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Mini barnacles in a fresh water lake?!

BigKahuna

BigKahuna

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Anchored in a No Wake cove today and after lunch decided to do some pontoon and outboard cleaning. Felt little "bumps" on the outboard and found this. Some can be scraped off with my fingernail and some can be rubbed off with a rag. Some break when you try to scrape it and turns white. Some feel like they're not coming off! Any idea what the hell these are. They are only on the outboard no where else! IMG-0296.jpgIMG-0295.jpg
 
Weird! No idea
 
Hope it's not zebra mussels. Lake George spends millions every year combating them and they still flourish
 
I am also guessing Zebra Mussels
 
Hey guys I doubt if they are any kind of zebra or quagga mussels. They are only on the lower part of the outboard. Nowhere else on the boat! The best way I can describe them is it feels like tree sap on the hood of a car. The only thing .....
.the boat has been in the water since the beginning of May. Nowhere near any tree sap! I clean the toons/outboard every week while we're floating in that No Wake cove I'll get a rag or sponge out and start wiping. Easy to do with Sharkhide. I just noticed those "things" yesterday.......
 
Either zebra mussels or fish eggs. That’s my guess.
 
BK I would think there is some type of governing body overseeing your big lake. Take a sample to them and see what they think
 
Link said:
BK I would think there is some type of governing body overseeing your big lake. Take a sample to them and see what they think
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Thx I will Link. A gentlemen on another forum I belong to told me that the same thing is happening on his Mercury outboard. He thinks that it is a paint defect and is going to contact Mercury in the off season. Something to think about.....
 
The Catawba River Basin is full of those mussels. All the raw water systems at the power plants on that chain are full of them in low flow areas.
 
PonTuna Salad said:
The Catawba River Basin is full of those mussels. All the raw water systems at the power plants on that chain are full of them in low flow areas.
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How are you guys doing? The weird thing is it's only on the outboard.
 
BigKahuna said:
How are you guys doing? The weird thing is it's only on the outboard.
Click to expand...

Like most everyone else, hiding out for the most part. I have been going to work most days (people like something to happen when they flip their light switch on) and Linda has spent most of the summer walking and staying by the pool. I know you know but not everyone on this forum knows that we moved off the lake a couple years ago and sold our boat for $2k less than we paid for it so good for having a Bennington. We still get to the lake with our Waverunner. I have really noticed that the lake traffic has picked up with all those “working” from home.

I still check in on the forum. I only personally know a small handful on this forum, but feel like I know just about everyone here so I can’t just “go away”.
 
PonTuna Salad said:
Like most everyone else, hiding out for the most part. I have been going to work most days (people like something to happen when they flip their light switch on) and Linda has spent most of the summer walking and staying by the pool. I know you know but not everyone on this forum knows that we moved off the lake a couple years ago and sold our boat for $2k less than we paid for it so good for having a Bennington. We still get to the lake with our Waverunner. I have really noticed that the lake traffic has picked up with all those “working” from home.

I still check in on the forum. I only personally know a small handful on this forum, but feel like I know just about everyone here so I can’t just “go away”.
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I understand. I don't even have a Benny anymore and I'm still here! Great group of knowledgeable guys on this forum! If I would have known you were selling your boat back then we would have bought it. Loved that Swingback! We loved our I/O but my wife was ready for an outboard and a different floorplan.....
 
Okay I have an update on this story with a great result!!! To refresh your memory my Mercury 150 outboard has hundreds of little bumps on it and they turn into white dots when scraped off. Forum members thought that they may be zebra mussels, fish eggs, or some kind of invasive species. We put in a warranty claim with Mercury Marine over a year ago and they just made a decision this week. They determined that that it was likely something in the water that caused it or possibly a paint defect. Either way they are going to replace the entire motor casing. I was told that it's in between $800-$1000 for the casing alone......
 
Sweet!
 
Outboard zits.
 
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