After 18 years of primers, bottom paint and 50,000-some miles, it became time to figure out a way to remove all of the built-up bottom paint on M/V Thunder, a Delta expedition-style motor yacht.

During the course of a vessel's life, owners change and captains come and go. If a solid record is not kept of the paints applied, a non-compatible paint can end up on the bottom of a boat.

This can result in bottom paints not lasting as long as one would expect or even complete non-adhesiveness so that within a few months the paint has flaked off, leaving the substrate exposed to saltwater.

When it comes time to strip off years of paint on a fiberglass hull, I have found a method that is both environmentally safe and ultra-safe for the hull itself. That technique is soda blasting.

Bicarbonate of soda is the product used. That's right, plain old baking soda. However, there are several trade secrets that make this process unique.

I turned to Vic Olsen, owner of Miami Soda Blasters when it came time to remove bottom paint from Thunder's underbelly.

Vic, a 57-year-old U.S. Coast Guard captain, has owned MSB for four years and along the way has perfected a fantastic manner in which to strip a fiberglass yacht efficiently.

With a good laugh, Vic explained.

"The first attempts to tent boats proved somewhat humorous," he said. "The soda is propelled by a high-powered air compressor that puts out 210 CFM (cubic feet per minute). Our tents blew up within minutes; they blew up like hot air balloons, ripping the tape off of the hulls. We looked like a scene in an old Laurel and Hardy movie.

"My wife deserves a lot of credit for researching the correct plastic and tape to build our tents," he said. "We tried dozens of plastics and tape until we hit on the right match. With practice and persistence, we overcame the learning curve and have now successfully removed bottom paint from hundreds of boats."

MSB's Mega Soda Blaster machine is the key to the process. Joe Alexander, a Seattle engineer, invented the process by marrying a generator, air compressor and cool air induction with water separator into one trailer-mounted, highly mobile package.

"Water is the death of soda," Vic said. "The soda must be perfectly dry for the process to work. We tried a dozen bicarbonate of soda manufacturers before we found the one company that supplies the perfectly sized crystals that are 100 percent moisture free. We truly use the finest available."

The process removes bottom paint, primers and barrier coats from fiberglass, aluminum and steel without damaging the substrate surfaces.

Vic introduced me to his two blasters, Ryan Wallach and Rico Masena, both 33.

"Without Ryan, this thing would never have happened," Vic said. "He is the true MacGyver of soda blasting."

"This took me a year to perfect," Ryan said. "We went through the ringer on everything from the correct soda to use to the right plastic to cover the hulls with. Nothing came easy and there was no manual to turn to. We figured out the process each step of the way and today we have this down to a science."

The pattern of the wand is only half of the science; the critical item is the angle of the wand along with making only a 2-inch circle in the pattern.

On a large bottom such as Thunder's with 10-foot draft, Ryan designed a harness to help him hold the wand while on a ladder 12 feet in the air.

I asked Vic what it was like getting started in a business that no one had tried before in South Florida.

"It was horrible in the beginning," he said. "We would work for a week and then spend a month trying to get paid."

Vic credits Spinnaker Marina in Miami for helping his business get off the ground. The staff at the marina sent over "reliable" clients, and MSB has since grown to Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Stuart and Jupiter.

MSB also handles projects as diverse as engines, automobile restoration, and removing graffiti from buildings or playgrounds.

As for Thunder, the job was completed in five working days, on time, on budget and to my specifications. Today, her bottom is as the day she was launched.

Contact Capt. David Hare at david@hare.com . Contact Miami Soda Blasters at 305-377-0977 or through www.miamisodablasters.com. If you have a product you'd like to see reviewed, contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com .