Antifoul/Epoxy Tar? Novice - help!

[waterline]

Can anyone please offer me some practical help about Antifouling and Epoxy coatings etc.
I bought a new 20' trailer sailer last May (Jeanneau SUN 2000) and need some advice about antifouling the hull. When I first had the boat delivered to Windermere I considered antifouling the underside and even epoxy coating, but after contacting a main Jeanneau dealer on the south coast I was advised to try the first season without any antifouling to see how bad the hull actually gets. I was also advised that epoxy coating the underside is not always necessary with new boats as modern production methods have resulted in more stable gelcoat etc.
The boat will be kept on fresh water only from April to end of October and when the boat was brought out of the water a month ago, the hull was covered in a geen slime that was fairly easy to wash off with boat cleaner. Because the boat has a lifting keel, it sits very low on the trailer which makes it hard to clean off the main underside area, and I am now beginning to wonder if I should have applied antifouling to keep the hull easier to keep clean, or even not clean it at all in the areas I can't get at with a brush.
Because of scare stories I have read about protecting fibreglass hulls, I am also beginning to wonder if I should have coated the hull with epoxy to give it more protection but am concsious of the difficulties that can occur when applying epoxy coatings, like controlling the temperature and humidity etc not to mention the high cost of paying a yard to do the job using a lifting cradle to gain access to the underside and also Winter may not be the best time to do this job. I have also been told about a product called VC Tar? that can be applied instead of Epoxy, and then antifouled on top. Can anyone shed some light on this method, and would I need to lightly sand the hull before applying this product?
If I go ahead and antifoul the underside, would I be correct in thinking that I would need to completely clean off any slime residue, clean with acetone (to get rid of any release agent and oil deposits from the lake), and lightly sand with wet & dry paper used dry (not sure which grade to use?)
Any advice would be most welcome to a novice sailer, even help with choosing the correct Antifouling (green colour) for fresh water that will last a couple of seasons would help me

 

[MedMan]

Try sending your question to Pat Morris who is a Technical Advisor for International Paints Yacht Division. Her email address is pat.morris@uk.akzonobel.com

 

[Avocet]

We're on Windermere too at present. I think you'll get the green slime whether you antifoul or not, to be honest. We're antifouled and we had a bit of slime at the end of the season. Obviously there are different makes of antifouling and some are better suited to certain conditions than others.

As far as epoxying goes, it's certianly true that more recent boats are more resistant to osmosis but none are imune! Freshwater (particularly clean, fresh water) is worse for osmosis than seawater. If it was my boat I'd seriously consider getting it done despite what the builders say. I can't help wit hthe application because I've never done it but there should be loads of threads on it. i think the main thing is to make sure the laminate is a dry as you can get it before applying it.

 

[Gaffer]

The pro's of doing an epoxy job definately outweigh the con's. With trailer - sailer you are going to get the occasional scrape during launch / recovery, and the epoxy will take the damage and protect the original gel coat.
Epoxy tar is as good as any, but there may be some colour bleed through the coats on top, which may look bad but will not affect the performance.
In your particular circumstance I would consider a PTFE (Teflon) based outer coating as you do not need the full strength antifouling, and the surface will be easily cleaned.
Hull prepration :- lightly sand with 240 grit wet & dry, de-grease with antifouling thinners or white spirit, don,t use acetone.

 

[dignity]

I have had boats on fresh water for quite a few years now, on my last couple of vessels I have used VC Tar, I have found it well worth doing. The boat comes out of the water almost has good has it goes in. You will need to sand under your waterline for a key. Apply 5 - 7 coats of tar, this can be applied down to 5 degrees, and then 2 - 3 coats of VC 17m, this all seems a lot of work, but it is very easy to apply. It is a job worth doing!