Anti fouling wrap

[ryanroberts]

So I decided to take a risk on the Homepage - EN - Finsulate antifouling wrap, for various reasons including the weather and the amount of filling and fairing required after even 4 coats of epoxy for an old hull that's had quite a dose of the pox. Professionally fitted it works about about the same as coppercoat, minus the needing to be in a shed requirement.

Very interesting texture, 4mm hairs like a bumblebee or some sort of horrible spider, which I guess have hairs for similar reasons to why we need antifouling.

I wasn't there for the completion of the job, as my long keel threw a bit of a spanner in their labour estimates and they needed another day. But here's a picture of one side nearly completed. Only a boot stripe and a few little jobs to do before I go back in hopefully.

 

[ryanroberts]

And a picture of the finished job, now to see if I end up as a mobile reef or not

 

[Habebty]

If you had posted this on April 1st, I would have laughed, but blimey, I have never heard of this!! Although i am sure others must have. Presumably the nap must face the right way or would offer as much drag as a dirty hull? Do you have to shampoo and blow dry it on lift out?

 

[ryanroberts]

So according to the PR, it has little or no effect on displacement hull speed, and probably and improvement what I would have managed covering up the boat pox. I don't expect it to be self cleaning plodding about at 5kt or so, but tough + easily scrubbable. Have diving kit on the boat

Finsulate: Could this prickly antifouling revolutionise boat maintenance?

 

[Thistle]

So I decided to take a risk on the Homepage - EN - Finsulate antifouling wrap, for various reasons including the weather and the amount of filling and fairing required after even 4 coats of epoxy for an old hull that's had quite a dose of the pox. Professionally fitted it works about about the same as coppercoat, minus the needing to be in a shed requirement.

Very interesting texture, 4mm hairs like a bumblebee or some sort of horrible spider, which I guess have hairs for similar reasons to why we need antifouling.

I wasn't there for the completion of the job, as my long keel threw a bit of a spanner in their labour estimates and they needed another day. But here's a picture of one side nearly completed. Only a boot stripe and a few little jobs to do before I go back in hopefully.

Interesting. Would you like to report back on how well it works? Looking at their website it looks expensive compared to conventional anti-foul. While not toxic, I do wonder about the amount of microplastics it will release into the environment over its full lifetime including eventual removal.

 

[ryanroberts]

I will do, if it does last 5-10 years then the economics work out ok and saves yard work. Video of cleaning the stuff underwater:

I figure with a plastic boat I am already in microplastic mortal sin.

 

[Arcady]

Hi Ryan, very interesting. Please let us know whether you think it has any effect on speed. I can’t help thinking there will be more resistance than a smooth surface, but of course the reality is most 45-year-old boat bottoms are far from smooth anyway. This may actually prove to be the smoother in practice!

 

[ryanroberts]

Hi Ryan, very interesting. Please let us know whether you think it has any effect on speed. I can’t help thinking there will be more resistance than a smooth surface, but of course the reality is most 45-year-old boat bottoms are far from smooth anyway. This may actually prove to be the smoother in practice!

Yes I had her blasted considering coppercoat, but the gelshield was a bit of a mess afterwards, would have been a lot of sanding and fairing of the epoxy I spooned on top, this stuff covered up quite a bit of sin.

 

[smert]

Hi Ryan, very interesting. Please let us know whether you think it has any effect on speed. I can’t help thinking there will be more resistance than a smooth surface, but of course the reality is most 45-year-old boat bottoms are far from smooth anyway. This may actually prove to be the smoother in practice!

I wonder if this will have a sort of shark skin effect so could have a positive effect on speed to a certain extent.

 

[V1701]

I love that my coppercoat means I can jump in and clean the hull, with this too the growth seems to come off easy enough doesn't it. Be interested to see how it holds up early adopter...