Boat Bottom Cleaning in Fort Lauderdale, FL

New River boats sit in a tidal estuary that is also a slow-speed zone, so nothing scrubs them: the waterline grows a thick algae band and the props, shafts and rudders, which bottom paint can't protect, collect hard barnacles. Boats at Bahia Mar and Las Olas Marina sit closer to the Port Everglades cut, where the current averages 2 to 4 knots and the water is fully salt, and their running gear fouls fastest of all. Cavitation cleaning handles both and is safe on Propspeed.

Our office is at 301 Seabreeze Boulevard, the same street as Bahia Mar's 250 slips, so Harbor Beach, Las Olas Isles and Rio Vista are minutes away and yacht crews can keep a standing two-week schedule. Every cleaning takes 45 minutes to 4 hours depending on growth and length, and ends with a dive report showing zinc percentage and bottom paint condition, plus photos of the hull and running gear.

Las Olas Marina's 88 slips take yachts up to 315 feet, Lauderdale Yacht Club has been on SE 12th Street since June 1938, and the city's own facilities (New River Downtown Docking, Cox's Landing and Cooley's Landing) hold boats along the river downtown. Wikipedia calls Fort Lauderdale the yachting capital of the world on the strength of its registered yachts and marinas, and the Venice of America for its canals. The power plant stretch of the Intracoastal is idle speed from mid-November through March with a no-entry zone, so winter runs out of the port are slow ones.

Our office at 301 Seabreeze Boulevard is between Bahia Mar and the beach, so a Harbor Beach or Las Olas Isles boat is usually the first or last stop of a diver's day and a New River boat downtown is a short run up the estuary. Crews who want the two-week schedule get it; owners who want the photos in their inbox and nothing else get that too.

Fort Lauderdale boats we clean sit on the New River, the Intracoastal Waterway, the Middle River and the Stranahan River. Las Olas Marina and Lauderdale Yacht Club: regular stops. Private docks in Las Olas Isles, Rio Vista, Harbor Beach and Coral Ridge (ZIP codes 33301, 33304, 33305, 33308, 33315 and 33316) get the same 30-day visit.

A written dive report and photos come with every cleaning.

• Zinc percentage per anode; replacement at 50%.
• Bottom paint condition, so the next haul-out is planned, not guessed.
• Photos of the hull and running gear.
• Anything the diver spotted: clogged thru-hulls, damage, loose gear.

How long it takes and how often. 45 minutes to 4 hours per cleaning, depending on growth and boat length. Every 30 days for a boat that stays in the water; every two weeks in nutrient-rich spots or for a hull without bottom paint.

Full boat bottom cleaning guide