Hire a diver for hull cleaning, props and zincs
A hull-cleaning diver cleans your boat's bottom while it stays in the water, so you are not paying for a haul-out between seasons. A thorough visit covers the hull, the running gear (propeller, shaft, struts, rudder, trim tabs, thrusters) and the intakes, plus a check of the zincs (sacrificial anodes), which the diver can often replace on the same dive if you know their sizes and locations. Not every diver includes all of that in the base price, so ask (Danny's Diving).
Typical jobs are a monthly or seasonal clean for a boat in a slip or on a mooring, a one-off clean before a race, sale or survey, a heavy-growth clean after months of neglect, and cutting a line or crab-pot rope off a propeller.
A good clean takes the growth off without taking the paint with it. The California Coastal Commission's example best practices are to clean by hand with cloth, plastic scrapers or soft scrubbers, never leave a visible plume of paint, and wait at least 90 days after a new paint job (factsheet, 2017). Some harbours go further: in Marina del Rey every in-water hull cleaner must be BMP-certified and hold a Commercial Service ID issued by the Harbor Master (LA County Beaches & Harbors). Afterwards you should get a short note or photos covering growth, each anode and anything that looks wrong.
DiverHire is a new marketplace in public beta. Post the job free with your boat's length, location and last cleaning date, divers can bid, and you pay the diver you pick directly. DiverHire takes no fee on jobs.
Who needs this
- Boat owners with a slip or mooring: regular bottom cleans between haul-outs, zinc changes and a look at the prop and shaft.
- Racing sailors: a clean bottom just before a regatta.
- Buyers and sellers: a clean hull before a sea trial or a pre-purchase survey.
- Marinas and yacht clubs: a diver to recommend to members, or a set day to clean several boats on one dock.
- Charter and rental fleets: scheduled cleans so growth never builds up between bookings.
- Owners of neglected boats: a heavy-growth clean before the boat moves or is hauled.
How often you need a clean depends on water temperature, salt or fresh water and how much the boat moves; see how often to clean a boat hull and when to replace boat zincs. On the day, unplug the boat from shore power: an electric shock drowning prevention protocol asks that the boat be unplugged, not just switched off at the pedestal, and ideally its neighbours too, before anyone dives on it (ESDPA, 2018).
Typical pricing
Hull cleaning is usually priced per foot of boat length per visit, with extras for heavy growth, thrusters, props and anodes. Some divers price by the hour instead, because time under the boat depends on growth as much as length.
- Southwest Florida: USD 3.00/ft for sailboats and USD 3.50–4.00/ft for powerboats on a monthly schedule, USD 100 minimum; heavy growth or one-off cleans at USD 150 per person per hour (Bottom Time Dive, 2026 rates).
- Jacksonville, Florida: USD 5/ft under 50 ft, rising to USD 8/ft at 61–65 ft; anodes USD 20 each plus a USD 50 trip charge (DS Diving, 2026).
- Victoria, BC (billed hourly; typical totals for boats on the company's regular schedule): CAD 140–220 for a 25–30 ft sailboat up to CAD 400–600+ for a 50–60 ft yacht, before GST; a hull left six months or more can take two to three times as long (Danny's Diving, April 2026).
The same Victoria company puts a haul-out and power wash at three to five times the cost of an in-water clean. Quotes vary with depth, visibility, access, travel and team size, and with how long it has been since the last clean. More regions: boat hull cleaning cost.
Guides
- Boat Hull Cleaning Cost: What Divers Charge by Region (2026)
- How Often to Clean a Boat Hull by Water Temperature and Region
- How Often to Replace Boat Zincs and Anodes (and What It Costs)
- How to Hire a Diver: A Checklist for Boat Owners and Marinas
- How to Start a Hull Cleaning Business: Rules, Gear and Pay
- Commercial diving in Toronto and the Great Lakes: a local guide
Required / preferred certifications
- PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent recreational card (casual jobs only)
- Marina del Rey In-Water Hull Cleaning BMP certification (California)
- HSE SCUBA Diving (diving at work in Great Britain)
- DCBC Occupational SCUBA Diver (Canada, CSA Z275.4)
- DAN Diving First Aid for Professional Divers
Other diving services
- Underwater inspection
- Underwater welding
- Underwater photography
- Salvage operations
- Marine research support
- Marine surveying
- Underwater cleanup
Commercial diving by city
- Aberdeen, UK
- Anchorage, USA
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Baltimore, USA
- Boston, USA
- Brisbane, Australia
- Charleston, USA
- Chicago, USA
- Cleveland, USA
- Corpus Christi, USA
- Detroit, USA
- Dubai, UAE
- Duluth, USA
- Fort Lauderdale, USA
- Galveston, USA
- Halifax, Canada
- Hamburg, Germany
- Honolulu, USA
- Houston, USA
- Jacksonville, USA
- Jersey City, USA
- Key West, USA
- London, UK
- Long Beach, USA
- Melbourne, Australia
- Miami, USA
- Milwaukee, USA
- Mississauga, Canada
- Mobile, USA
- Montreal, Canada
- New Orleans, USA
- New York, USA
- Norfolk, USA
- Oakland, USA
- Perth, Australia
- Philadelphia, USA
- Portland, USA
- Portland, USA
- Rotterdam, Netherlands
- San Diego, USA
- San Francisco, USA
- Savannah, USA
- Seattle, USA
- Singapore, Singapore
- St. John's, Canada
- Sydney, Australia
- Tampa, USA
- Toronto, Canada
- Vancouver, Canada
- Victoria, Canada
Need a boat cleaning diver?
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