I wonder if some sort of flotation at the business end, like in the handle, would help with elevating the scraper on the bottom.

Alex, the stuff is very easy to apply. You might want to apply it yourself. Boat yard workers do not always read the directions or follow them if they do happen to read the instructions. There are time critical parts of the application which leave no margin for error. All applications are applied wet on wet so there is no time to take a cigarette or bathroom break or go off to lunch and finish up the job. The big thing now is to remove all of the previous applications before starting anew.

@Patrick Childress Sailing Hi
Pro application... Barnacle growth after 6 months... Never able to wipe fouling off.. Always a metal scraper job. Sailboat with not a lot of motoring
Seems an expensive waste of money so far... I also have a tank with a long hose I had made up at a tank testing business. I tried another brand of silicone which looked very like Propspeed with the same dissaponting results : (

In what regards is "not very good results"? I had slime grow on it but it wiped off very easily with a soft rag. In all, it lasted about 2 years but on the bronze strut it lasted little more than a year. I think having a grounding wire and zinc on the strut had something to do with it. If the application instructions are not exactly followed, then there is a high chance of detachment of either the primer or silicone finish and failure will occur. Did you apply the Propspeed yourself or did a worker in the boatyard do the application?

What paint do you suggest? Does not every paint need cleaning? -Rebecca

I was working as a senior person in the accounting department of a multi national concern when I was run over. As a result, I HAD to be time conscious. I prefer to arrive early rather than the usual Zululand time. I will most likely be there at 12:30. I will be in a Land Rover Freelander with NZ registration plates. Do you still have access to the cell number you gave me? I wrote it down and noticed today that the message that it arrived in, had the number deleted. The wonders of modern technology!

The last time I was at Porkys it was at the Small Craft Harbour. I was stunned to hear that they have moved to the Country Club. I know that in Zululand, if you do not book, generally you can get a table - especially on a Saturday this close to Christmas - but Murphy's Law states that if you don't book, the restaurant WILL be full! Again I apologise that I asked you to call, but I have bitter experience that the restaurant WILL claim not to understand me - that is the prime reason when I was discharged from hospital in Johannesburg, that I left the hyper busy environment of Sandton, and came back to the coast where people take time to understand me. It was only recently that I discovered that the air pollution in the Bay affects my diaphragm. Luckily the Country Club is well away from the factory pollution.

Stephen Killick ok sounds good. I made a reservation for 1pm. So see you 1230 or 1245. We will be out at the gate by 1245...but call us if you arrive earlier. Looking forwards to meeting you! -Rebecca

It is probably easier for me to collect you from the yacht club and drive with you. I know where the country club is, and would hate for you to get lost.

Porkys number is 035 492 0220. Please let me apologise for not calling myself, but with my speech impediment after the MVA accident, most people who are busy, just claim not to understand me and hang up. That insences me and I speak worse than usual which aggravates me. Mtunzini is a small place and most people know how I talk and take the time to try to understand me.

I have an automatic Land Rover which suits me. When driving I do not need to change gears as the car does if for me. I am perfectly willing to collect you on the way as the Club is only a minor detour along the route.

A question? Have you seen hippo in the water at the club? I know that they often are seen on the John Ross crossing the road - sea on one side and not far from Lake Msingazi on the other side - great views from the Country Club?

Maybe we can meet at the club at 11 (ish) and I can drive you to the country club. I have been there before often. My daughter started her schooling nearby. To get there, you follow the John Ross Highway away from Alusaf and Mondi and turn at the relatively new Pick and Pay. On the shores of the lake, is the country club.

By the way, this is a club where you dare not stray off the course into the rough, or the water hazards. If your ball goes in, just take a shot penalty and get a new ball because the chances are extremely high that a crocodile lives there!

In Zululand we suffer from Zululand Fever where exact time is irrelevant. It is common for a 9am meeting to start at 11:30, and no one cares. That may be the reason that cancer kills more people than does heart disease.

Ok...no idea where the country club is...but it’s probably in google if you want to just name a time and we can meet you there. We got lucky...one of our subscribers and now good friends loaned us a car almost immediately upon arriving here, and we have wheels!
I can call and make a reservation. Want to say 1pm? Noon? -Rebecca

Hello...would love to go to Porkys if still open. Let us know what your friend says. We do have a car so can meet you wherever. Will take your number down too. Although if you would like to see the boat, happy to have you come here before/after.

Just heard from my friend that Porkys has closed at the harbour but all is not lost - they operate from the Country Club. That means that I need to drive you there. I suggest that you call and make a reservation for Saturday lunchtime. The club is way too far for you to walk to and in my opinion taxis in RBay are way too expensive. I can easily collect you and drive you to lunch there.

As far as I can recall, the restaurant has no signage to say who they are. I first came to know them when Donald (I think) opened his first restaurant in Empangeni. That was about 30 years ago and since then he opened a chain of restaurants in Richards Bay and Umhlanga Rocks. Last I knew of him he was very involved at the Small Craft Harbour - typical restaurant owner, jolly and rather portly. I do not know if he ever knew my name but he knows me by sight.

I have texted my friend who will know if Porkys still exists and am awaiting a response. She is my psychologist, whose ex husband owns the entire waterfront.

@Patrick Childress Sailing As far as I can recall, it is just above the launching ramp, right opposite in the public sailing berths. It is accessed either straight off the pier around the public jetties or from the parking at the rear. For you, it would be easily accessible by dinghy from these public jetties. Porkies is an established restaurant, so is - or was - open all normal restaurant hours. I was last there a few months ago, so it could have closed down, but to the best of my knowledge it is still open.

I belong to a religion where spending on a Sunday is highly discouraged. I am more open to lunch as I live in Mtunzini some 15 kilometres South as the crow flies. When walking my dog in the park opposite my flat, I can often see a line of tankers waiting to get into the harbour at the Bay.

I have a friend who has offices very close to Porkys so she will know if it still operates. If It has closed down, maybe I can collect you from the Club and drive downtown to a restaurant? I still have your cell number in an undeleted message, so could call. If you want to SMS, my cell number is 084 556 7497. I am aware that there are other restaurants at the Small Craft Harbour, but in my opinion, Porkys is (or was) the best.

We could say Saturday or Sunday night at Porkys. But is Porkys open? We have been all over the restaurants there at Tuzi Gazi and have never found it. Where is it located exactly? -Rebecca

@Patrick Childress Sailing There is practically no chance of a traditional White Christmas at the coast. It is currently as cold as it gets in a mild winter here, but it never snows - the sea sees to that.

Because of the factories in the Bay pouring out their pollution, I seldom come to the Bay. I literally cannot breathe after half an hour. Rain helps to wash the air clean.

How much longer will you be in the Bay? Then maybe we can meet up at Porkys Restaurant - at the Small Craft Harbour - some time next week. I find that being so close to the sea air that is not yet polluted, I can at least breathe.

Thursday is a questionable day for me also. At 59, I have been on Pension since I was 32, after my being run over, my employers put me on ill health pension. Thursday is our local grocery stores Discount Pensioners Day. Saving for a project boat, every little bit helps.

Ok well glad it wasn’t wasted...but let’s try again another day! Any day but Thursday. -Rebecca

Oh don’t even say that...a white Christmas! Explains that when we got here in April it was sooooooo nice! -Rebecca

Oh....so sorry you missed us. I tried to get the number to you immediately but I guess you didn’t get it on time. Try again next time you are up this way OK. Or set a time and we can meet you at the gate. Yes, after a couple of security problems last year, they have tightened things up quite a bit here.

@Patrick Childress Sailing your detail to get past the gate only arrived after the Mobile Tower was back on line. I was turned away from the gate. However I used the opportunity to shop for some groceries that are only available in Richards Bay so it was not a wasted detour.

As a general rule, April is the best month to be here, February is really hot and humid and October to January is normally swimming pool weather. This year, despite dire warnings of Global Warming, is unusually cold. Looks kind of like there is a possibility of a White Christmas.

I arrived at the gate to the Club in Richards Bay but they denied me entry. The number you gave only arrived on my tablet when I turned it on after I got home.

In the last 35 years that I have been in Zululand, December is really hot, not just warm! Christmas Day is best spent in a swimming costume next to the pool - most people here at the coast have at least a pool, if not an efficient airconditionair. I really would not like to drive a car that does not have an aircon, and as a rule, I never turn mine off - ie the aircon is on every time the engine is on. As a general rule, I am about as mechanically minded as my wallet with gold credit cards. It seldom rains like today, but that is for me a good thing today as the air is not contaminated with pollution from Alusaf (aluminium smelter), Mondi (paper mill) and Indian Ocean Fertilizers. It is one or all 3 of these that affects my brain - hence breathing - and after a while, I cannot talk (even badly) and battle to maintain my balance - something to do with how your motor reflexes are controlled by your brain. My linkages between the brain and my muscles was damaged when a truck ran me down. Drives me insane that I cannot talk easily, walk properly or even breathe or swallow properly - not like I used to.

Enjoy your time in Zululand. If you get a chance to, there is a brilliant restaurant at the Small Craft Harbour - Porky's. It can be reached by dinghy from the yacht club and honestly, in the last 3 decades at least, I have yet to have a substandard meal there. The food is always well prepared and presented - and not expensive!

(Deleted #) will get you past the gate here. Would love to meet you! You can help us install the heater we are putting in today. When is summer going to be here in earnest...we are freezing! -Rebecca

@Patrick Childress Sailing I live in Mtunzini, just south of Richards Bay. I have an appointment at lunchtime in Empangeni which is give or take half way to Richards Bay. I will try to drive through and see you after lunch, IF you are available. I would like to buy some stuff from the Boardwalk Mall. One thing is that today being wet, the air in the Bay should be clean so the risk of a serious asthma attack for me is limited.

Where are you located?

Keeldragger, I have come very close to hiring a diver in some of these dirty, muck water, marinas to put a bag on the prop or clean the boat bottom. Such water nearly always guaranteed a sinus infection. But it was faster and easier just to do it myself. But now I use dish soap to wash off with and nearly drown myself flushing out my nostrils with the dock water hose.

Our, Brick House, is in Richards Bay, S. Africa. Hank did this video in Long Island, New York. His boat is back in the Caribbean for the winter.

There have been all sorts of Wives Tales about what to add to antifouling to kick up the level....like hot sauce, antibiotics, and now someone is saying use egg whites on the prop to prevent marine growth. Good luck with all of that. TBT is very hard to find these days. Saw it only in Colombia, for sale, 12 years ago. So, what secret sauce can you suggest?

You like that hah? Yep...still makes me laugh every time I watch it! -Rebecca

So Australians have to use hard non ablatives? And then when it’s time to take off the many layers of it, I suppose there is more rules. Drats...Rebecca

@Patrick Childress Sailing If the antifouling is hard and non ablative you can wipe it, but not with a hard abrasive.

Wow...so what does a yacht do to clean their boat? Just drive it around with a Reef in the bottom? How about the prop...can’t even wipe that off? -Rebecca

@Patrick Childress Sailing the current

At what? -Rebecca

Look.

If it is a freshwater marina, the chances of electrocution (if that's what you mean) are way higher than in a saltwater marina. That is not a hard fact, that is my opinion based on where electrocutions occur. One thing to consider is that many people do electrical wiring themselves so how can you assume anything.
A marine electrical technician or a marine surveyor can give you specific readings or teach you how to determine if there is a dangerous condition nearby.
The best way I can think of to be aware of the many dangers involved would be to take an ABC (Power Squadron) or CG Auxillary Marine Electrical course.
Another one of my opinions is that there will Always be stray current present in a saltwater marina, usually not lethal. Around here, when the electric dredge is working, zincs also seem to disappear faster.
I cannot recall hearing about anyone being electrocuted in our saltwater marina in the last 50 years. However, I have lost count of the number of boaters who fell in and drowned because they were apparently unable to get out.

Sit on the edge of the dock and dip your toe in? Maybe that was a problem at one time somewhere in the world, and maybe you can tell us more about it, but I don't know of anyone who has experienced that problem nor have I ever experienced such a problem in a marina. GFI, Ground Fault Interrupter circuit breakers would trip and stop all current. I have read at a private lake front dock, where the home owner did some bad wiring with no GFI and a wire somehow came in contact with the fresh water, electrocuting the next person who dove in, not slipping into the lake, from the dock.

Tell ya what, why don't you give that a try, and let us know how it works out for you?

Good idea, Ian.

You are welcome.

You are welcome. Thanks for the encouragement.

It is amazing how many decades he has been professionally sailing boats and crossing oceans. His energy level has not dropped a speck.

Marty Spargur Ah ok..just saw your second reply..thank god. Our bottom has never been that bad thank god. Some people really never ever clean their sailboat bottoms! -Rebecca

Marty Spargur I cant see it sell enough on my small screen and wasn’t photographing it...neh...can’t be a screwdriver...is that what you see!?! God! That’s REALLY gonna take a long time if so! - Rebecca

it looked like a screwdriver on my phone screen. It's a scraper.

@Patrick Childress Sailing The opening scene, where the yard worker is scraping someones hull with a screwdriver. Good illustration of reality vs the Romper Room we live in and how spoiled we are. Hopefully it's at least a flat blade screwdriver.

Where? -Rebecca

What bugs in whose green hair? -Rebecca

Thank you Paulus.

Thanks for the pro tip. Did you use a tank with a long hose? If so where did you get the long hose and make the connections to the regulator and tank?

@Patrick Childress Sailing Probably just the US. We are a country of liabilities and sue-me generations. I'm sure it's not the way other countries operate. I usually just free dive to check or reset an anchor, but that's about it. Never tried to clean the bottom of the boat. But I will start soon.Thank you.

Is that in the us or worldwide? We have filled our bottle maybe a dozen times around the world and have never been asked for certification but its always been in some pretty obscure places. But a dozen times in a fozen years shows how often we have used the tank. Its usually to inta gle an anchor ;)

@Patrick Childress Sailing The certification itself does not expire, but if a diver has not logged any dives for years, dive shops refuse to service the tank. You can buy BCs, regulators, and other gear but no air refills. That has been my experience anyway and it's just a liability issue for dive shops I think.

re-certify? I thought once you get your certification card, it is good for life. Has that changed?

Hi David...yes, it of course depends on how old and how good your bottom paint is, how rich the water is that you are in, and how often you are using the boat, and how clean you want it to be. When our paint is brand new, we probably clean every few months. When it’s more than 6 months, it seems like every few weeks.
Thank you for your support!
Here is our direct link to PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/WhereIsBrickHouse

@H Rap Brown The Martec, like the Maxprop get locked by shutting down the engine, under sail, then moving the shift selector into reverse....if it is a manual transmission. With a hydraulic transmission, I would have to shut down the engine while simultaneously shifting into reverse. Please let me know if this works.

It’s an older Martec and im not sure how to get it into low drag mode while sailing. The instructions say manually turn shaft to “sail” position but first of all I can’t manually turn my drive shaft even in neutral - it’s tough to reach plus it’s attached to a V-Drive. The kiwi prop seems has the benefit of feathering itself into low drag mode. I need to haul out this spring so will be consulting a local prop shop. Thanks for your insight and advice!

What a deal you got on the Kiwiprop. The only maintenance on the Kiwi is to pump 3 squirts of grease into each blade after removing the tiny stainless screws, then grease the 3 small blade stops with half a shot of grease and then 3 shots into the hub where one of the retaining screws is recessed. Not much else to it....just need a diagram to show those grease points and a very tiny needle nose grease tip.....plus water resistant grease that would go in an outboard engine. But, tell me why you would want to replace your Martec? I thought those were great props.

Thanks Marcel for the feedback. The water in Long Island Sound is seldom very clear, where Hank was. In Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, I had to wait for just the right settled weather and then the right tide to get the water clarity needed to do some filming. Making simple videos is not easy. Much more difficult was all the terrible noise from on shore. There were loud trucks shifting gears, motorcycles, call to prayers over very loud, loud speakers. Time and again I would start to record then have to stop in the middle of things and then start over again.

Hank says he had his hose made up at the local dive shop. The shop will make up any length you want.

Just buy a regular 50ft air compressor hose, that’s what I use.

Come on Sydney, never let your age stop you from doing anything. If you were an American teenager, I will bet you were drinking beers well before you turned legal age to do so. Later in life, can't let your age be an excuse for not scrubbing a boat bottom!

Sure, always the better option. But if the boat is filthy and 50 miles from an anchorage, sometimes one has no choice. The reality of electrocution is low, but present, and a bit of septic has never killed us...but an anchorage is ALWAYS more desirable. But some marinas...many marinas...have some of the cleanest waters anywhere, especially if you are at a marina where it’s mostly weekend sailors! Best to have good paint, and haul often! And sail often to a nice anchorage ;) -Rebecca

@Patrick Childress Sailing anchorage? Not in an electrocution drowning or septic zone...?

So if someone doesn’t go to clean the boat bottom, How will it get done? -Rebecca

As you can see, Hank's boat is not in an enclosed marina but open to Long Island Sound. But I agree with you completely about sewer pit marinas. Going into marina water to bag or unbag our prop, nearly always resulted in a sinus infection. Now, after getting out of marina water, I immediately hose off at the dock and use a lot of dish washing soap plus nearly drown myself flushing out my sinuses. That seems to work but I think I would rather sand fiberglass than plunge into marina water.

They do, at an exorbitant price, but boat speed has to be minimum of 8.5 knots, useless for most mono hulls. Stupid greenies and corrupt governments working with thieving paint companies caused this problem, anti fouling paint used to last 2 years.

Today, while hauled out in South Arica, I applied Propspeed to our propeller and stainless steel drive shaft. It is a silicone finish which makes it very difficult for marine organisms to attach. Watch my hookah cleaning video and you will see how well it worked compared to the new antifouling paint on the boat bottom. That video was made in Sri Lanka.

Lex Maxwell that sounds awful

Lex Maxwell I put an Interlux Teflon impregnated epoxy on my freshwater boat. Very hard and slick. Easy slime removal every 2 months with a Scotch Brite. Wonder how it would work in salt water

It never gets any easier does it. For 5 years, I lived on a 27' sailboat and seldom had the money to haul out....

@Bud SV/Journey I am going to start by stating that I don't know what the laws are or say. I wish that someone who was more qualified than I am would say something.
When I learned to dive, we were told that if you wanted your cylinder filled, you needed to show that you were certified. But the only thing that I've ever seen anyone concerned with is whether the (metal) tank had been inspected within the last year and hydroed within the last 5. There is no way to predict what any particular dive shop is going to ask for in other parts of the world, and I doubt that anyone could convince them to bend their own rules. I wouldn't have a clue regarding how to fill a bottle with a DIN valve. We didn't use H valves. Nobody that I knew liked J valves. I had an octopus regulator for awhile but preferred my stock conshelf. If you had Scubapro, you were bitchin, if you had USD you were a loser. I had the latter but I didn't give a shit what anyone thought.
To me, depending on someone to fill my tank is a vote for a compressor. A compressor like Brick House has. Not a $69 Harbor Freight shop compressor, but then again their Chinese "honda" (Chondas) engines are remarkably popular on commercial urchin boats around here. Those fishermen (and women) build their own compressors which typically give them about 135psi. Those will not fill a scuba bottle, nor do they care to.
We interrupt this program for a special bulletin (in the form of a fulminant rant):
Just as an aside, I've noticed that not everyone realizes that scuba tanks are not "oxygen" tanks. In fact, the deeper you dive, the less oxygen you are going to want in your tank. This matters because a long hose from a compressor is supplying the mix that they are breathing on the surface. Another vote for professional instruction is that the first time you get Lit AF breathing nitrogen at 50 or 60' you are doing it in the presence of someone who is not clueless. I have been on numerous diving charters locally, where you can go as deep as you please (they frown on exceeding 90'), far far from any sort of medical help. More Often Than Not, there is going to be a popper or two, that is, somebody who ran out of air and had to rely on their bc to get them back to the surface. (Where's your buddy? Dunno, guess we got separated 20 minutes ago). By the time they reach the surface, they are most often unconscious. So the divemaster has to get the hell over there and start resuscitation. These are people who Have had formal instruction. These are people who have proven they can take all their stuff off and put it back on, including their air supply, while at depth. Please forgive me if I am a fan of formal instruction, but some of these people didn't actually make it home. NO, you don't need to be certified to scuba dive and you don't need to be certified to use a hookah. But what you don't know can kill you. If you are going to surface when the air runs out please ensure that you are not all the way at the bottom of the pool that you are trying it in.
It's called Blow-and-Go. With scuba or hookah, holding your breath, ascending too fast, or failing to decompress are just a few of the ways you can get hurt or killed. If you B&G, you have to relinquish your weight belt if you want to live.


My own cylinder was a 60 cubic foot steel bottle. That's pretty flintstone these days, aluminum and carbon fibre bottles are now additional choices. We could buy aluminum bottles in the 1970's, but they seemed kind of profligate. Those were 80 cu ft if I remember correctly (my memory is mushy), not only could you stay underwater longer with an 80, but you could actually do a decompression dive with them which was not easy to do with a 60, beyond perhaps a recovery which just took a few minutes. They (single steel tanks) just didn't hold enough air to be able to ascend slowly enough. The aluminum bottles made then are no longer refillable, btw. Really, I'm probably stating their capacity incorrectly, but the aluminum ones definitely held more air.


If you use a bottle, that means that you are storing a Bomb aboard. The newer ones will take up to 3500psi and that's pretty scary. Even if you're careful, a full bottle can be hazardous to have around. I feel that steel is the safest, since they're harder to damage. It's not something that I have ever seen any dive boats store belowdecks. Stored in an engine room, they could easily get too hot. I was taught to only store them vertically. Hank, laying his bottle horizontally while using it, is not doing anything wrong. I have seen one burst disc let go (more pressure than the tank could stand); it was a bottle that had just been filled in a dive shop, it was loud and unnerving. Aluminum bottles can get dented more easily, that's going to be terminal. Anyone who paints their own aluminum tank has also screwed the pooch, nobody I know would fill that. Filling any scuba tank with any compressor other than a compressor designed for that purpose is like lighting the fuse of a bomb; not that anyone has a 3500psi compressor lying around, but the air must be free of any moisture, oil and anything else. I know of one local sail boat that can fill their own bottles (Thunderella). I would be ok with filling one scuba bottle with another scuba bottle (would of course be less than halfway), but it's pretty hairball. I wouldn't want to be within 5 miles of an exploding carbon fibre tank. Just dropping it could be enough. Dive shops fill bottles while they're immersed. That's not convenient for a small boat to do.
Because it's a Bomb, that's 2 votes for a compressor.


Boats that I've travelled on, that had a scuba bottle aboard, the bottle was reserved more important things than recreational diving. All of the peripheral crap that goes with scuba diving makes free diving more attractive than it seemed at first. Personally, I cannot imagine diving without a snorkel whether I'm using a scuba tank or not. Urchin divers and other commercial divers have no use for a snorkel bc they don't spend much time on the surface, or if they do, they don't care how much air they use. I noticed Hank doesn't use one, I am sure he knows what's best for Hank.
Refilling a scuba bottle is as big of a hassle as hauling fuel or water from town. You might not be allowed to bring a scuba bottle aboard a bus.
That's 3 votes for a hookah.


The best reason I can think of to use a scuba tank is that you are going to be checking your anchor a lot more often than you are going to be cleaning the bottom of the boat, at least beyond goose barnacles or whatever. If your very expensive and favorite anchor just will not come up, you are going to want to find out why. I would never take a recreational compressor and simply lengthen the hose to go deeper. Not only is it unlikely that a hookah compressor will have the poop necessary to supply air any deeper than its stock hose length, there is virtually no reserve without a volume tank in the line. You will probably not be able to hear the compressor crap out if you are underwater anyway, so it will not be obvious that you are breathing off the volume tank (or the extra hose length) even if you do have one. From personal experience, it's nice to have a hookah for getting that line out of the prop. I was secretly relieved to see that Rebecca and Patrick Do Not have spurs on their shaft. I Hate Spurs. When I was a kid I always used a hacksaw to get a line out of the prop. Then I realized that the simplest of scratches on a shaft from a hacksaw blade is a death sentence for that (SS) shaft.
I have absolutely no problem with a long hose between the first stage and the second stage of a scuba tank regulator. If you run out of air with scuba, you are going to have between two and eight breaths between the time it gets hard to draw and the moment there's nothing left. More experienced divers use air a lot slower, but more experienced divers know better than to let it run out in the first place. Plan your dive and know before you get in when you are going to surface.
End of rant LOL

Whether using a hookah, tank, snorkel or nothing, the dive depths for cleaning the bottom are minimal.

What I was questioning is the risk and regulations of using compressed / regulated air. It is my understanding (right or wrong) that a scuba cert is not required for a hookah. It would seem that a surface tank and 25’ hose might be treated the same way.

As for safety comparisons.....the finite air supply from the tank is a weakness. However with either tool, surfacing if and when the air cuts out seems like a pretty safe and easy option..

if it is legal and as safe as it appears, the tank seems like it would be a fairly cost effect solution.

If I were a professional, I would have known the abbreviation for "atmosphere" is ATA, not atm.
I don't remember ever seeing a recreational hookah unit with a hose longer than 25'. That will keep you in the one ATA zone. Using a longer hose will negate that built-in safety factor, and your compressor may not be powerful enough to overcome the extra resistance.
Some hookah units have little or no "reserve" (low pressure volume tank) so if they cut out it will help to be shallow water.
Diving is pretty big around here (central California) bc of the sea urchin fishery; their hookahs have hoses which are much longer. Two fatal accidents which come to mind were one diver whose compressor air intake was drawing carbon monoxide from the hookah's gas engine exhaust, and another very experienced diver, working alone, whose hose was unwittingly snagged by a passing sailboat under power. Only later did they realize what happened.
While I was certified to dive (NASDS) in 1973, I switched over to mostly much simpler free diving after that and have obviously forgotten a few things.

@sean kessell Thank you for replying. Beyond the possibility of passing out, or snagging on something, free diving is relatively safe.
Assisted diving, even within one atmosphere, can be dangerous and seeking professional instruuction is a good way to learn as much as possible about the hazards.
Diving 7 feet before flying has the same effect as diving deeper. I don't think that statement is fearmongering, it is an indication that I am concerned about people getting hurt by less obvious dangers.
It is in fact a reaction to what a very close, and experienced, friend did: dove to 3 atm, spent severral hours cleaning and repairing their mooring, then got on a flight home.
Remember your bottom time is based on the max depth, even if you were only at 1atm long enough to pick up a dropped putty knife.
Thank you Sean

Marty Spargur when I’m scrubbing the bottom on the Viking 65’ that I’m the captain of, I very rarely go down more than seven feet so decompression sick will not be a factor to worry about even if your flying the same day, that’s just scaremongering.

@Patrick Childress Sailing I am not a professional diver. I know ear issues are a problem. I think the most important rule is never dive alone. Hookah too.

All good info for people to keep in mind! Certification is a good thing to get to have the full education on how to do it. Just becuase it’s a shallow dive doesn’t mean there isn’t precautions to take. A Sea breathe hookah like ours is no less or more dangerous than a scuba tank, and learning how to use it properly with a basic diving course is well advised! -Rebecca

My point is, the worst day to clean your mooring is the day before you fly home, certified or not.

Lots of people do use them without getting certified....but there is no substitute for one-on-one professional instruction. You simply don't know what the not so obvious dangers are. Like you could get bent, if you went deep enough for long enough. It would take days to do it but remember the changes that your body goes through don't end when you get out of the water, it takes awhile to recover. More likely would be an embolism, but casual diving on vacation especially could kill you. How? After just a day of ignoring the "tables" or depending on a dive bottom time computer, you think you've beat the odds bc you have no symptoms. Then you fly home. Oops, the tables just went out the window bc you're subjecting yourself to 8 or 10,000 foot elevation cabin pressure with gas still in your blood.
The yellow button on his regulator (mouthpiece) is the second stage of the regulator that reduces the pressure from as much as 2000psi in the bottle to around 140psi feeding the mouthpiece. (A hookah won't be that much). You need that part of the regulator down there with you because it needs to know what the water pressure is where you're at, not what the pressure is at the surface. If you still decide that you don't need any instruction, for the love of Mike don't ever hold your breath or ascend faster than your bubbles.

It is simpler gear but a hookah has nearly endless air....as long as the batteries stay charged, and no need to go find a Scuba shop to refill a tank.

Thanks for pointing that out. Hank has been doing this for a long time, and is in his home marina there, but yes, you don’t want to be a human fender! So please be careful! -Rebecca

Good point Pate. I know a person who was scraping their bottom in the murk just outside of Charlotte Amalie Harbor in St. Thomas. A very large cuda bit him on the thigh and left some deep puncture wounds. So it happens, but rarely. Still, I will wait and clean the bottom in fairly clear water.

You welcome! Thanks for your comment!

Thanks, Payrick! I need to research the Kiwi Prop & I appreciate your feedback on Propspeed! I have been very skeptical about that but based on your feedback I will give it a try on my next haulout.

It’s a Kiwi Prop made in New Zealand. We have had it for about 8 years now, and Propspeed is going on it again, right this very second, as we get ready to splash in 5 days here in S Africa. We know we will be easily able to clean the prop underwater. The big test is if the Coppercoat we put on this week will make it easier to clean the bottom of the boat. Nothing ever works, so I’m not sure this will either. Cleaning the bottom is always such a hassle! The Kiwiprop cost half as much as a Maxprop. The Kiwi blades are independent so each blade truly feathers in the direction of travel. The Kiwi gets some very good reviews in prop tests. The one thing I don't like is the high pitch in reverse, which is a fixed pitch. That does not always give me the RPMs needed in certain docking situations.

Good idea for a future video...keep them coming!

@Oracle1 Wherever you are, remember that you are scraping sea life off of your boat, and sea life floating free Will attract predators. The barracuda will hit the shiny stuff, but is there in the first place for the free lunch that it smells.

Yep...you do have to know thy waters. There are places (in marinas and in anchorages) where you enter the water for recreation or boat maintenance, and there are areas you do not ;) Like anything I suppose. -Rebecca

@Patrick Childress Sailing What I meant is that Australian Marinas have plenty of bull sharks in them, wouldnt catch me swimming in an Australian Marina. I would take the yacht out to clear waters in Moreton Bay to do that operation

@pate allan Yes, that is a whale shark that we were swimming with in Indonesia. We had some great encounters there. Hank is in the water in New York, Long Island Sound, where the water is hardly ever clear. I just felt having Hank splash into the water, something needed to be added to the splash.

@Patrick Childress Sailing Isnt that a whale shark? When I get in the water, my kids hold up a sign saying "Free willy"

Haha! Isn’t that hilarious...I laugh every time I see it. It’s actually in NY...even more unbelievable hah!?! And it’s a whale shark btw...which is ben funnier ;) Rebecca

Right now, we are hauled in Richards Bay. Juvenile "plankton" start life free floating and looking for a solid object to attach to and grow, and reproduce. Boats, docks, pilings, are all attractive to marine organisms. Slippery and toxic surfaces help to inhibit marine growth, but nothing stays slippery or toxic forever. On our boat, I just applied "Coppercoat" antifouling to the hull and "Propspeed" to the prop and shaft. Propspeed is a silicone finish which makes it difficult for organisms to attach. Past experience shows Propspeed will last almost 2 years. Watch video #12 and you will see a variety of marine growth on different surfaces after leaving our boat to sit in one place for 3 months.

Patrick, im not a sailor but always look for solutions to problems, or at least I think of them. What "clings" to boats under the water and why? I am a subscriber.... from South Africa. Lol.

When was the last time you cleaned the bottom of your boat///bet its cold where you are!

Thanks for that detail. We will have to check in to that for next time. I won’t take it down and start over since most people seem to be able to hear it. Always so many things to double check on these videos. -rebecca

@Dan DeNise Thanks Dan. It seems all of Hanks videos were recorded in stereo, but on one channel. I have had trouble making things equally audible because of that.

@Patrick Childress Sailing Good sound on MacBook and fine on YT app on iPhone.

For most of the video the sound is only on the left channel.

Sound is good on android YouTube app. Great video as always by the way! Thank you.

Still no sound on it...the youtube app on your iPhone, android phone? Windows device, what? So I can try it and figure out what’s wrong. Do you have any other device you can try it on? Are other YouTube videos playing on it ok? -Rebecca

I'm using the YouTube app.

@Paul B Thanks for letting me know Paul, and thanks for watching!

Can you please try another browser so we know if it’s browser specific or what...sound is ok here...anyone else???-Rebecca