Antifoul time soon...what to go for?

[langstonelayabout]

Mine in fact isn’t in a marina, it’s a mid river non walk ashore pontoon, whose purpose is to fit more boats in than swinging moorings, which we would prefer.

A mid river non walk ashore pontoon? Then you will be within a pontoon or two of us! We are on Red pontoon (the old A pontoon) in the summer, and this year will be back using CU Pro on the hull and Hempel hard racing antifouling on the keels and rudder.

Last year we used 3 leftover tins of antifouling of different types: hard, soft, Hempel, Seajet and International. All as bad as each other! (No difference in the fouling growth between the antifouling types) We scrubbed 3 times between April and October.

I did find a chemical lab that sold TBT by the gramme, but was shocked at the price. I won’t be adding any to this year’s antifouling.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Jotun Seaforce available here in Portugal and it now comes from UK factory since Spanish one closed. Jotun Iberia tell me there are no restrictions on use.

The commercial sector is very competitive with much lower profit margins and I would suggest the UK restrictions are to enable them to flog leisure products on which they make more money.

I think most UK leisure sailors are under the impression that weaker, or restricted contents formats of antifoul, compared with commercial, are produced to comply with legislation. Is this not so ?

Or is it more a health and safety issue ?

 

[Graham376]

I think most UK leisure sailors are under the impression that weaker, or restricted contents formats of antifoul, compared with commercial, are produced to comply with legislation. Is this not so ?

Or is it more a health and safety issue ?

Maybe you're correct about leisure products being a weaker mix but it's been about 30 years since I used any of them.

I don't know what effect legislation has on the strength or contents of it, except of course when TBT was banned many years ago and the supply of drums which "fell of the back" of Irish Sea ferries dried up I may be wrong but when Jotun brought in the "professional application" rule for Seaforce, I don't remember them saying only to be used on commercial vessels.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

A mid river non walk ashore pontoon? Then you will be within a pontoon or two of us! We are on Red pontoon (the old A pontoon) in the summer, and this year will be back using CU Pro on the hull and Hempel hard racing antifouling on the keels and rudder.

Last year we used 3 leftover tins of antifouling of different types: hard, soft, Hempel, Seajet and International. All as bad as each other! (No difference in the fouling growth between the antifouling types) We scrubbed 3 times between April and October.

I did find a chemical lab that sold TBT by the gramme, but was shocked at the price. I won’t be adding any to this year’s antifouling.

You’d know if we were, Dragonflys aren’t exactly common. We’re in Yarmouth, IoW. South pontoon, though not right now. We scrub often, so often that some folks here think I’m mad. I daresay they are content to haul a reef around with them at 4kn, and we are not. Therefore coppercoat is best for us, as it will take any amount of sponging off. Which is my preferred method, done fortnightly in the summer.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Once/if it goes in the water I'm going to be applying very thick, anoxic mud (which is cheap) to it very regularly (roughly diurnally).

No experience, and havn't consulted locally yet, but I have some hopes that will be an at least partly effective antifouling regimen, since I wouldn't expect most fouling to develop under mud. I suppose the effectiveness will partly depend on how deeply the hull is immersed in it, so a centreboarder might do better than my triple keel.

Should this influence my choice of commercial antifouling?

IOW is there a type/brand/application technique especially suitable as a mud supplement?

For 25 years on drying moorings and mud in the Bristol Channel I only ever anti fouled every 5 years, just scraped off a few barnacles and bits of weed when I dried out on grid or beached. Then got copper coat and only bothered by barnacle for next 5 years

Having moved to the easier sailing water of south cornwall, we now must antifoul and our winter afloat got a 75mm thick mat of mussels, polyps and weed. Navigator only this morning factoring in our 200 mile round trip to sort it

 

[ducked]

For 25 years on drying moorings and mud in the Bristol Channel I only ever anti fouled every 5 years, just scraped off a few barnacles and bits of weed when I dried out on grid or beached. Then got copper coat and only bothered by barnacle for next 5 years

Having moved to the easier sailing water of south cornwall, we now must antifoul and our winter afloat got a 75mm thick mat of mussels, polyps and weed. Navigator only this morning factoring in our 200 mile round trip to sort it

Thanks. Encouraging

 

[John_Silver]

Stargazer was lifted, at Chatham, on Friday. Pleased with the effectiveness of the Seajet Shogun 033 (as I have been since switching from Tiger Xtra, 3 or 4 seasons back). Just slime. Heaviest at the waterline - although a 'beard' only really developed once we 'parked up,' in autumn. Worse on the south facing side (when on her home berth) shown here.



She had 2 coats of 033, before launch at Easter 2024. Sailed for Biscay in April. Returned in October. Then sat on her berth, until Friday's lift.

 

[alahol2]

If you are in UK, Google "Jotun SeaQuantum Ultra S"
You may well find a seller at a very good price if you want a few years supply.
No involvement.

 

[Rappey]

I use whatever i can get thats the cheapest. Its often 20 litre cans. Over many years i wouldnt like to say the commercial lasts any longer that shop bought !
I still end up doing the boat twice during some seasons Location is everything.
20+ years ago many antifoulings did not like being mixed with another brand but for the past 20 years they seem to mix together without any problems.
Ive had really thick paint thats used over twice as much as normal to cover the boat and really watery chandlery paint. Both last about the same amount of time.
I even painted my boat 20 + years ago with all the leftover tins i had, and ended up with a multi coloured hull (couldnt risk mixing them together) and the next time i dried out the boat have a very even coat of weed leading me to conclude expensive af was just a waste of money.
Another year one side had one coat, the other had two. And again it made no difference.
Years back regulations were saying that all boats would have to be cleaned using a filtration system to clean the water before it went back into the sea.
Nowadays there is no mention of it? Could it be that certain chemicals are no longer used in the paint therfore the runoff from power washing is no longer as polluting ?
The commercial paint is used on ships that rarely stop for long and move at least 12+ knots. Put the same paint on a leisure yacht which hardly ever moves and can't get up to speed and the weed grows just as quick as a cheap chandlery paint.

 

[Biggles Wader]

If you are in UK, Google "Jotun SeaQuantum Ultra S"
You may well find a seller at a very good price if you want a few years supply.
No involvement.

As I commented previously----This stuff is available if you look for it. It's a bargain if you club together with a couple of others and get your boat antifouled for about £70. It lasts several years too if you use the boat regularly.

 

[Humblebee]

Another option, Gael Force own brand A/F. I've used it for several years and never had a prolem with fouling. Boat comes out of the water every winter though. Link here, no connection etc

Gael Force Marine | Chandlery, Sailing Clothing & Boat Electronics

 

[oldharry]

I'd ask in your local area what people use and find effective. AF seems to be location, or environment, specific - what works in one location does not work so well in others - it may be due to salinity or weather (and whether the/a specific owner used his yacht a lot or had limited usage over the last season). The amount of AF applied, many owners are too parsimonious, controls the effectiveness of AF. You need to ask around of a number of owners.

And

As you are doing..... ask here.

But money usually impacts the amount of copper in an AF (and the amount of copper is critical - its defined on the tin) and more copper means better AF. More copper also means a heavier tin.

If you buy top of the range and apply liberally, and use the yacht frequently it is possible to achieve a 2 years life.

The best AFs are for commercial use, Hempels Globic, Jotun's Sea Quantum Ultra, there are others, They are difficult to source privately, are expensive but work exceptionally well

Jonathan

Asking locally is the advice as I would give too, except he's going to Med, on to the Canaries, and Transat - thats quite a range for 'local' advice. The question is really whats best for long distance cruising?

 

[Neeves]

Asking locally is the advice as I would give too, except he's going to Med, on to the Canaries, and Transat - thats quite a range for 'local' advice. The question is really whats best for long distance cruising?

Depends on what 'long distance cruising means' ?

For regular sailing, so for passage making, then Copper Coat seems to work well, as will any quality hard or ablative AF. The problem arises that many long distance cruisers find a delightful location and stay for a prolonged period - the hard or ablative really only work with movement of water on the hull, stopping the fouling from getting a grip. If you find the land of the Lotus Eaters - expect your hull to foul.

Personally we would buy top of the range (ablative), whatever, apply generously with extra on the leading edges. We found that using our honed powers of persuasion we could source quality AF, Hempel's Globic or Jotun's Sea Quantum Ultra (supposedly restricted and only sold to professionals) as we found they were the best available (to us).

If you look for Sea Quantum Ultra it comes in four forms, one form is for vessels laid up, no need for water movement), high speed vessels 40/50 knots, slow moving vessels, tugs and the like and (most of the market?) 15/20 knot vessels. Sadly Globic and Sea Quantum are not cheap. Why sales are restricted, unknown.

Jonathan

 

[Sandy]

There are a lot of 'rather keen' racers on the Tamar, most give their hulls a quick brush before the dash off round the cans and park up an hour later.

Personally, I am coppercoated an wipe the slime off on the scrubbing posts every few months.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

There are a lot of 'rather keen' racers on the Tamar, most give their hulls a quick brush before the dash off round the cans and park up an hour later.

Personally, I am coppercoated an wipe the slime off on the scrubbing posts every few months.

That is the general racing way. Even a little slime might be worth 1/4 kn, and a degree or so of pointing. The kind of growth some cruisers carry around with them is comfortably 2kn and 10 degrees That is serious. Clearly 1/4kn and a couple of degrees much less so. We spent a great deal of time, money and effort on our underwater finish. I don’t allow a few vegetables to destroy my hard work. The other way to keep growth to a minimum is as Neeves says, don’t stop. A rolling stone gathers no moss, by land or sea.

 

[Neeves]

A rolling stone gathers no moss, by land or sea.

I checked the Clipper fleet when they arrived in Sydney all Copper Coated all clean as whistles. They enjoyed 'almost' continuous use since coating. Previous to CC they would all arrive in Sydney and all lifted and need power washed, despite being AF.

To me it was pretty convincing CC works - if you use your yacht regularly.

We dry sailed, as we raced - but even a few days in the water (for a variety of reasons) and you would feel the 'fouling' that had found a new home on the previously perfect hull - like parsimonious sand paper. But we were then living in HK, where the water is warmer (and nutrient rich ) - if we lived on the East coast of Scotland - maybe a different result


If we were buying new again we would have the hull CC - but accept that we might need to AF depending on how we used the new yacht

Jonathan