Antifouling keel

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killick

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If it was not for the keel my boat would only need antifouling (JOTUN) every three years. The keel is covered in barnacles in less than a year and very soon after scraping it of on the scrubbing pad. Has anyone investigated the possibility of covering the keel in some material,say vynal, which will not allow barnacles to adhere to it?
 
I get minimum 2 years from my antifouling in Durban with an in water scrub every 3-4 months. I could go an extra year but with the safety inspection every year never gone that long.

Hampel do have a product that allows 5 years between slipping but it is costly.

Where do you keep your boat in Durban? Marina or Bluff.
 
Keel antifouling

Rogershaw said:
I get minimum 2 years from my antifouling in Durban with an in water scrub every 3-4 months. I could go an extra year but with the safety inspection every year never gone that long.

Hampel do have a product that allows 5 years between slipping but it is costly.

Where do you keep your boat in Durban? Marina or Bluff.
Click to expand...

I am at BLUFF. What I had in mind was something more permanent like the stone chip protection strips on vehicles or a similar product that can be stuck on and forgotten.
 
If the barnacles are anything like the British / European ones, you can forget any non-stick treatment, those things are dynamite and could hang on to the Space Shuttle !

Maybe a hard racing antifoul and mid season scrubs might help ( but I had a girlfriend from Durban who mentioned shark attacks and nets on beaches ?! ) though that will leave a build-up of paint, having tried tackling that a couple of times I might prefer my chances with the shark, at least it would be over quicker...
 
A product that was basically thin copper sheets with an adhesive backing was introduced to the market a few years ago but reports of its performance have not been very complimentary and I have not come across it recently. My keel is Coppercoated, which gives excellent protection provided we are moving regularly. When we remained more or less static for a couple of months due to an accident even that suffered a good deal of fouling by shell, tubeworm, etc.
 
I read somewhere that the great secret weapon of Nelson's navy was copper sheathing, allowing British warships to keep their speed and mobility while the dastardly enemy were going around with underwater gardens...

Presumably this still required ' volunteering ' a keelhauling scrubbing gang to go over the side now and again; I might lose not only brownie points but the ability to walk if I suggest this to SWMBO.
 
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I am guessing that you possibly have a cast iron keel and the rust is quickly causing the a/f paint to drop off. The bfouling seems to love rust more than anything else. So while thisn may not be the problem it s my first guess. It should be obvious when you lift the boat if it is rust. The treatment is blasting or grinding , rust treatment then an epoxy coating followed by a/f. good luck olewill.
PS don't worry about the sharks they are all over this side of the Indian ocean. (and well fed with humans)
 
William_H said:
I am guessing that you possibly have a cast iron keel and the rust is quickly causing the a/f paint to drop off. The bfouling seems to love rust more than anything else. So while thisn may not be the problem it s my first guess. It should be obvious when you lift the boat if it is rust. The treatment is blasting or grinding , rust treatment then an epoxy coating followed by a/f. good luck olewill.
PS don't worry about the sharks they are all over this side of the Indian ocean. (and well fed with humans)
Click to expand...
I do have a cast iron keel and I think you are quite right. Will rust treatment and Hammerite be a good option? Thank you all for your advice
 
Having a steel boat I looked into rust prevention a lot and IMHO grit blasting and painting with epoxy tar is the best by far, followed with antifouling of your choice
 
" It is said that if you mix Chilli powder in the antifouling then the barnacles won't attach "

I don't know about that considering the hot curries we get in Durban, our barnacles may even enjoy the hot stuff.
 
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