Anti foul with regular use ?

[Gsailor]

Have not read all replies but my answer is it depends on many factors, so wait and see - if you are able to.

I began using antifoul because everyone did and the books and magazines said I should. Years later I stopped and found the tide and the drying berth meant the boat barely fouled at all and I saved time and money.

I was in an area where everyone else I knew used anti fouling.

 

[Refueler]

And slime is slow, if you’re a racer. We scrub weekly, and she’s antifouled. Round here, you’d be living in a dream world to think af was not needed. It may not be perfect, but the one race boat that tried to get away with last years antifoul very soon thought again. The slime is the binder coat for other growth. Fine grass is nest, then more solid stuff. If you get to the barnacle stage, it’s a long, hard job to make it right again.

Think you tend to forget that until 2007 - my boat was Solent based ...

The boat I recently bought - will be based in the brackish local harbour - so will be anti-fouled (hard race formula) and lifted for power washing prior any race etc.

 

[Refueler]

Have not read all replies but my answer is it depends on many factors, so wait and see - if you are able to.

I began using antifoul because everyone did and the books and magazines said I should. Years later I stopped and found the tide and the drying berth meant the boat barely fouled at all and I saved time and money.

I was in an area where everyone else I knew used anti fouling.

When my boat was Solent based ... she was last kept in a mud berth .. and fouling was limited to that part of hull that did not 'submerge' into the mud.

 

[B27]

And slime is slow, if you’re a racer. We scrub weekly, and she’s antifouled. Round here, you’d be living in a dream world to think af was not needed. It may not be perfect, but the one race boat that tried to get away with last years antifoul very soon thought again. The slime is the binder coat for other growth. Fine grass is nest, then more solid stuff. If you get to the barnacle stage, it’s a long, hard job to make it right again.

It doesn't always happen in that order.
I have bilge keel boat on a drying berth.
Cleaned it yesterday, after about 2 weeks, some fine green 'grass' near the waterline, light coat of slime, a few barnacles scattered around the hull.
But the zinc shaft anode was covered in barnacles.

I have not antifouled this year, I am progessively scrubbing off old antifoul, because there was an excess thickness on there.

Looking around the harbour, it doesn't look like boats which were AF'd in the Spring are staying clean.
In many locations I think there is no substitute for regular cleaning.

 

[lustyd]

In many locations I think there is no substitute for regular cleaning.

Regular sailing works remarkably well too.

 

[GoatsonaBoat]

So following advice from this thread I have been checking with my hand. Been out 3 times this week. 40+ kn blasts for short periods mind that fuel consumption is a pita haha.

Seems there is some brown slime on the transom waterline that comes off easy enough. Then the waterline on the port and starboard side feels a little rough in places but smooth in others. If I run my hand further down to the v hull it’s smooth. Think I need a camera to get in the water or snorkel but given the number of jellyfish in Chatham. F*** that!

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We sail pretty much every other day on average, and still need to clean. We can see all of our boat so know what’s going on down there. I think maybe if yuu think you don’t need to clean, it’s because you can't see. Obviously if you're cruising, it takes youa little longer to reach your destination, you may well not notice or not mind. Those who race, well, those who win, scrub, and scrub again. I often think those people staring at us, open mouthed, ripping a white furrow in the water are in need of a scrub. Perfectly decent boats, correctly trimmed, why so slow?

 

[William_H]

So following advice from this thread I have been checking with my hand. Been out 3 times this week. 40+ kn blasts for short periods mind that fuel consumption is a pita haha.

Seems there is some brown slime on the transom waterline that comes off easy enough. Then the waterline on the port and starboard side feels a little rough in places but smooth in others. If I run my hand further down to the v hull it’s smooth. Think I need a camera to get in the water or snorkel but given the number of jellyfish in Chatham. F*** that!

What sort of jelly fish are you concerned about? Here in swan River we have huge amounts of jelly fish. Big ugly brown ones that don't have tenticles and in fact live on algae within them and little transparent white ones that are harmless. Only occasionally do we find little white ones that sting. On hot still days you can feel the jelly fish hot the rudder as they seem to come to the surface. Yes i swim with them with no concern. Breast stroke is good to push them out of the way.
Funny story I was talking top some kids afraid of jelly fish. Say a white one and picked it up to prove harmless. it was one in a thousand that stings on hand. No real problem even then. Worse on tender parts like under arm. We have a cream called "Stingose" which is excellent for all stings. ol'will

 

[ylop]

We sail pretty much every other day on average, and still need to clean.

commercial trip boats, small Grp ferries etc who are used virtually every day and for long periods all AF. 2-3 a week might reduce it compared to 2-3 a month or 2-3 a season but unless you have a low cost, low hassle way of scrubbing the hull you will regret leaving it to hope. I suspect the biggest realisation will come when something happens (weather, life etc) that means the bot doesn’t go out for 2-3 weeks and then you’ll be wishing you just AF’d it like everyone else.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

commercial trip boats, small Grp ferries etc who are used virtually every day and for long periods all AF. 2-3 a week might reduce it compared to 2-3 a month or 2-3 a season but unless you have a low cost, low hassle way of scrubbing the hull you will regret leaving it to hope. I suspect the biggest realisation will come when something happens (weather, life etc) that means the bot doesn’t go out for 2-3 weeks and then you’ll be wishing you just AF’d it like everyone else.

We’ll be away for a few weeks soon. She’ll need to be taken to a beach when we return, and scrubbed for an hour or more. That is with fairly new coppercoat. If we had conventional antifoul we’d be just as fouled, or even worse, we’ve tried it. But you scrub conventional AF off after half a dozen cleans. Then you’re in trouble.

 

[GoatsonaBoat]

Well. I plan to continue using her in winter. However. The realisation has set in that it is probably going to rain for 4 months solid and I just won’t want to. So. I’ve given in and booked her in to be anti fouled. She’s got another 3 weeks in the water so will be interesting to see what she comes out like on lift out.