By simoncurrin - 21 May 2012
I 've no idea whether it works but my project for this winter was to make an ultrasonic anti fouling system. There are quite a few expensive commercial systems out there that promise much but with flimsy evidence. I bought a kit from Australia and have happily been soldering away. The cost of course was a tiny fraction of an 'off the shelf ' product. My guess is that it probably will have minimal effect but it 's been fun building it and I discovered loads about electronics on the way.
Finally completed it today and pressed the the button to hear a series of "whale-like" utterances. All very exciting seeing my first electronics project come to fruition. We will fit to the hull next week and will keep you updated as to what happens. It will certainly deter dogs but if it deters barnacles too that will be a bonus!
Simon
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By simoncurrin - 30 May 2013
Unscientific I know but I 'd say my home made Ultrasound worked really rather well. After 11 months (the last 6 of which were spent sitting in a marina) she came out with just slime and no barnacles hanging off the prop. Really rather pleased!
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By dcaukill - 30 May 2013
I fitted one of these in New Zealand in December. The cost was half what I expect to pay for a haul out and two coats of conventional anti foul to be applied.
As the same time as the ultra sound was fitted, she was scrubbed down and new anti-foul applied.
To my complete surprise the results have been rather good. Five and a half months in, including the last two in quite warm water there is no growth of any kind on the hull - no barnacles, no coral type growth - just, as Simon said, a slime which comes off with a cloth.
May that please continue..........
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By dcaukill - 15 Dec 2013
I report on 12 months usage. A green slime that wipes off with a cloth and a few barnacles between rudder and Skeg. In tropical water for 9 of the last 12 months.
I have cleaned her with a cloth and a snorkel every thee months, otherwise no maintenance. Based upon this weeks examination ( wet suit -water temp 10 degrees) I will leave it now to Te haul out in May. 17 months. The thing paid for itself in 6 months....
Result!
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By simoncurrin - 15 Dec 2013
Great news. We are hauling out in April and will report back then.
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By David.Tyler - 17 Dec 2013
Simon and David,
Could you post a link for the source of this kit, please?
David.
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By simoncurrin - 17 Dec 2013
David,
I imported mine from Australia. The link is http://www.jaycar.co.uk/productView.asp?ID=KC5498
Simon
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By David.Tyler - 17 Dec 2013
Oh, rats! It says on that website "not suitable for timber construction". But my multi-layered plywood hull contains a lot of epoxy, and is covered by a thick layer of glass and epoxy, so I 'm wondering whether that 's rigid enough for ultrasound to work. Only one way to find out, and at £90.50 each (plus, of course, oodles of duty, tax and carriage) not too expensive an experiment.
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By dcaukill - 18 Dec 2013
Website for the kit i had installed:
http://www.ultrasonic-antifouling.com
These guys are based in Dorset. Mine was installed in New Zealand - imported via an Australian distributor so not the cheapest way to buy it, i am sure!
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By simoncurrin - 5 May 2014
Before and after pictures of Serendipity with and without ultrasound.
[attachment=149]image_2014-05-05.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=150]image_2014-05-05-2.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=151]image_2014-05-05-3.jpg[/attachment]
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By dcaukill - 5 May 2014
The first two pictures were of Serendipity in Fiji, hauled out and washed off five months after being anitfouled in Rodney Bay. The last picture is Serendipity hauled out and washed off in Grenada sixteen months after being anitfouled in Auckland - where i had the Ultrasound fitted. Not a barnacle nor strand of any other crustaeceous growth in sight, save for a very small amount of barnacles on the bowthruster, inside some of the through hulls and a very little in the gap between rudder an skeg.
Result!
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By simoncurrin - 25 Aug 2014
Below is a report by Crystal Blue outlining their experiences with Ultrasound.
Simon
Barnacles and a solitary oyster living on the inlet fittings.
Almost two years since we last applied anti-fouling paint, and the barnacles are starting to grow on our hull once again.
Frustrated with barnacles blocking our raw water intake, in April this year we installed an Ultrasonic Antifoul System on Crystal Blues (read more here & here). Though the Ultrasonic System is marketed to control barnacle growth on hulls, we were really wanting the system to keep our water intakes clear.
Since the installation, the inlet hoses and filter basket have been growth free. One victory for technology. However the jury is not 100% convinced (yet) on the system 's effectiveness on the hull. Four months after the last clean, diving on the boat we find a fairly regular covering of small barnacles (the boat has been sitting in a marina in Singapore for the entire time). Would it have been worse without the Ultrasonic system ? Cautiously, we believe the answer is yes.
Systems Rich Neil
High Tech Cleaning
Removing the barnacles with a paint scraper is an arduous task, so this time we tried using the WaveBlade tool.
We had looked at these tools with some suspicion over the past few boat shows. Its like a hand held electric chisel, waterproof, and powered by 12 volts DC. Faced with several acres of nasties, it seemed worth a try.
I can say this is a wondrous tool ! In use, the best description I can give is that its like shaving the hull. With a light pressure and low angle, the blade glides across the surface of the hull and simply explodes everything in its path. The small barnacles don 't even slow it down, they just fall off, and the few large critters we found disappeared in seconds. The wave blade isn 't specially fast, but it does make removing the critters an easier task.
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Posted By SV Crystal Blues to Crystal Blues on 8/17/2014 10:23:00 am
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By DariaBlackwell - 11 Oct 2016
I just came across this which lists a CW article about it.
http://www.ultrasonicmarine.com/index.html
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By Alan.Leslie - 3 Oct 2023
+xWebsite for the kit i had installed: http://www.ultrasonic-antifouling.comThese guys are based in Dorset. Mine was installed in New Zealand - imported via an Australian distributor so not the cheapest way to buy it, i am sure!
Wondering if there is any current information on this?
Still having good experience?
The website doesn't show any updates since about 2018.....
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By Charles.Lenhoff - 7 Oct 2023
Well done Simon, well done!!!
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