Antifouling in Chichester Harbour

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

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I have been using various "normal" antifouling, single coat, for the last 5 years while the boat was based in west Wales near Neyland marina on a deep water swinging mooring; the bottom was always clean at the end of the season, with only minor slime; easily washed away with a pressure hose pipe.

Now the boat is in Chichester Harbour on a tidal mooring (dries out 2 hours either side of the tide) and was painted with same antifouling paint as before, I have noticed a lot of weed and barnacles on the bottom and it is not the end of the season yet.

What antifouling paint is best for tidal drying mooring in Chichester? perhaps hard / racing antifouling?
 
I've been on a C3 mooring (2hrs) at Emsworth for 15 years and have used numerous different a/f. Each year seems to be different. I don't even think the paint formulation stays the same for very long due to changing regulations.

FWIW, my best results have been from cheap (eroding) stuff off ebay! ... just managed two seasons permanently afloat.

Vic
 
My boat is in Emsworth Marina, I used Cruiser Uno(red), the boat went in 1st March and has no weed at all yet, inspected 2 weeks ago while snorkelling.
How many miles have you done this year? Could it be lack of use?
Cheers
Dave
 
We're on a B3 mooring at Emsworth and have been using the same batch of blue Cruiser Uno for the past two seasons. Very clean after 10 months afloat last year and doing pretty well so far this. Just a little bit of slime but no weed and certainly no proper living stuff such as barnacles and the like.

The only exception being on the transom hung rudder and skeg where it gets a lot more sunlight, this was a bit 'hairy' by the end of last winter and has a bit more slime than the rest of the hull so far. The boat gets a fair bit of use though.
 
Used Cruiser Uno - rubbish, Blakes Cruising performer - ok for the first few months - but needs a scrub mid season
Now onto Coppercoat - we're waiting to see the results - but it better be good! - has been for the month or so it's been in the water so far....
 
I was on a swinging half tide mooring in Emsworth Pool for 5 years. Didn't matter what I used, the bit that sat in the mud had everything growing on it after a couple of months as it blocked the antifouling. The rest stayed pretty clear with most things except the really cheap stuff.

I have used Blakes Tiger Extra for the last few years and now I'm in Emsworth Marina that seems to have kept things pretty clean.
 
antifouling

I think this year is particularly bad for weed here in Newhaven. I used cruiser uno this year and I've already had to scrub the waterline, last year I used some cheap gash and yet it appeared to do a better job.
I have noticed the boats near me are carrying alot of weed growth.
 
I am using Seago anti-fouling in nearby Langstone, seems to be holding up well so far this year with only a bit of slime so far. I reckon there must be so many variables like time spent submerged in water, temperature of the water, daylight hours etc. When she went in the water for a couple of months over winter with no anti-fouling on she came out a couple of months later with not one bit of slime or anything on.
 
It epends a little where you are in the harbour: On a drying mooring at Dell Quay, Cruiser seemed to work pretty well, but now in the mud at Prinstead Blakes Tiger Extra sems to be the only effective one. International Bootop hardly works at all, amd almost sems to encourage a fringe of green weed at the waterline!
 
I spend summer on a swinging mooring in Poole Harbour (a high fouling area) and winter in a drying berth at Thornham Marina at the top of the beautifull Prinstead Bay in Chichester. We had a proffesional company (ARC) coppercoat her a few years ago and apart from a bit of slime at the waterline, she is as smooth as a prom queens thighs. I need to scrape the propeller fairly regularly to remove some very impressive marine growth which indicates how well the coppercoat is working. It is also a very hard finish which very nicely survives contact with the seabed (she is a Southerly 115 so dries out beautifully) and being epoxy based is a good guard against the dreaded osmosis which gives a bit of comfort being afloat year round. Another benefit is the way the epoxy clings to and protects the iron keel and grounding plate.
Expensive yes, but no lift out, scrape and re-antifoul costs (and more imporatntly hassle). Over a few years it will pay for itself and I can well believe the 10-15 year sales pitch.
I just wish there was a definative answer to what to do with the prop. Any thoughts?
 
My original plan was to do it myself, I mean how hard can it be? Very as the case may be. After some scraped knuckles and not much of the old layers of antifoul dented and bearing in mind that no plan will survive first contact with the enemy, I did a bit of research and contacted a few companies to get a quote for the work. Dealing with people in the marine industry you soon get a feel for who is just after your money and who are honest hardworkers and I contracted the Antifoul Removal Company based in Southampton. They have a really clever bit of kit which removes everything easily without damaging anything and they are also very experienced in applying the Coppercoat.
At the time the yacht was on the hard at Northshore in Itchenor with her keel off and away to the foundry for refurbishment. The job was for preparing and painting several base layers of epoxy paint on the grounding plate and keel and preparing the hull before Coppercoating the whole lot. The quote for this was £1700. There was a bit of overenthusiasm from the troops who also epoxy painted the whole undersides and not just the ironwork before applying the Coppercoat. I discovered this when I recieved the invoice for £2300, but on contacting Mark at ARC he immediately ammended it to £1700.
Now I had been really tempted to have the extra coats of epoxy done in the first place and it was only the cost which I couldn't really justify that stopped me. They had done a fantastic job with top class workmanship and materials and been honest with me all the way through, so I met him half way and paid 2K. Worth every penny.
So in answer to your question (after my usual long winded pre-amble), my Southerly 115 has a LWL of 28 feet, beam of 12 feet and draught 2 foot 3 inches (keel up) with a 5 foot iron keel and massive iron grounding plate. To strip the iron to bare metal, prepare it and apply 3 coats of epoxy paint, strip the hull and prepare the survace then apply 3 coats of Coppercoat and clear up all the mess, was £1700.
You do need a really good sound surface to get a really good finish on and there was no way I was going to achieve that with blood and guts alone. Very happy with the results and worth every penny, and I can highly recommend ARC.
I hope this helps.
 
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