Waikato Regional Harbourmaster Chris Bredenbeck spends more time on the water than most and has noticed a big difference between cruising with a clean vs a slightly dirty boat.
Last summer he did some informal testing on his 40 foot launch, Te Wairua.
“When there was a years’ worth of slime and light growth including a few patches of mussels starting to grow, the vessel was getting pretty slow,” he says.
“With 6 months of growth I was doing about 12.5 knots normal cruising revs. With a year’s worth of slime and some light growth I was down to about 11 knots at normal cruising revs and was only getting to 17 knots wide open.”
A clean, fresh antifoul and Prospeed changed that.
“The vessel immediately increased its cruising speed to 14 knots at the same revs and could get to a top speed of 20 - 21knots.”
“I also reduced my travel time to fishing spots and saving good amounts of fuel,” he says.
And like all the best boats, it has since been sold.
