We were in Dunedin this week cleaning the bottoms of boats and yachts at the marina. We have a number of customers at the Dunedin Municipal Marina. The yacht in the picture is owned by a new client we picked up recently. It was time for another bottom cleaning and zinc replacement. The Dunedin Municipal Marina is an excellent marina and it is always a pleasure being there.
Keep Your Boat Bottom Clean
Keeping your boat bottom clean is essential to enjoying your boating experience and reducing total cost of ownership. Neglected problems only get worse if not addressed immediately. Boat bottoms are important in many respects. Having a diver come on a regular basis to clean the bottom can help you avoid costly problems down the road.
Dunedin Marina’s Unique Ecosystem
Each marina has a unique micro ecosystem as well as sharing characteristics of the general marine ecosystem of the surrounding area. Dunedin Municipal Marina is no different.
As Seasons Change Bottom Growth Changes Too
At this time of year, the water is cooling down and the marine ecosystem is changing. Summer is barnacle time. Barnacles love the summer and grow like crazy in Pinellas County. When the water starts to dip below 80 degrees, that barnacle growth starts to slow down and remains moderate over the winter.
Green Algae Likes Cooler Temperatures
As barnacle growth slows, the water becomes conducive to another type of growth that likes the cooler temperatures. Green algae is a something you begin to see on boats when the water dips below 80 degrees. It grows along the waterline and attaches itself to the pours of the paint. You see this mostly on boats that are unused and do not get their hulls cleaned on a regular basis.
Unused boats often have more problems than algae slime. You see them covered with barnacles on the waterline as well. This keeps the slime off, but is even worse for your boat. Marine growth, whether green algae or barnacles, causes damage over the long term and makes boating less fun.
Dunedin Marina Micro Ecosystem
Dunedin Marina has some marine growth that is unique to the micro system at the marina. If you look carefully, you can see a layer of red color at the waterline on the pilings. This is crusted red coralline algae. It also attaches itself to props and has been known to change the pitch on props in extreme cases. Coralline algae can cause big problems if left unattended.
Dunedin Marina also had some worm coral (also known as candy coral) growing at the marina. Not as big a treat as the coralline algae, but unique to the marina. This is not to say that no other marinas have these types of growth, that these growths do not appear do not appear in all the marinas.
No Matter What The Growth
No matter what the growth, it is important to clean the bottom of your boat. Some growth is worse than others, but all have negatives on your boat.