Center for Lakes and Reservoirs

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Biofouling and hull maintenance of recreational craft

Introduction

Biological fouling, also known as hull fouling, consists of plants and animals (mostly invertebrates and seaweeds)that grow attached to hard surfaces such as rocks, piers and/or the sides of your boat. Along with being unsightly these organisms can increase drag on hulls, foul intake pipes, etc. For this project we are gathering information on vessel maintenance and recent voyage histories to help us better understand the factors that contribute to biofouling on boats. Our project consists of two parts:

1. Boater Questionnaire
2. Vessel Hull Surveys in SF Bay

biofouling undaria fouling

Boater Questionnaire

Portland State University and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center are conducting a survey of boat owners regarding recreational boat movements and hull maintenance. We have prepared six questions on the following pdf or MS Word document and would greatly appreciate your time in answering them. Your participation is voluntary and you may remain anonymous if you choose. The purpose of this questionnaire is for research only and there is no risk attached to your participation. We do not require your name or contact details, however, you may provide them if you wish to be entered into a drawing for a $200 gift certificate to West Marine. To be eligible you must return the questionnaire by September 29th, 2007. Any personal information you may choose to provide will be destroyed at the completion of the project.

This questionnaire has been reviewed by the Portland State University Human Subjects Research Review Committee who can be contacted 1-877-480-4400 with any questions or concerns.

Tips for filling out the questionnaire and returning it:
MS Word Document:
1.) Open the word document DOC LINK
2.) Press the insert key on your keyboard
3) Move the cursor to each relevant line to type in your answers (use an x for check-the-box questions)
4) When you've finished, save the file to your desktop
Adobe PDF
1.) Open the pdf file PDF LINK
2.) Use the edit file feature to answer the questions
3.) Save the file to your desktop

NEXT: Send an email to idavidso@pdx.edu with your completed survey as an attachment, or you may print out the questionnaire, fill it out by hand and fax it to: 503-725-3834 or mail it to:
Ian Davidson
Portland State University
PO Box 751 - ESR
Portland OR 97207-0751

We appreciate your time filling out this questionnaire to help us learn more about boat movements, hull maintenance and biofouling.

We'll be contacting the winner of the $200 gift certificate in early October.

Fouling Survey

We will also be surveying vessel hulls using an underwater camera between September 19th and September 29th, 2007. Our surveys will be conducted in San Francisco Bay on boats that are moored at selected marinas. We use an underwater camera on a pole (pole-cam) to remotely survey the submerged portions of boat hulls. Your participation in the hull survey is entirely voluntary and you may withdraw at any time. We will not scrape or interfere with your boat in any way. Your attendance at surveys is not required but if you wish you can use this as an opportunity to view the underside of your boat and ask any questions you may have. If you would like to participate you may do so by fillling out the above questionnaire and checking the appropriate box or by contacting the principle investigators listed below. If you have any questions regarding either the questionnaire or the hull surveys, please contact Ian Davidson (idavidso@pdx.edu), Chela Zabin (zabinc@si.edu) or Chris Brown (browncw@si.edu) or call 415-435-7128.