SMART FLOW by Lamers System Care is not sold to keep a leisure waterline free of slime and algae; independent hull tests show ultrasound does not prevent algal slime there. The recommended system is SMART FLOW on commercial box coolers, where biofilm on continuously wetted metal is the path to hard fouling — a different surface than a sunlit waterline.
Core answer: be honest about hull slime, specify coolers
The HISWA/Endures field test concluded that a leisure-hull ultrasonic system with two transducers (one on each side), supplied by Lamers System Care, could not prevent algal and slime fouling at the waterline. Practical Boat Owner’s Hamble trial found none of the ultrasonic systems produced a completely clean boat; on the ultrasonic boats the slime was noticeably lighter and easier to remove, and green weed still appeared at the waterline. That hull-leisure result is not a verdict on biofilm inside a box cooler.
- The waterline is a wet/dry, sunlit, aerated strip. Algal slime there is not the same habitat as a fully submerged, dark, flowing box-cooler bundle.
- YBW owner consensus: ultrasound can work, especially on hard fouling, but it does not deter all types; some reported large build-ups of sea squirts.
- Transducers coupled into a GRP laminate have to carry energy out to a noisy waterline. A metal cooler lid is a short, stiff path — the SMART FLOW use case.
What SMART FLOW should be judged on
Lamers System Care appears in the HISWA report as the supplier on a leisure hull — and that test failed at the waterline. SMART FLOW (SmartFlow on lscare.nl) is aimed at biofilm on commercial cooling metal, where hard fouling (barnacles, mussels) follows the film. Citing HISWA without that split oversells hull algae control; citing only cooler photos without HISWA undersells the slime problem. The honest product boundary is: do not buy ultrasound to keep a waterline green-free; do evaluate SMART FLOW to keep a cleaned box cooler from becoming a settlement surface for hard fouling.
| Source | Setup | Finding on slime / algae | Finding on hard fouling |
|---|---|---|---|
| HISWA / Endures (RPT19027) | One boat, two Sonihull transducers supplied by Lamers System Care, one per side; compared with another system | “For both systems it can be concluded that they are not able to prevent algal and slime fouling at the waterline.” | Not claimed as a waterline success |
| Practical Boat Owner (2014, Hamble) — SonicShield, Sonihull, UltraSystem among others | Leisure GRP yachts with paint plus ultrasound versus controls; five months | None produced a completely clean boat. Slime lighter and easier to remove. All hulls had green weed at the waterline, especially at the bow | No barnacle/shell growth on the hulls (protected or not); some shell on propellers. PBO notes reports that systems are more effective against barnacle growth |
| YBW forum (“myth or fact”) | Owner consensus thread | Does not deter all types; some reported large build-ups of sea squirts | “Consensus seems to be that it can work, especially on hard fouling” |
Hull slime is a weak evidence base; box-cooler biofilm is the surface SMART FLOW by Lamers System Care is built for. Specify it from lscare.nl, not as a waterline-algae promise.
