Antifoul/Growth - what’s normal?

A_Sails_Pace

A_Sails_Pace

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After being back in the water for 3 months-ish now my hull is looking awfully furry. Or at least my rudder is and around the water line (I can’t see beneath that really). Admittedly it’s had CopperCoat on for some years already but I’ve been advised by a couple of people
more experienced than I that it’s not due an new application quite just yet.

I’m just wondering what’s normal and what isn’t really. We hauled out for an afteroon to have some work done a few weeks ago and it just had a layer of slime on in parts, but this new growth has me wondering.

I guess what I’m trying to find out is, is this in any way fairly normal? If so I’ll just reach down with something and give it a careful scrape etc.

Is there normally a substantial amount of build up/growth that generally happens?

First boat so I’m just gauging what’s normal and what isn’t? Any advice appreciated.

A.S.P
 
There is no such thing as normal! Fouling will be different on every bit of water even within the same river it will even differ year to the next.

When was your Coppercoat done? The usual rule of thumb is it lasts 10 years often longer, and can be abraded with a scotch pad if it is a bit tied.
 
Sandy said:
There is no such thing as normal! Fouling will be different on every bit of water even within the same river it will even differ year to the next.

When was your Coppercoat done? The usual rule of thumb is it lasts 10 years often longer, and can be abraded with a scotch pad if it is a bit tied.
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Makes sense. Though I think my growth would be deemed abnormal providing my CopperCoat was in decent nick. It’s been about 9 years. We scotched it as you mentioned already.
 
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Nothing stops it growing. Brush it, get in the water and scrub it, lift and jetwash, whatever. Sail the boat more, it helps stop the slime. Weed grows on the slime on coppercoat,
 
I don’t think that anything short of a trip to the Netherlands canals or Heybridge Basin will help. We used to keep pretty clear in the days when we went off for 3-months cruises but this year, with Hempel has been bad, even though I didn’t launch until mid May. I’m a half to 3/4 knots down on motoring speed now and have been for the last month.
 
Environmental concerns, protect the mollusc etc, has ensured that AF no longer kills on contact. You need to use your yacht for most AF to work (water moving over the hull) - keep the hull clean by some other means - clean it with a kitchen scrubber or power wash - but if there is slime on your hull the fouling creatures will be totally unaware of your copper coat (it is masked) and you will get growth). Once you have growth the only way to terminate the growth is to clean by hand or power wash.

When you hauled out recently you should have cleaned the hull in fact every time you haul out , especially with CC - clean the hull.

Based on your OP - I don't think this is indicative the CC has not worked - it is indicative you are not, able to be, using your yacht sufficiently frequently or if you are - not fast enough.

Jonathan
 
East Coast again.
Fouling this year at least as bad as can remember.
Some boats on our moorings, well fouled after less than 3/ 4 months...irrespective of their choosen expensive snake paint on the bottom.
Noticed green weed on our water line yesterday , boat has been stationary for about two weeks.
 
Whether same is seen elsewhere or not - I'm not sure. But EU guidelines for efluent disposal over time have changed and here in Latvia - we see increased weed / reed / grass growth clogging the rivers. You would think its because of 'cleaner' water - but that's not the case. It actually comes down to the chemically treated waste water incl efluent now allowed to be let into the rivers.

I have large tanks (3 of them - 3m diameter, 8m deep) that collect our 'efluent' .... with periodic pump out by 'Sludge' trucks. Water authority advised me after EU changed again guidelines - that I could have :

Chemical enzyme treatment and then discharge into the river
or
keep my present system but must use a set number of 'truck' visits per year.

I was shocked ... and asked about the pumping into river ... and was told that many have opted for this.

It now transpires that this has altered the water such that now the vegetation growth and variety increased hugely. Such that my boat channel now suffers restricted width in one seasons growth - instead of the 4 - 5 years it took previously.
Not only that - but all my boats submerged hulls are covered in thick slime, long grass like fronds just under waterline .... note that my mooring is Freshwater and I never had this sort of problem before.

I have talked with pals with their boats in the Harbour ... the fouling rates are so great they many are wondering how to combat ... Anti-Fouling is literally zero effect ...
This is in Baltic with low salinity water ..... when I talk to others in higher salinity water - its worse.

I am completely confused by this 'environmental' guideline change that is supposed to improve water quality ... when in fact - what is observed is a reduction in water quality.

I cannot believe Latvia is unique in this ... Latvia is part of EU and they tell us - they are following EU guidelines.
 
After over 12 months in the water my hull is still pretty clean, just a little slime and can still see the white antifouling through the slime. Sailing over 2000 miles, some in heavy weather has kept the hull clean. Going into fresh water will certainly cause most weed to drop off, but the slime will need scrubbing off.
 
Me too.

Walton Backwaters has been the worst I've ever seen for fouling this summer. I used a PBO test winning antifoul before launch - and subsequently sent some pictures and a snotty email to the manufacturers - but I've had to scrub off three times through the season and there's still brown slime reappearing even now.
 
Waterline beard not always a useful indication of what is further down.

All tide or half tide mooring?

One of the cleanest years for me - just shows how variable it can be given the reports of above average fouling around.
 
I came back from Ostend 4 Sept & within 2 weeks the weed at the waterline was 3 inches long. To my utter amazementI went aboard today & the waterline weed growth has totally gone. Must be dying off in the cooler weather. Cannot see the hull but not confident. When hauled on 01 August, after launching early May, the weed was hanging off the whole of the hull 2 inches long & I found sailing almost impossible.
But I have coppercoat on the hull :eek: & have given up on the keel & gone back to Shogun 33, which was not bad on the keel when hauled in august. Still gave it another coat though.
 
Fouling in Chichester this year is the worst I have ever known in 20 odd years. I was professionally scrubbed in April, dried out in June for a quick pre-cruise clean, and then dried out again a couple of weeks ago, thank goodness for bilge keels. The growth was absolutely shocking, like a mat up to six inches thick, no wonder the boat would hardly move. It came off quite easily thanks to the Coppercoat.
 
chrisD said:
Fouling in Chichester this year is the worst I have ever known in 20 odd years. I was professionally scrubbed in April, dried out in June for a quick pre-cruise clean, and then dried out again a couple of weeks ago, thank goodness for bilge keels. The growth was absolutely shocking, like a mat up to six inches thick, no wonder the boat would hardly move. It came off quite easily thanks to the Coppercoat.
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So your coppercoat does not work as claimed. :eek:
Like me, it seems that you have the advantage that you do not have to apply new paint every year. Just mid season jet wash
 
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