2 year antifoul - which product

When we shoved off again about four years ago for a couple or more years cruising, we applied three generous coats of International Micron. When the boat was lifted just over two years later, the hull cleaned off extremely well and fast with a high pressure hose, and only a few small barnacles on the prop nut!

However, I did dive to clean off the prop a couple of times, as we never anti-foul that but get it very clean and bright before launching. Stays remarkably clean that way.
 
I used Blakes Tiger Extra applied in August (5 day lift out) and after 2 years, with a washdown before our summer cruise to remove slight slime, there was still only slight slime. I then used Shogun 33 on the advice of the editor of Sailing Today, but after a year there is much more slime than with Tiger Extra. We will see, when I washdown before the summer cruise next year, just how good it is.
 
this will do what you want and is nothing like all the other crap that just comes in colourfull tins.
SIGMA ECOFLEET 530
(SIGMAPLANE ECOL HA)


DESCRIPTION high activity TBT-free selfpolishing antifouling with cuprous oxide and
organic biocides for aggressive fouling conditions
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS – TBT-free selfpolishing antifouling for new building and maintenance
– controls shell and weed fouling for service periods up to 60 months
depending on vessel type, operation characteristics and system applied
– controlled polishing rate to give effective protection in accordance with
the specified film thickness and smoothing of the surface
– complies with IMO Antifouling Systems Convention
COLOURS AND GLOSS redbrown, brown and black - flat
BASIC DATA AT 20°C (1 g/cm³ = 8.25 lb/US gal; 1 m²/l = 40.7 ft²/US gal)
Mass density 2.0 g/cm³
Volume solids 60 ± 2%
VOC (supplied) max. 173 g/kg (Directive 1999/13/EC, SED)
max. 339 g/l (approx. 2.8 lb/gal)
Recommended dry film
thickness
75 - 150 μm depending on system
Theoretical spreading rate 8.0 m²/l for 75 μm, 6.0 m²/l for 100 μm, 4.0 m²/l for 150 μm
Touch dry after 1 hour at 20°C
Overcoating interval min. 6 hours at 20°C
Refloating time min. 8 hours *
Shelf life (cool and dry place) at least 12 months
Flash point 24°C
* see additional data
RECOMMENDED
SUBSTRATE CONDITIONS
AND TEMPERATURES
– previous coat; dry and free from any contamination
– suitable high performance anticorrosive (coaltar epoxy, epoxy, vinyl tar)
– substrate temperature should be at least 3°C above dew point
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE – stir well before use
– the temperature of the paint should preferably be above 15°C, otherwise
extra thinner may be required to obtain application viscosity
– too much solvent results in reduced sag resistance
 
Hi Piers, I'd vote for Micron Extra. I do my boat annually with no interim cleans and this year it was only minor slime. 2 seasons coverage from 3 coats it says on the tin. I would warn you, however, that whatever you choose, make sure it's compatible with what's on there now! I suffered from the top 5 coats cracking off the bottom 2 after the first 7 years because years 2 and 3 weren't compatible. And it cost me a slurry blast and 6 coats of Gelshield last year......
 
Shogun Emperor has been top of the class for me having tried EVERY other standard a/f over the last 15 years. My boat spent 3 years in the water and came out for a/f this spring. The growth was minimal - the yard couldn't believe it.
Not too sure of the cheaper Seajet products but I will certainly use Emperor again.
 
yes i does but the only down side is that you have to buy/order it in 20 ltrs minimum (£22 a ltr approx) and many comercial vessels use it .
 
I believe TBT antifoulings are banned in a lot of countries (including the UK). A couple of seasons ago I put Coppercoat on my boat after trying most other products and finding them wanting. Supposed to be good for up to 10 years, with a light scrub each year and a light sanding to expose new copper. So far so good - slight coating of slime but easily washed off.
I suppose at the end of the day a lot depends on where you keep your boat. i.e. high fouling area or not.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi Piers, I'd vote for Micron Extra. I do my boat annually with no interim cleans and this year it was only minor slime. 2 seasons coverage from 3 coats it says on the tin. I would warn you, however, that whatever you choose, make sure it's compatible with what's on there now! I suffered from the top 5 coats cracking off the bottom 2 after the first 7 years because years 2 and 3 weren't compatible. And it cost me a slurry blast and 6 coats of Gelshield last year......

[/ QUOTE ]

you should of used a tie coat if you did not know what had been used before then no worries /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Jotun sea guardian. 36 month warranty.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like Jotun, its the choice of most professional fishermen in this area. Have to make sure you buy the best grade though. Jotun sea guardian 48 if you can, supposed to last 48 months and I managed 24 with it. The cheap Jotun was crap after 3 months.
 
Wow - thanks for all the gen. I've had Micron Extra for the last 5 years and it's been a disaster. So my preference is to move away to something new.

The boat will be re-antifouled in October, and I've now heard about Teamac, Jotun, Shogun, Blakes and Sigma. I like the idea of a commercially used product which I feel should be better.

I'll read up on these and see where it all goes. Meanwhile, thanks so much for the help.
 
No such thing as the perfect antifouling I'm afraid. They all work differently in different areas - or different water temjperatures - or different UV levels etc etc. What is good in one place one year will not be so good the next. Pretty much everything on the market, including the commercial materials and excepting the metallic copper products, use copper oxide boosted with a series of biocides, and it's that biocide cocktail that determines performance. If conditions stayed the same each year you could design the single best product. Conditions change so you are always aiming at a moving target.
Commercial products use the same active ingredients but the erosion rate of the carrier resin varies. They are designed for vessels that move much more than the average yacht and so erode more slowly. This generally means they will not work as well on a yacht as on a ship. Do not be seduced into thinking they are better / stronger etc. They're not. On a commercial ship you can design the antifouling scheme around the ship. Long distance container ships have different schemes from short distance container ships and they are different from harbour tugs. All depends on time spent moving and operating speed.
Other than that the difference is colour. On a ship your concern about colour is much lower than most yachtsmen so yacht antifoulings have brighter, cleaner colours created from more expensive pigments
 
I've used Trilux with copper powder added as per the tcm recipe, put on last December, so far pretty good results, no barmacles and fairly minimal slime.

I too intend to leave the boat in for at least two years but I will be diving under to scrub off which is easy with Trilux being a hard antifoul it doesn't all come off when cleaning it.
 
I lifted out last week after nearly 2 years in the water. Micron Extra had certainly done better than anything else that I have tried. Barnacles were only significant on the propellor and there was a bit of grass on the waterline - otherwise just light slime.
 
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