Careening the hull

[Jib]

When pirates used to careen the hull of a ship to clean off the sea life that tended to grow upon it was such trouble limited to salt water or did the worms and creatures also thrive in fresh water?

What I'm thinking is that fresh water, such as a river, might be used to hinder the growth of marine life if the ship was docked in it for a time. It also might be useful to help kill off the marine life and make the job of careening easier.

Any knowledge?

[William Brand]

There are rivers and bays of fresh water used for that very purpose today, but careening was also necessary for the means of caulking the seams and repairing rotten wood. The requirement of aging.

[John Maddox Roberts]

When taking the Panama Canal, some time was spent in an inland lake (I've forgotten the name and am too lazy to look it up). It was (and I suppose still is) a frequent practice to spend a few extra days there "taking the freshwater cure" to let the water kill the attached marine life and let it fall off. Of course, it was more complicated in the days of wooden ships.

[Jib]

I think the worms did the worst damage to the wooden ships. From pictures I have seen it appears that they form some type of shell as they tunnel into the ships hull. Looks like a pain to repair!