Posted: 7/5/2015 11:43:23 PM EDT
Does the (current) Navy have to deal with barnacles and junk on the bottom of their ships/boats/frigates whatever they're called? 
In the days of old, I know they grew considerably and had to be scraped off by the seamen because they caused lots of drag. Is that still the case and who are the poor blokes that have that duty? Thanks. |
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Dry dock.
There are some fascinating stories, by the way, of "biologics" (marine organisms) attaching themselves to the bottom of modern ships - including one famous one about what was believed to have been a giant squid some years back. <--Not Navy, just read a lot. |
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Quoted:
Antifouling paint is a big deal for fuel efficiency and speed Most has some sort of copper in it that slows growth of sea life. This. Plus, at one time, I've heard the paint stratified so when a barnacle attached, once the drag got to a certain point, a layer of paint would let go and the barnacle would float away, but it would still have a few layers left on that spot. I'm sure nowadays there are better alternatives, though. |
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Quoted:
Antifouling paint is a big deal for fuel efficiency and speed Most has some sort of copper in it that slows growth of sea life. I know old wooden ships in the British Royal Navy ended up using copper to great effect, which gave them an advantage. If I recall, they used actual copper plating which wasn't conducive with later, steel hulls. Copper paint, eh? Copper is a great natural anti-microbial iirc. I think silver is too. |
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Quoted:
This. Plus, at one time, I've heard the paint stratified so when a barnacle attached, once the drag got to a certain point, a layer of paint would let go and the barnacle would float away, but it would still have a few layers left on that spot. I'm sure nowadays there are better alternatives, though. Quoted:
Quoted:
Antifouling paint is a big deal for fuel efficiency and speed Most has some sort of copper in it that slows growth of sea life. This. Plus, at one time, I've heard the paint stratified so when a barnacle attached, once the drag got to a certain point, a layer of paint would let go and the barnacle would float away, but it would still have a few layers left on that spot. I'm sure nowadays there are better alternatives, though. Yup, the ablative paint is what has been on all of my ships. |
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Yup, the ablative paint is what has been on all of my ships. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Antifouling paint is a big deal for fuel efficiency and speed Most has some sort of copper in it that slows growth of sea life. This. Plus, at one time, I've heard the paint stratified so when a barnacle attached, once the drag got to a certain point, a layer of paint would let go and the barnacle would float away, but it would still have a few layers left on that spot. I'm sure nowadays there are better alternatives, though. Yup, the ablative paint is what has been on all of my ships. Does that mean the paint has to be reapplied often? I assume that'd require a dry dock? How often does a ship dry dock? Seems to me that would need layers and layers of paint to last years... otherwise you're repainting every few months? Edit: How does this work for a ship the size of a carrier? Those suckers can't dry dock often, I take it? I know they're on the move a lot when on duty but seems to me they're in the port a lot when not... activated (I don't know the correct term.) |