Anti-foul recipes

[Pasarell]

Re: Where\'s my soapbox?

Big ship antifouling is different from yachts mainly in the rate at which it erodes. They are moving far more of the time than yachts so the paint matrix is harder. The products are actually tailored to the activity of the ship whereas for yachts they are all fast eroding to allow them to work while at rest.
There is the start of a trend towards completely non toxic antifoulings for some vessels with high activity (high speed and / or constant travelling).
Putting these products on our type of boats is usually a disaster but, since there are so many variations of conditions there will always be the odd place where they will work.
Prices for big ship antifoulings are generally different because of the volumes sold giving an economy of scale in manufacture and distribution, and colours. Simple pigments are much cheaper than expensive white, reds and blues.
When I was in India in the '90's a government research establishment announced they had "discovered" a new and effective active ingredient for antifouling for the fishing fleets. They called it Arsenic!
A lot of the fishing fleet in India and Sri Lanka is coastal and the boats are hauled up on the beach when not at sea.
In all the testing carried out by big paint companies chilli powder and mustard have not had any general effect. That doesn't mean they won't have an effect in isolated cases though but I certainly wouldn't bother adding any.

 

[Pye_End]

I added chilli powder which has now done 2 seasons, and have not been out of the water (except for a couple of scrub-offs - mainly for the benefit of the prop). Definately had less fouling than usual.

However the powder did make the paint a rather grainy, so next time will look at adding a sauce rather than powder.

 

[2nd_apprentice]

Sounds like a hot tip

 

[ex-Gladys]

Argus who sometimes posts here has used it... He used thinners to extract stuff from the chilli as I recall and mixed the resultant brew into the A/F

 

[Pye_End]

Sounds interesting. Did it work?

Not sure how you tell how much chilli flavour gets picked up without tasting it!

Perhaps I will put a couple of spoonfulls out and see what happens...

 

[bobgosling]

Re: Where\'s my soapbox?

[ QUOTE ]


At the risk of some Fred Drift:

Why is there different antifoul for commercial shipping and yachts?
More pesticides in commercial AF?
If so, why are only yachts supposed to be "green"? Do we pollute more?

Guapa's antifoul (Hempel Hard) when applied by previous owner lasted 3 - nearly 4 - seasons before it needed re-doing.

I found it very hard to get.
Finally traced it at a rip-off price of €150 (£100) for 5 litres.

On the tin it said: For warships and commercial vessels only

Why??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

It works brilliantly - so why aren't we supposed to use it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Does it say TBT ( Tri-Butyl Tin ) anywhere on the tin ? That's the stuff that got banned due to turning all the Whelks gay. I think Grey Funnel lines and Commercial ships are still using it. Could never quite grasp the logic of that. I think the total area of A/F for all the private pleasure craft in the world is probably about the same as a few dozen super-tankers so it can't have made much difference to the environment.

I have heard that TBT is still used in some timber preservatives. Maybe mixing that into your A/F would be a better bet ?

 

[ex-Gladys]

It did.... Peter? Are you reading this?

 

[davies]

Chilli powder has been shown to be ineffective in several controlled trials. Could the success claimed by some forumites be akin to the placebo effect, or do they have a special source of cheap dynamite chilli?

 

[Pasarell]

Re: Where\'s my soapbox?

TBT has been banned internationally for all marine use for about 3 years now.
From March 2008 it will be illegal to have any on the hull of a ship. That doesn't mean it will not still be on a few ships in far flung places but vessel that trades into Europe, North America, Japan etc could be arrested if TBT is found. And yes, it is checked sometimes

 

[EDM]

Over here the fisherman on the Dhows use Quick-Lime mixed with Fish Oil.... put on by hand with no protective gloves !!!

Then on the change of tide push the dhows over to the other side, and then they are set for another 6-8 months.

 

[sidkimbrough]

What about ultrasonic devices to clear the growth? They do not harm the environment and (in theory) never need replacing.

 

[macnorton]

add ground up asprin, works a treat!

 

[alienzdive]

Altex is a large supplier of antifoul to both the recreational and commercial market. The Altex representative assures me of the following,

Commercial containers are 20 litres each, often more than what is required for a small recreational vessel.

Recreational tins have a brighter, fancy package, smaller more costly tin, which should stand out when placed on a chandlers shelf amongst other brands. The packaging and quantites supplied add to the cost of an identical product.

The commercial ships apply 5 coats for 5 years of protection, recreational boats usually have 2 coats applied for 2 years of protection. Commercial ships have periodic underwater inspections for the insurance companies. Several items including anodes are professionally surveyed and replaced in water. It is often recomended that the recreational boats are removed from the water for survey/ anode inspection every 24 months.

If Chilli, curry, pesticides really worked and are cost effective and safe to the environment, paint manufacturers would certainly be using them.

Commercial ships are periodically scrubbed in water to a depth of often 30 feet deep depending on the clarity/light penetration of the water the vessel has been travelling, this allows part of the matrix to erode, opening up another coat of toxins, hence the 5 year system.

So by putting on additional coats, scrubbing or jet wasing periodically, will lengthen the longivity of your antifoul between coats. Although not recomended.

 

[2nd_apprentice]

[ QUOTE ]
...Although not recomended.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why?

 

[angelsson]

A member called Englander who is based in Barcelona recommended chilli to me, have used it and am very pleased with it. Mixed it into cheap and chearfull antifoul, good results so far as he also has.

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Where\'s my soapbox?

Chili powder in the antifoul does work, I use it every time now, so do a few other people here in Barcelona and it does work or rather at least it "helps". They use chili powder in their antifoul in the far east as a matter of course and it works there also. Yes, it does leave a slightly "textured" surface, but at the speeds I travel at makes no appreciable difference.