Question on Barnacles in pickup -Alpha one Gen 2

[viper1216]

Hey there,

I am doing my fall/winterizing for the boat. Just got done changing out the drive oil, and while my head was down there, I noticed I have some barnacle growth inside my pickups on either side of the lower leg. I can easily get to them with a punch or a pick or something to break them up. Just want to see if that would cause an issue. I figure I would crunch em up, then hit with the muffs for a bit-engine off. Would that work ok, or are they just going to clog further up stream? Would like to avoid pulling the drive if I can since I just changed out the oil...if that's the only option, so be it. But just figured I would ask.

Thanks!!

 

[Lou C]

common in salt water land. Bust em up with a pick and blast out with water hose or compressed air, I would not want to suck them up into the impeller. I spray that area with Trilux II in the spring and paint the drive with 2 coats of the stuff...

 

[crazy charlie]

using a pick or a shash-ka-bob spear,clean them up and flush with hose or pressure washer.When antifoul painting the outdrive,start with spraying inside the intake and also end with spraying inside the intake again.Charlie

 

[viper1216]

Excellent!! Thank you! Question on the outdrive painting though...this is a new boat to me, so I didn't paint the outdrive like I did on my last boat (even though the little bastards still grew on it). However, I always taped off the intake as I didn't want it to get clogged up with paint. So, it's ok to spray in there?

 

[Lou C]

100% you must spray in there or else you'll have barnacles if you are leaving the boat in salt water. In fact my OMC Cobra had a plastic water screen in there that I had to remove because I had a chronic problem even when painting it, with barnacles clogging the water inlet. Much better since I removed it.

 

[viper1216]

Great to know. Do just spray right into the intake ports on both sides? Do you use some sort of straw extension, like you get with WD40? And last, do you need to poke out the holes again after to clear out the paint or does it just go in and leave the ports unplugged? Sorry, I know lots of questions lol. But I don't want to have to pull her back out again in the spring if I miss something, so better to have that knowledge now

 

[Lou C]

You could try the spray wand but mine has just 4 big holes so I just spray it pointing down, up and straight thru. And I only get a couple after a season in salt (5-6 months). After spraying make sure the holes are open, I doubt that the paint will clog them because the spray on Trilux is very thin.

 

[viper1216]

Perfect. Thanks!!!!!

 

[Bt Doctur]

only other way is to split the drive, remove the water pump impeller and base and use a long screwdriver

 

[Lou C]

only other way is to split the drive, remove the water pump impeller and base and use a long screwdriver

well when the plastic screen was covered with them that's what I had to do, had to come up with a way of using 3 scissor jacks to get it apart, then cleaned it all out and painted it INSIDE too!
Why I'm getting an outboard next time! Amongst other reasons....
I used two bolts on the front drive mounts and a long piece of all thread thru the trim ram rod holes, one jack in front, one on each side of this, jacked nice and slow and it popped right off.
Yeah a nasty looking salt water drive but it still works GREAT.

 

[Bt Doctur]

You have a Bravo drive not an Alpha