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Speed loss due to growth on tubes

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TexBoater

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Another 'newbie' type question.  We have a 3 month old 2274GL w/ 3 tubes & SPS.  Power is a 150 Yamaha.  It's sits in a slip 100% of the time.    After the first few hours we opened up for short periods per instructions and routinely achieved 39  mph.  Never quite touched 40. 

Due to weather we did not use the boat for 6 weeks and last weekend we took it out and top speed was closer to 36-37mph.  Weather, trim & boat loading has been similar.   I can see some algae growth underneath.  Actually Canyon Lake Tx is a very clear & clean water lake and I was surprised at this much growth in 3 months  - but it's quite evident.  Tubes did have Sharkhide applied although I understand that's more for preventing tarnishing.

The motor seemed to be performing the same.   Is this drop off in speed this quickly normal??    Will it get to a degree of growth where the performance levels off?

When the weather allows us to get in the water, can one do some light cleaning of the tubes by hand?

I understand it depends on the growth, but how often should it be water blasted?  1 or 2 times yearly????  Comments will help.   Thanks.
 
I have my toons cleaned with cleaner & power washed when it comes out of the water in the fall and then same in the spring and sharkhide applied every year.  I do not scrub them that often during the summer and the toons get some discoloration at the water line.  My boat sits in our slip all summer but our lake is pretty clean and I really don't see growth just a blackish discoloration.  I have an RL with a Yamaha115; in the beginning of summer I get 26 - 27mph WOT and by the end of summer I am down to 23 - 24.  Cleaning the toons will most definitely improve the performance.

I think that I don't get a lot of algae growth on my toons due to the high rate of speed I travel
 
Good mornong TexBoater,


While i do not keep my boat in a slip, i have left it in the water over long weekends, and was amazed by how much muck can build up over that short period of time.


Lots of folks keep a soft bristle brush onboard, and when anchored up in shallow water, go around and give the toons a cleaning. Others pressure wash at the end of the season when the boat is pulled for the winter.


Either way, growth does make a big difference performance, and you are correct about the sharkhide, it only protects from oxidation.
 
I also keep mine in a slip .

I "try" to wipe the tubes down once a week .

Very easy with the shark hide applied .
 
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I go from 10 mph to 12 mph after a good scrubbing of my toons (20% increase in speed).....  :D
 
Dave ,don't you have shark hide applied ?

I notice you said "Scrub"
 
You guys are applying Sharkhide every year?  I thought we talked about this before and most people only apply it every 2-3 years? 

I just did mine last year right after doing all of that polishing (gawd....I swear I'm STILL sore from that crap) but wasn't planning on applying it again until 2016.  While I agree Sharkhide is really just to keep that shiny finish, it certainly helps powerwash/wipe the algae off of the tunes.  I leave my boat in the water all season (don't have it on a hoist).  When I take it out in the fall I immediately take it to the car wash to power wash the algae off (I have a power washer at home as well but heck, may as well leave the mess a the car wash) and I can do my entire (triple) boat in 10-15 minutes....it comes off that quickly since I have Sharkhide on AND the fact that it's still wet from just taking it out of the water.  I don't power wash it again in the spring because there's no point:  It's already clean from the prior fall and I keep my boat in an indoor heated building during the winter.  As others have said, algae build up will for sure slow the boat down....no doubt about it.  However, I never really feel like wiping it down during the season although I would probably need to do it every 3 weeks from the build up it gets from being in my lake.
 
My plan will  be every other year .

Since the insurance is replacing the port side toon  with shark hide ,I am also having the other two done while the dealer is doing the repair .
 
I lost 8-10 mph from June to September while sitting in the water 100% of the time. I think this was all from growth. I guess I will find out for sure in the summer when it is launched after being freshly cleaned.
 
I lost zero.
 
is this another thread on getting bigger engine?.....I am just reading between the lines such that if you have 200 or 300, then it doesn't really matter how much crap you have on your toons....lol
 
Jack M. said:
Dave ,don't you have shark hide applied ?

I notice you said "Scrub"
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Jack,

No Sharkhide. Wish I did. Maybe someday if I get a trailer and can clean the toons up good.

Smitty
 
Dropping from 48 MPH to 40 becuse you have crud on your toons is very annoying.
 
job511 said:
is this another thread on getting bigger engine?.....I am just reading between the lines such that if you have 200 or 300, then it doesn't really matter how much crap you have on your toons....lol
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Higher horsepower allows you to carry more weight to speed better. Even the twin 300's are not hitting some high speed numbers.

Algae or scum does cause resistance thus taking away acceleration and overall performance. Our lake is warm and shallow. I noticed a drop in a week.
 
job511 said:
is this another thread on getting bigger engine?.....I am just reading between the lines such that if you have 200 or 300, then it doesn't really matter how much crap you have on your toons....lol
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I have a 225 sho and it has affected me greatly. I wish what you say was the truth.
 
Benny sits in the water from May1 to Oct 1 

Clean private Lake 

No Growth On The Toons 

So Far (lol)

gallery_5569_640_1244948.jpg


If I see anything close to this 

I will Lose It 

man-pulling-his-hair-out.jpg
 
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Unfortunately our toons look exactly like the picture Pittsburgh posted after only a couple of weeks in the water.  Our lake is not exactly clean!  Our performance drops as much as 14mph.  We clean the toons in July and again in October, but this year we're biting the bullet and installing a Hydra-Hoist in the slip...I'm guessing (hoping) that we feel like it's worth it after a month (and still reaching 38/39mph)....please, please, please.  :)
 
3SugarBugs said:
Unfortunately our toons look exactly like the picture Pittsburgh posted after only a couple of weeks in the water.  Our lake is not exactly clean!  Our performance drops as much as 14mph.  We clean the toons in July and again in October, but this year we're biting the bullet and installing a Hydra-Hoist in the slip...I'm guessing (hoping) that we feel like it's worth it after a month (and still reaching 38/39mph)....please, please, please.  :)
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[SIZE=23.9999980926514px]Though are lake doesn't give me a problem with GROWTH[/SIZE]

[SIZE=23.9999980926514px]I am still considering a covered lift for Benny $$$ [/SIZE]

[SIZE=23.9999980926514px]Just tired of taking the mooring cover off and on so many times a day [/SIZE]

[SIZE=23.9999980926514px]With the geese, ducks, sun etc we prefer it be covered when not in use [/SIZE]

july-4th-fireworks-blowout_1.jpg
 
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Seeing that photo of the toons makes me happy I went with sealed strakes too!
 
lakeliving said:
Seeing that photo of the toons makes me happy I went with sealed strakes too!
Click to expand...

What's the difference?  I am guessing my strakes are not sealed.  Do you have photos of what both look like?  If mine are not sealed, can I have them sealed (and should I)?  What would the bennefit of this be?
 
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