Barnacles grow on a boat that was tied up in Barnegat Bay.

Barnacles aren’t a welcome addition to any vessel. While they won’t destroy your boat, their presence can greatly affect performance, especially if they’ve managed to attach to the bottom of your hull thanks to worn or improperly applied bottom paint or long periods without use.

Those who keep unpainted aluminum boats in salt water – even for a short amount of time, such as during a family vacation to the Shore area – often have the worst barnacle issues. For most powerboaters, barnacles make appearances near unprotected, submerged objects such as depth sounder/fish finder transducers and speedometer probes.
But no matter the cause, barnacles are difficult to remove once they appear, especially if they’ve been left to dry over the off-season. Many boaters spend torturous days in spring ridding their boats of these creatures before they feel comfortable dropping them back in for a new season.

The easiest answer to getting rid of barnacles is the most expensive option: send a boat to a professional to be washed, sanded, stripped, reprimed and repainted. But in a time of ever-increasing fuel costs coupled with a still-lagging economy, there are alternatives to spending potentially thousands of dollars on professional services.

Barnacle-ridden boaters should first remember that there is no easy way to remove these creatures, which are far-less-yummy relatives to crabs and lobsters. While the “heads” of barnacles are relatively easy to remove with a putty scraper (or even a car ice scraper), the “glue” barnacles use to attach to objects – in this case, your boat – will always be the hardest to remove. There’s a good reason for that: the attachment of the barnacle is made from cement glands that form from the base of the first pair of antenna, with the purpose of permanently maintaining the barnacle’s life. It’s not designed to be removed.

But there are steps boaters can take to rid their vessels of the plague that is barnacle infestation. Significant amounts of elbow grease are required for every option which will be described; there is no “magic” solution that will completely remove barnacles and their cement bases just by spraying on and calmly scrubbing off.

A pressure washer or the trusty putty or ice scraper is often effective in removing the barnacle heads. There is no chemical that is as effective at removing barnacle heads as simply using your own strength to scrape them off. So, if you’re in good enough shape, your first step will be to get scraping!

After all of the heads are removed, you’ll be stuck with many of the cement bases that will remain. The first solution to remove these bases is muriatic acid. Muriatic acid, also known as hydrochloric acid, is extremely caustic and very corrosive. Its use will require you to take a number of safety precautions, including wearing a long sleeve shirt, safety goggles, mask and gloves. A drop of acid on your skin will cause a burn, while a drop in your eye will cause blindness. Especially for a task involving placing yourself in odd positions, protective clothing is an absolute must.

Most boaters use a pump or bottle sprayer to coat the barnacles (or, what’s left of them) in a solution of 50 percent acid, 50 percent water. Give the mixture about 15 minutes to soak in, then use a handle brush to wipe the bottom clean. The acid should generally cause the barnacle cement to fizz, loosening it enough for removal.

While the use of muriatic acid is effective and generally cheap, it is also dangerous, a fact that pushes many boaters away from using it. Additionally, if your boat is stored on a galvanized trailer, figure out how to shield it from the acid, which could affect its galvanic protection. Muriatic acid can be purchased at most home improvement stores for about $10 per gallon.
There are far less dangerous alternatives to muriatic acid on the market, including Triton Marine Hull Cleaner, which uses a synthetic, non-acidic cleaner to help remove the calcium cement left behind by barnacles. We tried it on the boat pictured in the header of this article and found it to be an effective helper in removing barnacles, however not to the extent of a substance as powerful as muriatic acid.

Our test showed that, similarly to the acid, the cement bases fizzed and began to disintegrate, but final removal required some light sanding or at least some scrubs with a Brillo pad. The good news, however, is that even when it came into contact with our skin, it didn’t cause any pain, discomfort or irritation.
The Hull Cleaner product sells for $20.33 for a 32 ounce bottle and $52.46 for a 1 gallon bottle from the manufacturer’s website, located at www.tritonmarineproducts.com.

Another option is Barnacle Buster, manufactured by Trac Ecological Marine Products. Barnacle Buster is a non-toxic, biodegradable marine growth remover that can even be be recirculated through sea water cooling systems. It can also be disposed of through a traditional storm sewer system.

Trac says its product, available on Amazon.com for $15, uses food grade phosphoric acid as an activator.
No matter which product you use to remove barnacles before you begin your boating season, keep in mind that they’ll return if your boat’s bottom is not properly painted. Additionally, barnacles forming on engine parts, seacocks or even the transducer and speedometer could stem from failure to replace your sacrificial zincs on your outboard engine. Barnacles, generally, are attracted by electrical currents.

A rescue boat from Brick, NJ rescues a distressed kayaker.

By Daniel Nee

It was nearing April, but the weather didn’t make it seem that way. For one kayaker, it would be a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.

Around 3 p.m. March 27, a kayaker – who authorities have not identified – was paddling in the narrows of the Manasquan River in Brick Township when his boat overturned, according to a local fire company.

He stepped out of his boat in hopes of righting it, but quickly became stuck in the notoriously muddy bottom of the river’s narrows, which also pose a mucky threat to powerboaters during the summer. Before a waterfront homeowner on Bluff View Drive in Brick called the local authorities, he had been in the water for two hours, hardly able to move.
Eventually, a rescue boat crew from the Laurelton Fire Company in Brick, assisted by the New Jersey State Police Marine division and the U.S. Coast Guard, got the kayaker unstuck and loaded him into an ambulance at a nearby marina. But especially with a thus-far chilly spring, those hoping to nab a few striped bass or winter flounder from their ‘yaks should make sure to be prepared.

“Everyone needs to check their kayak thoroughly before starting out,” said Lenore Clark, owner of West Creek Kayak and Canoe on Route 9 in West Creek.

Wearing a life jacket while kayaking is a no-brainer, but Clark said kayakers would be wise to wear a life jacket that also includes an attached whistle. In the case of the imperiled kayaker on the Manasquan River, a few blasts from a whistle could have attracted attention from a nearby homeowner, avoiding time in very chilly, dangerous waters.

For anglers, fishing accessories are for more than just helping prepare to catch the fish of a lifetime. They’re also for safety.
Many anglers fish the back bays for striped bass at night – especially near bridges – and just like on a traditional boat, lights are required by law. For kayaks, there are no red-green navigation lights, but instead, eit

her a constant white light or an LED strobe style light that can be purchased at kayak shops, Clark said. The LED lights run on standard, AA batteries, so there’s no need to take the extra step of installing a 12 volt power system.

Some paddlers have also taken the extra step of adding reflective tape strips to the sides of their boats, Clark said.

Also, Clark said, more anglers are beginning to see the value of purchasing collapsible-style gaffs to use while kayak fishing. With more anglers taking to the ocean to snag bunker and fish for striped bass off the beaches past the breakers, there is always the possibility that a large fish such as a shark could find itself attached to one’s line. That comes with obvious danger, and a gaff can be helpful in reeling in and releasing such a catch.Additionally, gaffs also can help an angler remain stable while landing any type of fish, reducing the possibility of a tip-over situation. •

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