JUST SCRAPPING BY

No this is not a post on the state of the economy.  BANKA has been on the mooring for a little over a month. This is because I was in the process of redesigning and building the boat's solar dodger after the damage from  the ill fated Reid Stowe flotilla trip. Then my girfriend dragged me out on a beach vacation for a week. The beach vacation is over and the new and improved solar dodger has been installed and secured (I'll be posting about that installation in a future post) so it's time to start cruising again. Well,  not so fast. Especially, when I dove under the boat to check the condition of the prop.

The waters here on the Isle of Long have been exceptionally warm this year thanks to the hot summer and the marine organisms have been loving it as much as I have.  Somewhere in the photo below of sponges, seaweed and barnacles is a 16 inch three bladed prop and prop shaft.

Some of the sponges are actually quite colorful:

And if the shrimp who are also hanging around the area where just a bit larger I'd have some appetizers for my sundown drinks. While this sight might be very interesting to a marine biologist. To this sailor who is chomping at the bit to get some more cruising in something needs to be done. But, what to do?

 

Behold the GAM PRO ADVANTAGE 6 IN ONE paint scraper tool! This nasty medieval looking weapon is just the thing I have found when one needs to attack a barnacle encrusted prop. It is very stiff and sturdy and the curved crescent area is great for clearing the prop shaft or grabbing onto it when the boat swings in a current. It also has a convenient hole to attach a lanyard to put around your wrist. Plus I like that is called the GAM PRO. It adds a little nautical feel to the tool.  Not that I want to have any more conversation with the barnacles that I remove off the prop beyond ADIOS!