A very heavy growth of barnicles was easily detected by almost no thrust from the propeller and a very limited ability to steer. At the refit in April 2007 I chose to use Petit Vivid for the bottom paint because of the nicely bright colors that were available but it turned out to also have a downside. The haul out last year in February already showed a disabling amount of barnicles. Later this year I’m planing to haul Carpe Diem again and move her to my sister’s lot in Lacrosse FL to complete the inside of the cabin and do some upgrades to the rigging (I 
want that solent stay so badly!). That way I don’t have to deal with high yard fees and have enough time to really finish everything. I was trying to do that while being in the water at Green Cove Springs Marina but not a lot got done so far since I arrived there in June 2007.
Right now my nephew Tyson and I were trying to enjoy some outings on the St Johns River but due to the barnicles I wasn’t able to have much fun. We decided to haul out and scrape off the disabling pest. Also a 
couple of weeks ago we got the center board stuck again during a soft grounding so I was able to take care of that at the same time. And finally I marked the sling location on the gunwhales to not pinch the center board anymore. Thanks to Dave’s (travel lift operator) patience and expertice we got it just right.
After scraping the propeller we tried some lanolin on it. Wonder how that’s going to turn out.