You’d think that people who spend so much time testing bottom paint wouldn’t have a barnacle problem, but we do … a big one. Our home waters of Sarasota, Fla., are paradise for barnacles. After 18 months (seven of them in Rhode Island), the Interlux Micron Extra on the hull of one of our test boats, a 21-foot Parker, finally surrendered to the little buggers along the waterline.

Elapsed time photos show the final results, after two applications and only light scraping with a plastic putty knife, Trac Ecological Barnacle Buster and Star brite Zebra Mussel and Barnacle Remover.

In our last barnacle-remover test (April 2004), two products stood out. The most effective was Star brite Zebra Mussel and Barnacle Remover. The Star brite’s active ingredient is hydrochloric acid, an acid that produces a sharp, acrid odor and can irritate the respiratory…