FAQ

Barnacle Doctor is South Florida's top rated dive service. We are a young and highly motivated team of licensed scuba divers with years in the industry. All of our divers go through months of training to ensure your ships hull is maintained by a professional. We provide photos with every cleaning to show our customers how well we perform and keep to them up to date with the condition of their hull.

Yes, we carry $2,000,000 liability insurance through Fisk Marine Insurance.

Having your ship's hull cleaned and maintained regularly is extremely necessary in South Florida. Thru-hull fittings can become clogged and destroy water makers, live wells, and A/C units. Bottom paint cannot adhere to the metal running gear of your boat so growth tends to accumulate extra in these vital areas. 

We recommend having your yachts hull cleaned at least once a month if it is sitting in the water. Some nutrient rich areas need bi-weekly cleanings. All ship hulls that lack bottom paint we recommend only bi-weekly cleanings. Barnacle growth adheres to gelcoat much faster and thicker than bottom paint. If barnacles are left too long they can cause blisters and damage to your ships gel coat and fiberglass.

When exposed to the elements, wooden pilings deteriorate quickly. Excessive oyster growth eats away at these pilings and hides the deterioration. Barnacle Doctor uses the best marine grade tools to extend the life of your piling. We use black UV stabilized high density polyethylene material as our piling wrap and type 316 stainless steel nails. 

We provide detailed high quality photos of your hull and running gear with every one of our monthly visits. These photos and videos help keep our customers happy and reassures them their investments are in the best hands and are receiving quality and thorough cleaning EVERY time.

No! Cavitation cleaning is a 100% non abbrasive cleaning technology recently developeed specifically to use on ships and underwater structures.

Depending on the amount of electrolysis in the water around your boat your zinc anodes can last anywhere between 6 and 18 months. We recommend replacing zincs once they reach 50% life.

Seawall and concrete pilings should be cleaned annually and thoroughly inspected at least every 4 years. Our cleanings include a complimentary multi-point inspection. Seawall Inspections can be pointless if thick growth is covering potential damage.

Depending on the level of growth on your hull and the length, our divers can take from 45 minutes to 4 hours to clean a ships hull.

The owner does not have to be present during our cleanings. We pride ourselves on our hassle free monthly service and billing, requiring no effort from the owner. It is no problem if you are present during your hull cleaning and our divers enjoy speaking with owners about their investments.

Excessive growth can cause your floating dock to increase by several hundred pounds and sink in the water. This severely limits the functionality of your dock. Growth on jet ski and drive-on boat docks can damage the hull when docking the vessel.