Antifoul...How Often?

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Ramsayp

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Last May I put two coats of VC Offshore with teflon on her bottom. Just pulled her out for a gander prior to a sea passage. Looks fine (couple small patches) but the man at the marina says the poisons all fade away after 12 months and if I go to sea in her she will be covered in barnacles quicker than you can say Jack Robinson.
Others tell me once every 3 years is fine - so here I am wondering whether to throw another hundred quid at her?
Any advice much appreciated
 
I think your man is right, every 12 months due to the poisons leaching from the paint.
From what I'm led to believe the paint is only there as a carrier for the active ingredients & serves no other purpose.

There are antifouls that do last 2 seasons but the cost & convenience of applying a coat while she's ashore now & not incur the expense of a mid season lift is worth considering, its more than worth doing just taking account of the lost time during the season.
 
For what it is worth I only use one coat and have done so for the last 20 odd years! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Some high performance eroding antifouls claim 2-3 seasons (although of course spring, summer and autumn is 3 seasons). International Micron 66, Seajet Emporer to name just a couple, but I think all the major mfgrs do something similar. I haven't seen any hard anti foul claiming more than 12 months, unless you class coppercoat as a hard antifoul.

Most of the cost of antifouling is getting the boat in and out of the water, so if yours is already out, then it's a no brainer to slap another coat on IMO.
 
Has anyone balanced the equation of pressure-washing v antifouling?
Sealift in Cowes charge £105 for a lift and wash. Would that enable you to postpone antifouling for a few more months?
 
Nah, the fouling begins almost immediately and has a serious impact on performance. The loss in fuel consumption is worth considering.
 
Whoa fellas... the clue is in the post.

VC offshore isn't a conventional biocide leaching anti fouling. It's a PTFE (teflon) based one.
The idea is that the critters can't get a grip rather than being poisoned.

When I used it, the boat would be covered in a thin layer of slime/weed after a couple of weeks but it would all come off after reaching planing speed.... that's the way it works.

However, VC offshore does have a tendency to flake off after drying out... that way it doesn't build up a thick layer after a few years.

I'd have a look at the flaking patches and make the call based on that
 
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