ANTI FOULING ROUTINE IN THE " NEW NORMAL"

[alisdair4]

Up here in Scotland, we are just getting over lockdown. Thus the routine of the season has changed.

In common with many, I would normally lift my boat at the beginning of the season , scrub her off and antifoul her before she was re-launched.

This year it looks more likely that I will do this in the middle of the summer, and not re-antifoul until spring/summer of 2021.On the assumption that I leave the boat in the water for the next 12-months, do forumites believe that this change of routine will cause any issues?

 

[Baddox]

We leave 18 months between lifts and by that time the Cruiser Uno or EU antifoul is a little thin but still working. The other consideration is how long the anodes last.

 

[pvb]

No. Take the opportunity to dramatically change your routine, and save yourself a lot of money.

Paint it with 2 or 3 good thick coats of Micron, plus another coat on the leading edge of the keel and around the waterline, and put it back in the water for 2 years.

When you lift it in summer 2022, you should find minimal fouling. You'll have saved the cost of an interim liftout, plus the hassle of antifouling it.

 

[Pete7]

We are into our 3rd year with Micron 77 which sadly you can't buy now. Pushing our luck but a couple of trips to the scrubbing grid during the summer should see us through. Shame I spent £200 on paint just before lockdown. Its in the shed and I turn the tins every couple of weeks.

Pete

 

[alisdair4]

Thank you all for the advice. If the limiting factor is then the anodes, how long do anodes normally last? My experience with the current boat (LM 32) is that there isn't too much erosion, so 24 months would be OK.
Incidentally, lift out and scrub is built in to the annual fee, so not really a factor in my costings.

 

[Solent Sailor]

I'm also an advocate of Micron (350 is the latest and current best). I've just reapplied mine having last applied it in June 2018 and I was only just beginning to see increased growth on the hull. 3 coats is the expected amount for 2 years worth of protection.

I had her scrubbed by divers last April, went around the water line myself with a snorkel once in July but otherwise she stayed clean the whole 2nd season.

We have anodes on our trim tabs, bow/stern thrusters and hull anodes for the props/p-brackets/rudders. Only the trim tab ones had disintegrated significantly (and definately needed replacement). I replaced them all anyway, but the others would have gone on for another 2 years. It really depends on how much anode you had to start with though - my two big ones are 7kg each.

The only "better" alternative is coppercoating, which I am considering for next time mine comes out.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Up here in Scotland, we are just getting over lockdown. Thus the routine of the season has changed.

In common with many, I would normally lift my boat at the beginning of the season , scrub her off and antifoul her before she was re-launched.

This year it looks more likely that I will do this in the middle of the summer, and not re-antifoul until spring/summer of 2021.On the assumption that I leave the boat in the water for the next 12-months, do forumites believe that this change of routine will cause any issues?

I wouldn't have thought it would make much difference. My boat normally spends four months afloat (Port Bannatyne) and eight months ashore each year, with one coat of "Nautical" antifouling. A couple of years ago I left her in the marina for the winter and when she came out for a week in the spring there was no more fouling on her hull after twelve months than there normally is after four. I suspect that the stuff doesn't grow very much over the winter

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Not an issue based on Craobh Marina's water. I anti-foul with a 3 litre tin of cruiser uno and about a 1/4 of another 3 litre tin on a 41' Rival, it's only 1 x coat plus double at the leading edges. I stay in for two years and the only issue is slime which goes away after a fast sail for a few hours. I do have propellor growth at the end of the two years.