Leaving boat in water....

Desperado

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I plan on taking my small (22ft) boat to the Keys on vacation and leaving it in the water for 7 days. It does not have bottom paint. Does anyone know if this is long enough to cause a problem? Or is there a temporary caoting I could put on it? I do not plan on bottom paitning for a one time thing.
 

Walkers Edge

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I take mine down to the keys twice every year, for 8 days at a time. If your in clean moving water (near the oceanside) you wont have a problem at all. If your deep in a canal on the gulfside you may see a waterline after 3 or 4 days. Easy enough to wipe off at the sandbar or while diving every few days.

Good times down there.
 

Strikezone

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I agree with Walker. On occasion my boat will stay in the water here in Charleston for a week or so at a time during the summer. The water temps will be around 88 degrees and I've never had any growth but I will get a nasty brown stain on the waterline.
 

Doc Stressor

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Growth on the bottom is a multi-step process. The first step is the formation of a microbial biofilm. How fast this occurs depends on a number of factors. But you can generally just wipe this soft layer off for up to 2 weeks. After that, the hard stuff starts to glue itself to the bottom.
 

magicalbill

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These guys are right..
Do as Walker does, finish your drink at the sandbar and dive under with a rag and wipe down the hull..No prob.
Anything longer than a couple weeks, as stated above by Doc., can start to be an issue.
 

Butcherboy

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bottom

The more the boat is used the less buildup there is, except perhaps along the waterline edge. I would guess it gets plenty of use during vacation week............Tom
 

Blackbird

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I own a place in Marathon and spend several weeks a year down there. The rest of the time, my boat is in a hoist in northern FL. I also leave the boat in the water. Depending on the time of year, slime starts to grow after 4-5 days and harder crusty stuff after maybe 10 days. The slime comes off easily with a wash mit. Good excuse to put on a snorkel. If you leave it in for more than about 10 days w/o cleaning, it's harder to remove and gets progressively worse. If you're only in for 7 days, I seriously doubt anything will attach itself that won't easily be removed by a car wash pressure cleaner. Hope this helps.