De-Barnacling

First a little bit about barnacles - they're not supposed to be able to thrive in fresh water.
But, for more than a year before we purchased it, the Lantern Queen sat in shallow water on the Elk River, so she probably got them there. Barnacles really slow a boat down - we picked up more than 1 knot/hour after the "de-barnacling."



The photo above shows the conditon of a rudder before the barnacles were removed.
(Boats are normally only hauled out every 5 years.)

Up close and personal with some barnacles.

This is how they're removed. The tools these fellows are using resemble putty knives on long handles.

Lots of elbow grease, chipping and hosing later, andthe entire bottom looks like this - only slightly raised circles where the barnacles used to be.