antifoul paint was not used...

[b0wen]

Hi, bought a small sailing cruiser earlier in the year under the premise that the previous owner had antifouled her & everything looked good when the handover occurred. I had a great summers fun on her, however I have now had her lifted out & there is a great deal of weed etc on her hull for only 5 months in the water.

I contacted her previous owner & asked what antifoul he had used earlier in the season, just so I could avoid using it again as it clearly didn't work, only to be informed that he hadn't in fact used antifoul just a cheap topside paint!!

My main concern is not the miss-selling as such, but whether the lack of antifoul would have damaged the grp hull in anyway?

Anyone care to help? Thanks...

 

[maby]

Not in 5 months certainly - probably never. Some antifouling paint is hard stuff that provides a degree of physical protection to the hull, but much is soft, eroding stuff designed to be worn away over a season or so - certainly not providing any significant barrier protection to the hull.

 

[[70521]]

By not antifouling there is no damage to the hull. Just a bit of hard work removing the weed.

 

[nigelmercier]

Consider yourself lucky, you can now use CopperCoat.

 

[Ripster]

Think I would pressure wash it off as best you can, gently scrape off the presistent stuff and get any flakes off. Then inspect it all. If it all looks basically OK, no bubbles or loose bits etc,.... and still stuck on, then abraid all the surface to get a good key, wipe over with thinners (just before first new coat) and repaint. You might consider using a AF primer this time to make sure your AF sticks well. Then get a coat of AF on - pref two - and even a third at leading edges and the waterline. Then next time you should have less fouling, and a straightforward clean, key and repaint.

 

[b0wen]

thanks folks, your replies are much appreciated

 

[Fantasie 19]

Think I would pressure wash it off as best you can, gently scrape off the presistent stuff and get any flakes off. Then inspect it all. If it all looks basically OK, no bubbles or loose bits etc,.... and still stuck on, then abraid all the surface to get a good key, wipe over with thinners (just before first new coat) and repaint. You might consider using a AF primer this time to make sure your AF sticks well. Then get a coat of AF on - pref two - and even a third at leading edges and the waterline. Then next time you should have less fouling, and a straightforward clean, key and repaint.

...wise words - but don't apply it too soon - antifoul has a "shelf life" once you've applied it... check the wordage on the tin for how long it will last between being applied, and needing to be in the water...

 

[Woodlouse]

No danger of damaging the hull by not antifouling. You might have a bit of a hard time removing all those nasty calcified bits that barnacles leave when you've knocked them off though.