Maintenance cleaning of rudder and props

[wa7pug]

I bring the boat home over winter and do the maintenance inside my shop ... pressure wash the growth off the bottom and all of that. Lots of little bugs all over the brass of the prop and the rudder .... so I was looking for basically a scotchbright pad that goes on a 4-1/2 inch grinder ... in the process of doing that, I went into a welding shop and they showed me a "flapper wheel" that goes on a grinder. They come in various levels of aggressiveness ('grit" equivalent), so I chose the softest one and just finished my prop and rudder .... OUTSTANDING! If you use something too aggressive, you can remove metal, and I did not want that. A scotch pad has a tough time with that white 'adhesive" the bugs excrete so they can hold on (wish they could bottle that stuff for project use!) but I got the most gentle grade of the flapper and it did a great job without taking so long that I have to shave a couple of times during the task. I got mine from Central Welding but I think they are pretty standard in most welding supply shops, and NOT expensive. One word of caution: STAY AWAY FROM YOUR GELCOAT. I guess, after you pressure wash the Dickens out of it, a light 'buffing' with a scotchbright pad might be ok but unless you are putting on bottom paint, probably best to spend most of the time with the pressure washer and not try to abrade the bottom paint. I leave that to the yard when it have to mess with the bottom paint because of the skill and the ECO considerations.
Hope this helps somebody out there .... was a "nice find" for us. If anyone wants specifics, email me .... Summer is coming: getting the itch?!?!?!? 😀

 

[Automaticman865]

I've been using the Harbor Freight Warrior 2" and 3" fiber disc sanding kit on my die grinder. They have 40, 100, 180 grits in the package. They are abrasive fiber much like scotch brite. They are way less aggressive then the flap discs.
Stuart

 

[serendipity]

Prior to becoming Ranger Tug owners, we sailed a Westsail 42 ketch. We used Zap bathtub cleaner to remove the calcium deposits left by barnacles. A medium strength acid will do the trick, too: just be careful!

We chose to use Petit Barnacle Buster instead of Prop Speed, which seemed overkill for our 6 knot speed.