To sell Fiona, I thought it made sense to have her hauled and powerwashed -- and get the barnacles removed. I motor sailed over to Smiths on a Friday afternoon for a 12:30 appointment -- wind didn't help a lot, but it helped extend the battery's range.
I was stunned at the size of the barnacles they scraped off. Not just from her keel, but from her hull near the bow, all down the middle of her bottom. Quarter to even silver-dollar-sized barnacles that stood off from the hull by a shocking 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. I usually scrub the barnacles off once a month, but hadn't been able to since my back went out on July 5 this year, so they grew unimpeded. No wonder my racing performance dropped so dramatically this year. These buggers just kept growing and growing.
Sailing home Fiona was a much faster boat -- a nice time getting home!