Bottom Cleaning

How Does Underwater Hull Cleaning Work?

Boat hull cleaning typically applies to all vessel types and ages. Divers with brushers or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) do this task during normal ship stops. But their job doesn’t stop at cleaning vessel hulls. Cleaners will also examine a boat’s defects, inspect its underwater propellers, and check its other mechanical equipment.

Normally, underwater hull cleaners clean 200 to 400 m2 of flat surfaces on boats per hour. But these numbers will depend on how much fouling the vessels have and what type it falls into.

Why Do Boat Owners Get Hull Cleaning Services?

When a boat’s hull stays underwater, it can collect all kinds of algae, marine life, and barnacles over time. These organisms attach themselves to the bottom of the boat as a result. Once they grow on the hull, organisms will cause frictional resistance and much greater vessel weight. These effects strain the boat’s engine and cause it to consume more fuel. What’s more, drag due to dirty hulls give boats slower speeds and lower overall performance. Boat owners mostly keep their hulls in tip-top shape for improved fuel economy. Research into the energy efficiency effects of ship hull cleaning shows that boats consume less fuel when they undergo regular hull cleaning. By maintaining good hull conditions, vessel owners can expect one to five percent less fuel consumption from their main engine. But these figures will depend on the following factors:

• Amount of marine fouling on the hull

• Vessel size

• Vessel segment

• Operation profile

• Trading areas

What are the Requirements for Underwater Hull Cleaning?

If you’re considering a career as a boat cleaner or are thinking of establishing a hull cleaning service, you’ll need to meet several requirements that go with the job. Check them out below.

Hull Cleaning Skills

Boat bottom cleaning isn’t that simple. For one, divers shouldn’t damage a vessel’s coating or scrape off its paint while they’re cleaning the hull. It’s a difficult task to accomplish: you’ll need to use specific techniques and know the different coats of boat paint. Cleaners often have to contact the manufacturer’s rep to get information about paint coatings used for certain boats before cleaning them. Aspiring boat hull cleaners must also have enough courage to handle occupational hazards, as well as street smarts (which can only be gained from repetition and experience).

Certifications & Insurance Policies

It’s not that easy to break into the hull cleaning business either. Even the casual part-timer will find it nearly impossible since almost all marinas require general liability and workman’s compensation policies, even if they work alone. Part-time hull scraping is virtually impossible because of how much the insurance costs. And of course, a scuba diving certification is a must-have for underwater hull cleaners.

Equipment

Scuba diving equipment for this job varies from diver to diver. Boat cleaners typically use wetsuits or drysuits as their uniform to fight the elements. Their usual equipment includes a suction cup device that helps them hold on to the boat they’re cleaning and a variety of brushes and scraping tools. Besides these pieces of gear, cleaners use different types of breathing apparatus on the job. The equipment they use will depend on their preference and current marina regulations. Usually, you’ll need a surface-supplied air system, and some divers clean hulls with back-mounted scuba tanks. However, other divers find tanks clumsy and inefficient. That’s why they go for hookah systems, which are a more complex type of breathing apparatus. These systems use a compressor on the surface that feeds air down a long tube to divers. Hookah systems substitute the need for a tank and let cleaners stay underwater much longer. But these air systems have one downside: they’re noisy, and it’s the reason why a few marinas prohibit their use. As a result, some boat cleaners opt for a hybrid system. Hybrid air systems involve leaving a scuba tank on the dock and using a long hookah pipe. The pipe makes divers much more flexible and keeps tank dings and dents from damaging the boat. Hull cleaning divers will also have to wear thick workman’s gloves on the job as fouled hulls can be sharp with barnacles growing on them. These gloves can help cleaners avoid cuts from these sharp surfaces.