of creek skunge and Zebra Mussels must be like driving with a stuck set of brake calipers. I have 60% of the hull shining now, unless I hang the boat by straps the 30 to 40% I can't clean must be costing me money in fuel losses. I really never thought about resistance due to creek skunge. We redid a 19' StarCraft in 2015, the owner insisted on painting the bottom with rocker guard, that I know will kill speed. He doesn't need to go any faster thn he does anyway, he strapped a 200 horse on a boat that was rated for 150 and that;s before the load was lightened as it was a full windscreen with 2 casting platforms and now it is stripped down to a centre council. He does 55MPH.

Maybe my boat will do 55 too. Maybe if I removed the interior and strapped on another 100HP.

 

[mr 88]

Hull bottom.looks more discolored/ stained than actual growth. Most boats will accumulate gear of some sort over the course of a season which translates to weight and slower speed. It is also hard to duplicate wind,current and atmospheric conditions unless tested with in hours when your trying to compare numbers. All of that may add up to your lower numbers including the engine possibly not as fresh and fuel/air filter/plugs/timing ^timing chain stretching and so on. So I would not put it all on the hull being the problem ,in less you have copious amounts of algae growth.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Hull bottom.looks more discolored/ stained than actual growth. Most boats will accumulate gear of some sort over the course of a season which translates to weight and slower speed. It is also hard to duplicate wind,current and atmospheric conditions unless tested with in hours when your trying to compare numbers. All of that may add up to your lower numbers including the engine possibly not as fresh and fuel/air filter/plugs/timing ^timing chain stretching and so on. So I would not put it all on the hull being the problem ,in less you have copious amounts of algae growth.

Good point 88, more discolour than hull grunge. If you want to see real hull skunge you should see mine when I pull it out of the creek next to the Steel Mill and 50 dairy farms.

Actually the plant recycles 100% of it's water, from furnace to treatment plant then holding lagoon. A single gallon of water lost must be reported to the MOE, I know I worked there.

 

[QBhoy]

Haha.
My thinking is just that of a cosmetic appearance really. Such a special wee boat doesn't deserve to be left in the water all season the way I do.
All the boats I've had to date have had anti foul on them, even though I'm in fresh water. Each year I found myself re applying time after time with god knows how many coats building up and at a stupid cost each year.
On a performance orientated boat like this, it would no doubt have an effect on performance.
If I had a slower boat or a displacement boat...I'd think again...but as it is, I'll take the consequences, haha.
What boat do you have ? I hear those zebra muscles are a real invasive nuisance ! Any fix for that situation yet ? They were introduced by mistake right ? And have taken over since ?
What's the other well known species of fish that are a non natural species ? The ones that jump out the water in mass numbers when they hear an engine ?

 

[QBhoy]

Hull bottom.looks more discolored/ stained than actual growth. Most boats will accumulate gear of some sort over the course of a season which translates to weight and slower speed. It is also hard to duplicate wind,current and atmospheric conditions unless tested with in hours when your trying to compare numbers. All of that may add up to your lower numbers including the engine possibly not as fresh and fuel/air filter/plugs/timing ^timing chain stretching and so on. So I would not put it all on the hull being the problem ,in less you have copious amounts of algae growth.

Hi Mr88....yeah it's pretty much all down to the growth on the hull and in particular the running pad at the rear of the hull. Closer inspection sees lots of tiny wee squiggle like growth. Almost like wee green worm like crustations. They are solid when you run your finger nail over them. They then encourage more algae to form on top of these.
It's only really happened since the two big boats in front of me moved in and started sheltering mine from the fast flowing river where she is berthed.
An unusual increase in algae (apparently of the poisoned type too) this year has made it worse.
Being on the Loch...and doing the same runs usually means that all other factors are negligible. It's usually mostly either flat calm or slightly choppy. I use the boat at least twice a week and all through the season, so well used to what it is like in all conditions.
When this slowing down happens earlier in the season, I usually take her up to the beach and give the flat running pad a bit of a scrub, the best I can. She will speed up a little until the next time there is a big bloom of algae.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Zebra Mussels were introduced into the Great Lakes, Erie first about 40 years ago when a ship from Europe dumped it's ballasts. They have migrated to major portions of our fresh water system throughout the entire province of Ontario as well as east and west to the Atlantic and to the Prairie Provinces now. They filter many thousands of gallons of water for each little bastard as they feed on plankton. Erie is back to crystal clear water because of them and because of that light deeper into the water column that has resulted in massive Algae blooms that wash onto shore and can stink to high heaven and choke out natural weed groth. They were a foot deep on the beach here when we bought our place 21 years ago. Not as bad now but not good yet. They will hold onto a hull and every nook and cranny on a boat and a powerwasher will not dislodge them, they need to be scrapped off like a barnacle. The other invasive species we have are Goby, Gobies are a smallish fish that eats everything and anything in it's sight, including our sportsfish eggs. They will hit anything a sportsfish such as Walleye, Bass and perch will hit. It is illegal to throw them overboard alive or use as bait. They are bottom feeders that hold higher than normal amounts of Mercury, our gamefish love them and then the Mercury is passed onto us when we eat the gamefish such as freshwater Bass, Perch, Pike and Walleye. I have seen them as long as 10" but normally 3" or so. They have bulging eyes like Nemo the cartoon fish, ugly little sods. Brown to a jhet black.

I have a 1995 StarCraft Superfisherman 190, 115 HP Mariner and matching 15 horse troller. I love the boat but plan on selling next spring. I just don't use it enough any longer. The guys I fish with all have boats of one type or another and always argue as to what boat to take. Mine is the smallest amongst our "Armada". I plan on getting a smaller side council in the 16' range that I can launch solo. I won't be going out on Erie 5 to 10 miles plus but can fish for Smallmouth and Perch all along the shoreline right out front of our Cottage and beach it overnight when the winds are down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goby

 

[JASinIL2006]

Haha.
My thinking is just that of a cosmetic appearance really. Such a special wee boat doesn't deserve to be left in the water all season the way I do.
All the boats I've had to date have had anti foul on them, even though I'm in fresh water. Each year I found myself re applying time after time with god knows how many coats building up and at a stupid cost each year.
On a performance orientated boat like this, it would no doubt have an effect on performance.
If I had a slower boat or a displacement boat...I'd think again...but as it is, I'll take the consequences, haha.
What boat do you have ? I hear those zebra muscles are a real invasive nuisance ! Any fix for that situation yet ? They were introduced by mistake right ? And have taken over since ?
What's the other well known species of fish that are a non natural species ? The ones that jump out the water in mass numbers when they hear an engine ?

The fish that jump as you describe are referred to as Asian carp. We have them near us, on the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. I actually was hit by one a couple of years ago.

 

[mr 88]

So why don't you just paint your running pad ? I only get growth ,and very minor at that,on the sides and transom where sun hits the hull. The very bottom does not get anything. I do use a ablative paint that wears off over time and has minimal build up. I only paint the actual bottom of the boat every few years because of the non growth ,the sun exposed gets it every year. I am docked at the very back of a lagoon type area that sees no water movement and warms up very quickly. The boat is in the water for 6- 7 months.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

The fish that jump as you describe are referred to as Asian carp. We have them near us, on the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. I actually was hit by one a couple of years ago.

We do have Asian Carp here in Ontario, they were used to clear ponds in the US as they eat water plants with a vengeance and migrated into the Great Lakes. They are however sterile. There many species of Asian Carp but these are the Asian Carp that can breed and devastate the waters and fisheries but have been stopped in Chicago, for now. One of your Presidents first executive orders was to stop or highly reduce the funding of a joint venture between our 2 Nations to combat the Carp from entering the Great Lakes watershed. I can't remember how many millions each country contributed so I can't quote a dollar figure.

 

[QBhoy]

So why don't you just paint your running pad ? I only get growth ,and very minor at that,on the sides and transom where sun hits the hull. The very bottom does not get anything. I do use a ablative paint that wears off over time and has minimal build up. I only paint the actual bottom of the boat every few years because of the non growth ,the sun exposed gets it every year. I am docked at the very back of a lagoon type area that sees no water movement and warms up very quickly. The boat is in the water for 6- 7 months.

I'd be hard pushed to get a paint that will rival a smotthly polished gel coat.

 

[mr 88]

Waxing gel coat will actually slow it down, but in a go fast boat it will wear off in a very short time, So waxing/polishing it with any goop is not helping and the paint on the pad will have little to no affect on your top speed ,especially if your having a algae build up. If your running on the pad what difference does painting the bottom if its not touching water at speed to begin with.

 

[QBhoy]

Waxing gel coat will actually slow it down, but in a go fast boat it will wear off in a very short time, So waxing/polishing it with any goop is not helping and the paint on the pad will have little to no affect on your top speed ,especially if your having a algae build up. If your running on the pad what difference does painting the bottom if its not touching water at speed to begin with.

As mentioned before...Cosmetic appearance is a big factor.
I've spent most of my boating life wishing I didn't have antifoul in my boats.
There is also no way painting the hull, even with the best of the fast speed antifoul will result in less friction over a polished hull. I'm afraid that is a fact. None of the real performance boats have antifoul on them for this reason.

 

[trailking82]

There is aside to this debate that agrees with losing speed with a smooth polished hull, basically it comes down to more surface tension. Think of filling a glass with water, the glass can actually be over filled slightly with a visible bulge above the rim. This is due to surface tension.

There are some performance boats that have the running surface slightly abraded or roughed up with fine sandpaper. This results in tiny bubbles forming resulting in less friction, similar to the dimples in a golf ball.

Something to consider, not sure bottom paint would give the same effect though.

 

[QBhoy]

Fair comment trail king. Almost like a simulated shark skin swimming suit goes through the water better.
I just can't bring myself to paint it. It's not in sea water either...I will just pull it out a few times a year.
Thanks everyone for the comments.