Anti foul paints. Is there a difference

[Nostrodamus]

It is coming to that time to haul out and Anti foul.
I have noticed there can be a huge price difference between the best known brands and others.
Do you actually get what you pay for and how much difference is there between the paints?
Like everyone I want something that works but I don't want to pay huge prices when there are viable alternatives out there.
Any suggestions?

Does everyone anti foul each year with normal paints or do some leave it longer?

The second part is we are currently in France where the Chandlers really do want to have a laugh. Anti foul paints here are extortionate. Is it cheaper to get the paint sent from the UK and if so can anyone suggest a decent supplier that would send them here?

 

[sailorman]

It is coming to that time to haul out and Anti foul.
I have noticed there can be a huge price difference between the best known brands and others.
Do you actually get what you pay for and how much difference is there between the paints?
Like everyone I want something that works but I don't want to pay huge prices when there are viable alternatives out there.
Any suggestions?

Does everyone anti foul each year with normal paints or do some leave it longer?

The second part is we are currently in France where the Chandlers really do want to have a laugh. Anti foul paints here are extortionate. Is it cheaper to get the paint sent from the UK and if so can anyone suggest a decent supplier that would send them here?

i now use jotun

http://www.smlmarinepaints.co.uk/

it actually works, shepherd marine are also very helpful

 

[mikewilkes]

It is coming to that time to haul out and Anti foul.
I have noticed there can be a huge price difference between the best known brands and others.
Do you actually get what you pay for and how much difference is there between the paints?
Like everyone I want something that works but I don't want to pay huge prices when there are viable alternatives out there.
Any suggestions?

Does everyone anti foul each year with normal paints or do some leave it longer?

The second part is we are currently in France where the Chandlers really do want to have a laugh. Anti foul paints here are extortionate. Is it cheaper to get the paint sent from the UK and if so can anyone suggest a decent supplier that would send them here?

Our boat is also in France. We get our a/f from Compass24 delivered from Germany at not a lot of cost in my opinion.

.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

For some years I used a cheap brand (Teamac) which was OK but no more. At the end of the season there was a fair build up of weed and barnacles, despite a mid season scrub off between tides.

I then changed to International Micron which is far better but it costs something approaching 4 times the price.

We just have to accept that it's all a bit of a lottery; in a different location, over a different season, the cheapie brand may outperform the other. However, I think that, on balance it's probably worth going for the "better" brand.

 

[sailorman]

For some years I used a cheap brand (Teamac) which was OK but no more. At the end of the season there was a fair build up of weed and barnacles, despite a mid season scrub off between tides.

I then changed to International Micron which is far better but it costs something approaching 4 times the price.

We just have to accept that it's all a bit of a lottery; in a different location, over a different season, the cheapie brand may outperform the other. However, I think that, on balance it's probably worth going for the "better" brand.

we have been "in since march no mid season haul out but have scrubbed the water line. we only have slime no weed ect of any sort.
we will stay afloat until early april

 

[Blueboatman]

Reckon I can go 18-24 months without significant fouling, but I do clean the hull occasionally underneath of slime.
The antifouling seems a small proportion of the haulout cost so perhaps 3-4 coats of the soft stuff instead of two, and an occasional wipe down in the water?

 

[Robin]

We switched about 12 years back to International Optima which is a two part water based paint. It is about as good as it gets and especially good in places like Poole which suffer from slime, which looks innocuous but slows the boat regardless. Blakes have a two part one too that is solvent based and also very effective at controlling slime. Optima is a bit more fussy about application conditions because it is water based and needs 24 hours without rain after painting, it also cannot be applied in the boatlift to touch in cradle patches, for which we used Micron. These two pack ones are VERY expensive paints, but when we used Optima there was no need for any mid season sponge and I was very fussy about having a clean bum.

The story continues however because when we changed boats we again used Optima, very good in year one. In year two we decided to switch colour from black to white Optima, the antifoul worked just fine but we had a bad batch which blistered off the black underneath where we had used 2 of the three cans bought, whereas the third can from a different batch was OK. After some 'discussions' with International after I sent them pictures and they had their rep look it over (never happened before guv 'onest...) They offered us free antifoul but we still had to pay £500 for the bottom to be blasted off and remove the flaky stuff by which time we were very pushed for time so we agreed on the same value's worth of free Micron which was less fussy about application conditions and allowed us to meet our deadlines.

So we now had a season with Micron to compare. Well we had slime develop fairly early but which washed off after a good sail. We did have a diver clean mid July though before our annual cruise which at our club wasn't too expensive as they did several together, IIRC about £35 for our 41 footer. The following year I did the maths and we could stick with Micron, have a mid season diver clean (even two) and still save over Optima and that is what we did. In our last season with this boat (2009) the Micron was better than usual and we didn't need the mid season diver, but that might have been a blip rather than an improvement in the paint.

Now we will be boating in the USA and they seem to have a different regime altogether. We are Florida based so warm (OK hot to us) waters and yet very few people there antifoul annually with most staying in two years and many three years, but with diver cleans or a boatlift pressure wash or two every year in between, with the divers doing the anode changes as well. Our boat there is painted with Micron which seems as good as anything.

In your case and headed for warmer waters can you factor in a snorkel or two to clean the bottom?

 

[Guardamar]

I think there will be problems getting paint sent from UK to France. I found it hard enough (possibly impossible?) to put me off persisting trying to get it to Spain. As you can guess, its Heath & Safety with crossing the Channel! Sounds like its OK within mainland Europe judging by an earlier post. This year I'm trying a local a/f that the local paint shop say they mix up themselves, and is used by the fishermen round here. I'll discover next spring if it worked OK for me.

 

[Plevier]

i now use jotun

http://www.smlmarinepaints.co.uk/

it actually works, shepherd marine are also very helpful

+1

 

[Stemar]

On a tidal mooring in Portsmouth Harbour, I've tried several makes & prices and never found one that works, so I won't bother next year.

I'm resigned to scrubbing off every few months, but a scrub costs me a tenner including the club jetwash, so I'll be saving money compared with £80 for something called antifoul, but should be called Growmore

 

[charles_reed]

The major difference is in price.

When I was in UK waters I used Jotun FV antifoul - 20% the price of International antifoulings - the only problems were a minimum purchase of 25l and one colour - rust.

Since then I've used a number and found that following locals' purchase habits usually gets you the best TCO.
Last year, one coat, 2850nm and still clean when she came out - only leading edges down to undercoat.
Cruise area - E Med.

 

[onesea]

On a tidal mooring in Portsmouth Harbour, I've tried several makes & prices and never found one that works, so I won't bother next year.

I'm resigned to scrubbing off every few months, but a scrub costs me a tenner including the club jetwash, so I'll be saving money compared with £80 for something called antifoul, but should be called Growmore

I have a drying mooring and a 24'er what I tend to do is give her a quick wet and dry as the tide falls (cheap pads from market disposable). Put one coat of anti foul (cheapest blue I can find normally around about £40-2.5lts) in the beginning of the year.

2.5 lts I can just squeeze into giving 2 coats, so mid season when it comes time to dry out again I stick a second coat on it only takes 30-40 mins with a radiator roller). Some times an early winter scrub to keep her clean, holds the worst at bay till the next spring time...

I find it works well with me as 5 years on and I do not have any problems with antifouling build up, I normally have a reasonably clean bottom.

 

[pvb]

Do you actually get what you pay for and how much difference is there between the paints?

If you look at the safety data sheets for different makes of antifoul, you'll see that the composition of most ordinary antifoul is the same, maybe with minor differences in the ratio of the components. In this respect, it's no different from any other sort of paint. More expensive brands of antifoul often contain additives such as biocides, which can certainly enhance the performance.

Boat owners who swear by a particular brand are no different from decorators who have a favourite brand of paint.

The biggest factor in antifouling efficiency is putting enough of the stuff on! Those who apply sparingly with a roller are often disappointed in the results.

Does everyone anti foul each year with normal paints or do some leave it longer?

The annual antifouling routine is a tradition which many slavishly follow. Decent antifoul, applied in sufficient quantity, will last longer. And for many marina-based boats, there's no reason why the boat should be taken out of the water in the winter anyway.

As someone else has pointed out, a high proportion of the cost is lifting the boat out and putting it back in the water. For the last 8-10 years, I've been leaving my boat in the water all year round, and only lifting it for a week every second year in the summer (when the marina has cheap liftout offers). I use Micron and find it lasts 2 years very successfully.

 

[TQA]

OH YES

Use Seahawk 44 plus a few ounces of tin booster if you can find it.

By far the best if you are in a high fouling area.

However it is almost certainly banned in France.