Posted on by Hoef_Inge

Trouble in paradise: Barnacles

In Cartagena, we had our hull cleaned near to perfection by Pedro and Yair. Only three weeks later, in Bocas del Toro, we wanted to free our waterline from algae. We also checked the underwatership and found our hull covered in barnacles. Trouble in paradise?

Ya’s waterline was covered in algae
Ugly and bad for Ya’s speed. Time for action.
Ya’s hull got covered in barnacles in several stages of development within 3 weeks

So, we started cleaning. The fish adored our work, and that kept us going. 

Lots of fish appeared when we started working.
The fish loved our activity, perhaps because of all the algae and barnacles that we were serving

We managed to get most of the barnacles off.

Ya’s hull: difference before (left) and after (right) cleaning the algae and barnacles
Ya’s hull after cleaning

We were happy, especially because it looks like our Biocoat is still working after 2 years of sailing. But, we also found that barnacles look a lot like humans. They thrive at temperatures between 24 and 28 degrees Celcius and they like boats a lot.

Ya at Playa Bluff, Bocas del Toro, Panama

So, to keep out of trouble, keeping our hull free from barnacles is going to be part of our daily routine as long as we are in the Caribbean.