Keeping Zebra Mussels Off Your Boat Hull (Without a Lift or Bottom Paint)

The following is a sample of the information available on zebra mussels. I referenced most of what is in this BLOG with hyperlinks. By no means exhaustive. I think Boat Bunkers International has an environmentally friendly, economical and effective means to prevent mussles from growing on a boat hull. You decide. (Author: Mark K.)

Zebra and quagga mussels are invasive species that pose a marine environmental threat that is spreading in our freshwater rivers and lakes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has an Information Resource Page which provides a significant amount of information regarding these mussels, and a current zebra mussel and quagga mussel sighting distribution on Google Maps.

Zebras were first discovered on June 1, 1988 in Lake St. Clair and over the past twenty years have traveled down the Mississippi River and across the Continental Divide; they have done an estimated $1-to-$1.5 billion in damage. And, “After 20 years of coping with zebra mussels, no comprehensive strategy is yet in place to deter the ongoing threat to the Great Lakes.”

There are some who may argue that zebra and quagga mussels are not as big an environmental threat as they are being made out to be BUT –
There is no debate that mussels are having a tremendous impact on the pleasure boating community.

Zebra mussels are a relatively new phenomenon to most freshwater boaters. Boaters who have never worrier about bottom fouling outside of algae and perhaps an occasional worm, are now faced with freshwater mussels which pose the same problems to boat hulls as saltwater barnacles.

By no means an exhaustive list, but –
Most states have developed programs to help boaters cope with mussels:
Zebra Mussels: Missouri’s Most Wanted
Rhode Island: Zebra Mussel: An Unwelcome Visitor
California Fish and Game – Quagga/Zebra Mussels
Colorado DNR – The Zebra Mussel
And there are various on-line help sites:
Protect your boat and engine from zebra mussels
Protect Your Waters
As well as information from individual lakes:
Lake George Association – Zebra Mussels

The advice is pretty much the same for trailered boats to prevent the spread of mussels:
Remove any visible mud, plants, fish or animals before transporting equipment.
Eliminate water from equipment before transporting.
Clean and dry anything that came in contact with water (water above 104 degrees).
Never release plants, fish or animals into a body of water unless they came out of that body of water.

PLUS:
The National Park Service has been working with other federal (US Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Reclamation), state (Nevada Department of Wildlife, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and California Fish & Game), other regional agencies (100th Meridian Initiative, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority) and local agencies on zebra mussel prevention programs.

This is fine to help reduce the spread of zebras and quaggas, but the mussels continue to spread and return AND this does not help the tens-of-thousands of freshwater boaters who leave their boat in the water.

The basic question for boaters who routinely leave their boat in the water is this –
How do I prevent zebras and quaggas from fouling the bottom of my boat?

There are three options and variations thereof to prevent hull bottom fouling:
1) Lift the boat out of the water.
2) Bottom paint the hull.
3) Isolate the water surrounding the hull.
Each of these options have advantages, disadvantages, applications, initial and recurring costs, maintenance and environmental impact.

BOAT LIFTS including floating drive on docks, and hoists in various sizes, shapes and configurations may be met with some resistance by marinas and Home Owners Associations, and permitting may be restricted in some applications and areas. Lifts generally require the largest up-front expenditure, but annual maintenance is not too horrendous. Lifts are probably impractical for live-aboards (e.g., houseboats), sailboats or anything beyond 50-feet.

BOTTOM PAINT is the most widely used solution to prevent saltwater barnacles. The problem, when it comes to dealing with freshwater mussels, is that traditional bottom paints contain toxic pesticides.

In our oceans, concentrations of dissolved copper that exceed EPA government regulatory standards by as much as ten times of three parts per billion are being detected in our more popular marinas and waterways. California EPA studies conclude that approximately 0.05 pounds of copper pre foot of boat length is leached into the water annually. (For example, a 100 slip marina with average 40 foot length vessels will leach 185 pounds of dissolved copper annually.) Additionally, underwater hull cleaning releases metal into the surrounding water. Even the most toxic bottom paints become ineffective over time. Divers scrape a boat hull and each time, more copper is released into the marina. Arsenic also is used in boat paint pigments, which may enter the water during careless painting or scraping. As a consequence, in-water hull cleaning has been banned in many states.

There is little debate that our oceans are being systematically polluted with toxic chemicals, and our waterways are dying. As a consequence, copper-based hull coatings have been banned for use on recreational boats in parts of the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, and the European Union has asked the International Maritime Organization to ban all toxic boat bottom paints.

In freshwater, the impact of toxic chemicals in marinas may be far worse. These marinas sit atop water tables that feed wells and aquifers which are used to supply drinking and irrigation water. Once these pesticides have leached into the water tables, the damage may be irreversible.

The lure of bottom painting is that it is initially less expensive than a lift. BUT there are recurring costs to consider. Hulls must be scrapped. Bottom paints must be reapplied. The boat must be hauled out and cleaned. Different paints and environments have different requirements, but rule of thumb seems to be repaint every 18-months and hull scrape six times a year. Average cost runs between $50 and $100 per foot per year. Plus, bottom paint generally decreases hull efficiency by 3- to 8-percent (That’s over $0.35 per gallon in today’s market.) and decreases boat resale value by 10- to 30-percent.

ISOLATE THE WATER SURROUNDING THE HULL is a solution that has been in practice for decades as a means to control bottom fouling. This technique was applied to sailing vessels where a clean hull meant a faster ship. Essentially the practice was to cover the boat hull with a canvas when it was moored. Eventually this evolved into creating an isolation chamber to separate the water surrounding the hull of the boat from the surrounding water. This isolation prevents the exchange of oxygen and nutrients so marine life cannot grow.

To understand how water isolation prevents bottom fouling, it is necessary to understand a little about the ecology of zebra mussels (How do they live?).

In general, a zebra mussel population will thrive as long as there are appropriate physical and chemical conditions in the water (e.g.; temperature, calcium level, pH, dissolved oxygen level , salinity level, water velocity, etc.) and biological conditions (e.g.; adequate food resources).

It is possible to control the conditions inside an isolation chamber to limit zebra mussel development. Normal conditions inside an isolation chamber virtually eliminate bottom hull fouling and marine growth.

Boat Bunkers® International has spent four years developing the In-Water Mooring Station that virtually eliminates bottom fouling without the need for bottom paint or hull scraping.

The Mooring Station isolates the water in contact with the boat’s hull from the surrounding water. The isolation prevents water flow and the replenishment of oxygen and food sources so marine life cannot grow. This virtually eliminates bottom fouling, and thereby eliminates the need for bottom painting, hull scraping, boat lifts and dry storage.

The Mooring Station floats in the water with an undershield below the waterline. It has a rear tailgate that lowers to allow access; and rises to completely isolate the water in the Mooring Station. The boat floats inside the Mooring Station. The boat hull is clean and protected from floating debris such as gas, diesel oil, cleaning agents, varnishes, garbage, trash, sewage, zinc, copper and other pollutants. Plus, any internal spills will immediately be contained by the Mooring Station. This all makes for cleaner waters and cleaner boating.

There is no need to add any toxic chemicals, and no need to drain or add water. The Mooring Station has negligible environmental impact on either direct or inadvertent alteration or destruction of sea grasses, wetland vegetation, bottom sediments, and benthic fauna.

The Boat Bunkers In-Water Mooring Station is available today with hundreds of units already sold worldwide. Distributors are in Florida and California, the Mid-Atlantic region and Australia. In addition, mooring stations have been sold to customers in Arizona, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington D.C., Louisiana, Canada, Bermuda, Canary Island, Dominican Republic and Italy.