Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hey All,
I'm really looking forward to my new Pontoon. Hopefully later this week.

Anyway, something that has come up as a problem since I was last able to really boat with my little boat and fish a bunch is Zebra Mussels.

So how much of a problem are they for Pontoons left in the water.

The boat guy told me they'll come off the boat if you go faster than 3mph. True or False?

He also said they don't like the warm water from the exhaust of a boat. True or False?

I keep reading about you guys putting "Sharkhide" on your toons. Does it keep Zebra Mussels off?

I'm going to google the Sharkhide stuff.

Looking forward to answers and opinions.

NonHyphenAmerican wrote:Hey All,
I'm really looking forward to my new Pontoon. Hopefully later this week.

Anyway, something that has come up as a problem since I was last able to really boat with my little boat and fish a bunch is Zebra Mussels.

So how much of a problem are they for Pontoons left in the water.

HUGE problem where they are established. They will attach to anything under water.

NonHyphenAmerican wrote:The boat guy told me they'll come off the boat if you go faster than 3mph. True or False?

False.

NonHyphenAmerican wrote:He also said they don't like the warm water from the exhaust of a boat. True or False?

False.

NonHyphenAmerican wrote:I keep reading about you guys putting "Sharkhide" on your toons. Does it keep Zebra Mussels off?

No.




These things are starting to invest the upper Chesapeake Bay and having taken over the great lakes are here to stay. Only way to kill them is a week out of the water, clean them off your hull before going from one waterway to another. They will block up engine intakes and even end up in engine cooling jackets. Antifouling paint kills them, that's all that will prevent them from attaching.

Be careful of the KS lakes too. I know you are slipping but if you do venture to another make sure you hose the hell out of your toon. You don't want to be the one transplanting them!

Sharkhide only protects the aluminum from waterlines, and oxidation. You will need an anti-fowling paint etc to help (notice i said help) with zebra mussels. You will still have them on your motor unless trimmed up for slipping.

They don't like really warm water. Couple of years ago there was an infestation on part of Lake of the Ozarks. Had a really hot summer with water temps around 90 and MDC found an area that had previously been infested was almost wiped out.
They can clog up a water intake pretty bad if left alone.

Ok,
So it sounds like it'd be smart to leave the motor up while it's slipped.

When I take it out of the lake, I'll crank up the 2000 psi pressure washer and clean boat, motor and trailer thoroughly.

Then let it dry.

From what I've read and your input, that should be the best I can do.

Any other ideas and input is welcome.

If warm water repels them, then we wouldn't be infested here along the Colorado River.

The warmer the water, the more they thrive. We have 100+ degree weather from April through October with 120* common in July. Water temps to 80+ degrees. Our Lakes here (Mead, Mohave, Havasu, and the lower Colorado River are absolutely infected with Quaggas (Zebra mussels' close cousin).

It takes 140 degree water, a 5% bleach solution, or 5 days dry out of the water to kill them.

They are experimenting with some kind of fish and microbes that will control them, but aren't sure yet what they would do to the ecosystem out here. We don't want the cure to be worse than the disease.

(I'm a state certified mussel inspector)

So Boatcop,
Any ideas to add for me to do?

We are located on a bay off lake Ontario. I have my toon in the water from May to Oct. for the last 6 years. I keep my motor trimmed up but have had no problems with zebras on my tubes. Maybe I am just lucky. I know there here as I have snag sticks off the bottom covered with them.

BoatCop wrote:If warm water repels them, then we wouldn't be infested here along the Colorado River.

The warmer the water, the more they thrive. We have 100+ degree weather from April through October with 120* common in July. Water temps to 80+ degrees. Our Lakes here (Mead, Mohave, Havasu, and the lower Colorado River are absolutely infected with Quaggas (Zebra mussels' close cousin).

It takes 140 degree water, a 5% bleach solution, or 5 days dry out of the water to kill them.

They are experimenting with some kind of fish and microbes that will control them, but aren't sure yet what they would do to the ecosystem out here. We don't want the cure to be worse than the disease.

(I'm a state certified mussel inspector)

Water temps to 80+ degrees is nothing. That's actually pretty cool. In summer water temps on the Arkansas River in Arkansas can reach well above 90 degrees. In years that this occurs the population of zebra mussels and quagga mussels crashes. It goes down to almost nothing. They tend to rebound in subsequent years, but they have never reached the numbers that were observed in the mid-90's when they first infested the area. They seem to have stabilized over time to a somewhat manageable level, although folks that have problems with them (nuclear plant water intake) still have to deal with them on some level. When I was in college I studied zebra mussels and the densities they can reach are mind boggling.

We have decon stations at every lake in Colorado. They pressure-wash with 140 degree solution.

To bad there not good enough for fish to eat

Evidently, Catfish and some ducks do eat Zebra Mussels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfMYbORTWo


At El Dorado Reservoir where my toon will be, they're getting some nice sized Blue Cats and there are always Channel Cats around here.

I wonder if that's having an effect, positive or negative on the Catfish Population.

The extra warm water was the only explanation the MDC could come up with. But, they are not infallible!
For some reason, there are pockets of them along the 1,200 miles of shoreline. They are not everywhere, yet.

I had them clog up my intake last year. So now I have to shell out the money to have them all cleaned out